DE Shaving Kit for a 17 Year old...

@donnie

I'm the wrong person to ask about modern creams as I'm still trying to get through my stash from a decade ago but I'd probably avoid the three T's as most will be of a "traditional" scent unless I'm mistaken. What about Blue Beard's, that's supposed to be a modern twist on a barbershop scent and heavily oceanic or BullDog which is fairly contemporary? If he does like Proraso splash how about a cream tube of that? I 'm reluctant to recommend the Proraso soap at this stage because I think you should keep it as simple as, let alone also have him learn to build lather from a soap.​

I'm not too sure facial scrubs are that beneficial treating acne unless they're specifically medicated but if you get him using witch hazel with a cotton pad, cleansing day and night and post-shave I'm fairly certain that should improve things. I had acne when I was his age...not much you can do about hormones unless you go to the doctor but the main issue I eventually discovered is leaving your skin alone because you're so concious of it and then touching it with less than clean hands.​

As a student I'd sit there studying at a desk with my hand supporting my forehead or face and wonder why I'd get breakouts in those areas. If you spot any kids with severe acne (much rarer nowadays thankfully) or even your own nephew if it's severe enough, watch them for a few minutes and see how many times the hands end up going to the face subconciously either to hide or pick. That may not apply to him but if he improves his hand hygene along with witch hazel use (I do like Thayers but high street will do) it'll clear things up. It took me a while to get over the idea of cleansing the skin but it is effective and less agressive than using a scrub.​

Men's skin is far superior than that of most ladies of a particular vintage, no need to exfoliate or scrub because you've been scraping dead skin cells off your face and neck for decades. Cleansing with Thayers post shave really gets the soap/skin residue out of the pores as well feeling and looking great, besides improvement in my technique it's the other thing that made the biggest improvement in my overall skin condtion. It could just be my skin type but I find I don't use any other post shave product at all and I haven't in years.​

To perhaps validate all the theory I was given a genuinely nice compliment the other day, my elderly ma's carer thought I was fifteen years younger than I am and wanted me to hook up with her nineteen year old daughter. Get some new glasses you say, well some basic maths would've meant my ma had me when she was 52, possible but never mind the daughter was alright. Trouble is my daughter is older and it would mean converting to Islam and the Mrs isn't into polygamy, well not yet anyway. ATB.​

Ooof...long post, sorry about that.
 
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Wilkinsons do a TTO available from Tesco and Sainsburys. Not tried it myself, but seems to be a weishi clone.

But, I would suggest giving him what you have and let him use a Mach 3 to let him work on his technique.

You never know, using a brush and palmolive cream might be enough for him.
 
Sconehead said:
My son, aged 17, has been using a pre-WW2 Gillette Tech I gave him and really likes it.
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Your son has fine taste! Interesting that the pre war Tech was the one he enjoys using the most, it's my razor of choice as well.

antdad said:
@donnie

I'm the wrong person to ask about modern creams as I'm still trying to get through my stash from a decade ago but I'd probably avoid the three T's as most will be of a "traditional" scent unless I'm mistaken. What about Blue Beard's, that's supposed to be a modern twist on a barbershop scent and heavily oceanic or BullDog which is fairly contemporary? If he does like Proraso splash how about a cream tube of that? I 'm reluctant to recommend the Proraso soap at this stage because I think you should keep it as simple as, let alone also have him learn to build lather from a soap.​

I'm not too sure facial scrubs are that beneficial treating acne unless they're specifically medicated but if you get him using witch hazel with a cotton pad, cleansing day and night and post-shave I'm fairly certain that should improve things. I had acne when I was his age...not much you can do about hormones unless you go to the doctor but the main issue I eventually discovered is leaving your skin alone because you're so concious of it and then touching it with less than clean hands.​

