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.
Click to expand...

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.


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!
 
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
 
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.
 
I am sure he will be very pleased, good choices there.
 
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