Thread: Getting a teenager interested in wet shaving

I got into this thing strictly on my own. When I started shaving my dad gave me his old Sunbeam Shavemaster Electric.

You really can't push someone into Straights or DE's and typical folks won't have anything to do with either. You can make a case for either but in the end they will do what the crowd does.

it takes a real individualist to join our fold.

Tell him that straight razors are too dangerous and you absolutely forbid him from using them.

Originally Posted by HarleyFXST

Tell him that straight razors are too dangerous and you absolutely forbid him from using them.

This is a sure bet. Lol.

Originally Posted by MisterMoo

Go lightly. I settled on sleeping in and wearing a beard, probably because my dad got up and shaved every morning.

Originally Posted by HarleyFXST

Tell him that straight razors are too dangerous and you absolutely forbid him from using them.

Originally Posted by Redcane

This is a sure bet. Lol.

I am on this bandwagon!

I don't know what would have happened were my dad to have instructed me to be honest! Heck, I don't even know if I was in boarding school or living in his house when I started shaving! All I know is one day about three or four years ago, I looked down at my cart while in the shower and scoffed! Two bazillion dollars later...

Anyway, I guess it depends on your relationship. But like anything, if you are full of anticipation... hence why I am on the bandwagon lol!!

I don't want to push him or be forceful in any way. I remember my grandpa using a DE an that's what sparked my interest. Then I started some research, yes I am one of those guys. I research every thing in depth before making a decision. One shave with a DE an Ive been hooked ever since. I hope that he will be interested enough at least to try it a few times. I am for sure going to open my collection up to him to pick from. In the end I know its his choice. Just hope he makes the right one

When I was starting to shave: I didn't really care how to do it just that I wanted to be rid of the moustache. I used an electric for, I guess now, two decades before moving to DE.

I'd let him pick his own route (even if it is electric).

I'd also offer to let him pick a well-loved razor and learn to hone it up (or a WD). It might be kind of fun as a resto-project.

I don't think there's a right answer to this. So many ways to do it depending on the individual. I do think the best thing here I've read is the idea of doing a father son restore on a pair of razors, prehaps over the summer...you could both learn along the way and if the boy is interested in shaving with the newly restored blade, so be it.

He's a teen, prone to rebellion via one form or another...it's all part of his quest for identity which often means anything other than yours. Don't take it personally, he, like many of us, will find his path and may be surprised to note how closely it comes to his father's.

I think the best way to go about it is to let it be known that whenever he wants to start shaving, he should come to you for advice. I had to start shaving at age 13 aswell because I was enroled in army cadets and that was a mandatory thing. But there will come a time when he will say, I gotta get rid of this boy mustache either through pressure at school, girls etc... at that time he needs to know who to go see, and thats dad.

I went to my father for advice too and it was a great bonding experience. He bought me a simple wilkinson boar brush and showed me how to make lather out of shave gel. I didnt have any issues with using the 2 blade cartridge at the time and you shouldnt push the straight on them early on. Lets be real, a simple mach3 will easiliy destroy any peachfuzz your boy may have and provide an decent iritation free shave going with the grain. Its a good first step.

At least, he will know how to make lather and remove hairs from his face, when he will see you using straights I am sure you will find the way to explain how and why they are better. You can then make it a morning weekend activity together when he wants to start learning, it would be fun to mentor him through it if he wants to go with straights.

Originally Posted by SpikedLemon

...I'd let him pick his own route (even if it is electric)..

They're not that safe.

my father never got me into any shaving ..lol.. I could count how many times I shaved until learning how to wet shave !!

my first child task at hand was my 12yr old daughter .. she has no interest in a straightrazor but I have lost a brush , 2 DE razors , and a couple soaps out of my collection .. she just loves it !! I started her with a Gillette tech then lost a super speed to her grasp and then my x wife snatched a super speed do to my daughter giving the x the courage to use one !! then I bought her a mint Gillette lady TTO with the blue stars ..lol

I have DE razors set aside for each my younger boys that I will pass on when they start shaving and then offer them to try a straight ...

good luck with your approach !!!