As a student I'd sit there studying at a desk with my hand supporting my forehead or face and wonder why I'd get breakouts in those areas. If you spot any kids with severe acne (much rarer nowadays thankfully) or even your own nephew if it's severe enough, watch them for a few minutes and see how many times the hands end up going to the face subconciously either to hide or pick. That may not apply to him but if he improves his hand hygene along with witch hazel use (I do like Thayers but high street will do) it'll clear things up. It took me a while to get over the idea of cleansing the skin but it is effective and less agressive than using a scrub.​

Men's skin is far superior than that of most ladies of a particular vintage, no need to exfoliate or scrub because you've been scraping dead skin cells off your face and neck for decades. Cleansing with Thayers post shave really gets the soap/skin residue out of the pores as well feeling and looking great, besides improvement in my technique it's the other thing that made the biggest improvement in my overall skin condtion. It could just be my skin type but I find I don't use any other post shave product at all and I haven't in years.​

To perhaps validate all the theory I was given a genuinely nice compliment the other day, my elderly ma's carer thought I was fifteen years younger than I am and wanted me to hook up with her nineteen year old daughter. Get some new glasses you say, well some basic maths would've meant my ma had me when she was 52, possible but never mind the daughter was alright. Trouble is my daughter is older and it would mean converting to Islam and the Mrs isn't into polygamy, well not yet anyway. ATB.​

Ooof...long post, sorry about that.
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As for Acne, when it comes to hormones I don't really know much about that to make any kind of comment regarding it but I thought some kind of face wash could be a good thing, even if it was a mild soap free one as he spends a lot of time playing cricket (he's a wicket keeper too) wearing a helmet so he has a very sweaty face for many hours of the day.

Your last paragraph made me chuckle! As for looking younger, since I started DE shaving, using witch hazel my skin has improved, and a few times when I've been hanging out with my 17 year old nephew a few people have thought I was his older brother. Ok, it's not quite as flattering as your situation but still!
 
donnie_arko said:
Greetings TSR.

My nephew's been shaving for a few years and he's been telling my sister he absolutely hates it. His razor of choice is his father's one, a Gillette Fusion 5 blade whatever or something and he finds shaving with such a razor to be on the painful side of things, and tbh I'm not sure whether it's down to his face or the razor itself. I spoke to my sister and suggested making a DE based shaving kit for my nephew and even if he didn't use the razor itself I reckon the other items.
So far, I've got the following items either in my possession or I ear marked for purchase at sometime soon and they include

Pre - Soap Free Face Wash
Brush - Yaqi 22mm Tuxedo
Soap - Palmolive Cream
Bowl - Collapsible dog water bowl
Post - Witch Hazel/Alum Block
Blades - Voskhod/Astra SP/Shark SS
Splash - Benjamins Bay Rum Mentholated
Razor - ?

The main blank I am drawing is the razor. So far, I have a few different routes I'm exploring. The razor has to be new, as my sister is a little OCD with cleanliness/hygiene/2nd hand things at the best of times (not a trait I share with her!).

DE89
I've not used a DE89 style head aside from a cheap wonky copy I bought from Ebay, and for a beginner the problem with such a head is that the top cap is a bit on the bigger side of things, and can be a bit tricky to shave under the nose and there's the zamak issues.

Tech Clone
I'm a Tech fan and I find it's a nice mild head for daily shaving, but the down side seem to be unless the user dials in the right angle, and would this be a little too difficult for a 17 year old with very little interest in shaving to do so? The main Tech clone is the Baili one with covered blade ends, BT171 I think?

Gillette clone style TTO's
This is another realm I've been considering, but I know absolutely nothing about. The 2 ones I've been considering is the Baili one the BR179, and the Wilkinson Sword one. This would be my preferred option, as much as I love my nephew he's a master at losing things, and a 1 piece razor with no parts to lose would be an improvement on a 3 part razor. I've not used either the Baili or the WS one, would they be a good first razor?

Am I missing anything? Does anyone have any recommendations for the options I have explored or anything else?

