What is best for a boy's first shave?

Boys turn to teenagers pretty fast and they can grow up before your eyes have had time to catch up! Part of his growing up is helping him navigate the tricky ship of shaving. When should he start? How? Do I tell him how to shave or let him work it out on his own? We'll unpack all this here and give you some hints and tips to try and make your (and his) lives all the better for when he's ready to start shaving.

Razor - it's all in the type and quality

Razors and blades are really important for any man shaving - but especially boys starting to shave. When starting to shave, we suggest a very easy to hold razor with a soft grip and good weight to it because this helps with balancing the razor in his hands.

Making sure it's got a moveable head to move to the contours to his face is important too, because this ensures that all the nooks and angles of the face are reached and he will feel like he is getting a good shave without having to add unnecessary pressure. A high quality razor like this one is the ideal balance because it's movable spring loaded head helps him, learn to let the razor do the work, which will show him that he doesn't need to press too hard.

Having at least 4 blades in the head is really important. The ones by DRUCEBOX come with 5 Swiss cut hardened steel blades that sit close next to the other, so that together they reduce surface friction by spreading any micro-pressure.

Timing - when should a boy start to shave?

Boys first time shave can be pretty daunting for many young men, especially if they are a natural worrier. The good news is that by picking up on a few key indicators, its possible to spot if he's ready to start shaving, and here's what you can do to know when a boy should start shaving.

1. Spot the obvious signs like hint dropping, or open requests for a razor/blades - like many personal things for teenage boys, if he mentions it once it's probably something that's been on his mind for a while.

2. See if you can notice any physical changes in his appearance such as "peach fuzz" or "bum fluff" on his upper like or moustache area. If you've noticed it, he probably has as well, and so he might welcome the opportunity to have a quality razor and shaving guide in his hands.

3. Be lead by him and his desire to shave. It can be a very personal coming-of-age moment for boys transitioning into a young man, so we've found it helpful to be sensitive and non-judgmental.

4. Boys tend to start shaving from 11 to 15 years so keep an eye on his age, but as always, it's about his development, not his birthday - so don't worry about putting any pressure on him to start to shave too early. He'll want to start when he's ready...our job as parents and carers is to give him the space and tools to do a good job - so make sure you give him a shaving gift set like this one.

Sensitive to him and his needs

Not all young men want to be spoon fed or may be very body conscious, so as someone who knows him well - just use your instincts and if it seems like he'd appreciate a hand, our advice would be to offer some help. Just keep it low key and you can't go wrong.

We all know teenage boys can be ruthless with peer pressure and micky taking, so to avoid your boy being the butt of jokes or feeling self-conscious amongst friends, popping a starter shaving kit designed for teenagers is going to save him some of the potential struggles we know wider friendship groups can bring.

Things like shaving of his first moustache might seem like an obvious thing to a parent or carer but your guy might be quite sensitive or even very proud of what he's managed to grow, so you might think he looks a bit silly, but to him it could be his pride and glory. That said, he might want to some gentle suggestions, and as long as your motive is always loving and kind, he'll thank you in the long run (it may be many years later!).

A beginners shaving kit is ideal for the first time a teenager boy wants to start shaving, because it has everything he'll need to start and none of the extras that might just be a waste of money. The sweet spot for a starter shaving kit is to make sure it has just enough info wrapped up in an appealing package that it's communicated in a fun and relatable way. Its important he has solid quality razor, blades, shaving gel and skin hydrators so that he's going to delve right into and embrace shaving from the start - so try and make it as easy as possible for him, with a kit like the ones here.