Thanks greatly.
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I reckon we all suffer from under-nose shaving syndrome...I often use an electric to trim there!
The EJDE89 is a superb choice for novice and veteran alike...and it's relatively cheap. It's my favourite of all razors. Close competitor has to be the Merkur 34C. Very similar shave. In both these razors, I find the Gillette Nacet or Voskhod blades to work great, but I don't think there's a blade that won't work well with them.
I've recently posted about the Leaf, which is really great, but a little more expensive at around £85, but still uses standard DE blades, while having that cartridge razor feel, and maybe a modern appeal to younger generations. Totally unaggressive and cool looking!
I'm only a recent user of a Tech razor and really like it, but I still think the EJDE89 beats it for a smooth, unaggressive shave.
Just a few comments, but I'm sure you'll get great advice from the forum(y)
 
You know, he might also appreciate the Broman razor. It's not too expensive, has a pivoting head yet uses a single half-DE blade.
I think it also depends on his preferences. He might like the retro feel of using a DE, or scoff at that.
The Baili/Solimo is the nicer shaver for me, though.
 
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By all means get him a medicated wash for acne but most of these so called scrubs mainly irritate chemically as well as physically are are no better than soap or water no matter what their claims about being gentle or kind if it's a detergent and generates suds it's a harsh skin product. There's no such thing as a gentle soap by it's chemical nature, you can add ingredients to a soap to alleviate some of their drying effects but that's why I advocate clensing, if you got him doing that post shave and he sees results it might get him using it in the PM too.

The cricket helmet isn't great as it probably gets chucked into the kit bag til the next game or practice. It's no different to me supporting my head with unclean hands if his head in contact with the dirty internal padding of the helmet for hours on end. I never wore a batting helmet when I played but they're pretty sparten on the inside in terms of padding I think. All you can do is chuck in a bag of baby / antibac wipes and tell him to wipe down the inside of the helmet before he puts it on, even more so if it isn't his and part of a general kit bag when every sweaty oily kid has had it on.
 
donnie_arko said:
Greetings TSR.

My nephew's been shaving for a few years and he's been telling my sister he absolutely hates it. His razor of choice is his father's one, a Gillette Fusion 5 blade whatever or something and he finds shaving with such a razor to be on the painful side of things, and tbh I'm not sure whether it's down to his face or the razor itself. I spoke to my sister and suggested making a DE based shaving kit for my nephew and even if he didn't use the razor itself I reckon the other items.
So far, I've got the following items either in my possession or I ear marked for purchase at sometime soon and they include

Pre - Soap Free Face Wash
Brush - Yaqi 22mm Tuxedo
Soap - Palmolive Cream
Bowl - Collapsible dog water bowl
Post - Witch Hazel/Alum Block
Blades - Voskhod/Astra SP/Shark SS
Splash - Benjamins Bay Rum Mentholated
Razor - ?

The main blank I am drawing is the razor. So far, I have a few different routes I'm exploring. The razor has to be new, as my sister is a little OCD with cleanliness/hygiene/2nd hand things at the best of times (not a trait I share with her!).

DE89
I've not used a DE89 style head aside from a cheap wonky copy I bought from Ebay, and for a beginner the problem with such a head is that the top cap is a bit on the bigger side of things, and can be a bit tricky to shave under the nose and there's the zamak issues.

Tech Clone
I'm a Tech fan and I find it's a nice mild head for daily shaving, but the down side seem to be unless the user dials in the right angle, and would this be a little too difficult for a 17 year old with very little interest in shaving to do so? The main Tech clone is the Baili one with covered blade ends, BT171 I think?

Gillette clone style TTO's
This is another realm I've been considering, but I know absolutely nothing about. The 2 ones I've been considering is the Baili one the BR179, and the Wilkinson Sword one. This would be my preferred option, as much as I love my nephew he's a master at losing things, and a 1 piece razor with no parts to lose would be an improvement on a 3 part razor. I've not used either the Baili or the WS one, would they be a good first razor?

Am I missing anything? Does anyone have any recommendations for the options I have explored or anything else?

Thanks greatly.
Click to expand...
I am sure he will be very pleased, good choices there.
 
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