Now I don't know the medical condition that causes this but we probably all know someone whose hands shake especially as they age. I'm staring at 40 and it got me thinking about it a bit. When a guy (or girl) gets that condition is that the end of wet shaving? What about shaving in general? I can't imagine pulling off a good wet shave unless my hands were very stable. No laughing matter on this either because I'm sure this is a serious problem for those whose motor skills deteriorate this way.
How do older folks shave when they get shaky hands?
- Thread starter VonMises1881
- Start date
Its really pretty simple. If your hands start to shake a straight razor is a no no and once the shaking passes a minimal degree a DE is out. You need to either use an electric or get electrolosis.
You're probably thinking of Parkinson's Disease, but there are several conditions that can result in tremors. In the case of Parkinson's, medications can be selected and adusted to control tremors but small motor control can still deteriorate.
As the other poster mentioned, this would be an appropriate situation for an electric razor.
My great-grandfather was afflicted for as long as I knew him with a head shaking tremor (about one per second) and my mother recently recalled that it was only after a couple of years into this that it was discovered that he was still shaving with a straight razor (he was a widower, living alone).
He claimed that he could wedge his head against something to hold it steady but the rest of the family decided to convert him to an electric razor at that point.
- Chris
As the other poster mentioned, this would be an appropriate situation for an electric razor.
My great-grandfather was afflicted for as long as I knew him with a head shaking tremor (about one per second) and my mother recently recalled that it was only after a couple of years into this that it was discovered that he was still shaving with a straight razor (he was a widower, living alone).
He claimed that he could wedge his head against something to hold it steady but the rest of the family decided to convert him to an electric razor at that point.- Chris
Most people I know who are FROM the Era Of Good Shaving and whom you would think would use a Super Speed or Tech everyday (my 78 year old uncle for example) seem to use ELECTRIC razors It might be the shakes but I always thought it was the result of falling victim to marketing departments.
I am with you on staring at forty...I just turned thirty nine. I solved turning thirty by sleepin with an eighteen year old lol! Doubt I can pull that off again
Wp
It might be the shakes but I always thought it was the result of falling victim to marketing departments. I am with you on staring at forty...I just turned thirty nine. I solved turning thirty by sleepin with an eighteen year old lol! Doubt I can pull that off again
Wp
Don't know what to do but luckily my dad (77) has started using a DE again a few years back and he is still doing fine so let's hope I share enough DNA with him to make it a hypothetical question !
Staring at 40? You're still kids. I'm staring 60 right in the eye. Fortunately everything is still working as well as can be expected.
My father loved a clean shave with a Red Tip SuperSpeed that he used for over 30 years. Unfortunately he had serious arthrirtis in his hands and as it worsened it was painful for him to wet shave and he started to use an electric half the time.
He then had a stroke at the age of 72 from which he recovered well but lost his fine motor skills and went to an electric shaver full time. When I was visiting him a couple of years later he offered me his DE razor. I took it and asked him if he missed using it since he used to be so fussy about his shave. He said not really since getting a BBS shave at that point in his life was the least of his concerns.
My father loved a clean shave with a Red Tip SuperSpeed that he used for over 30 years. Unfortunately he had serious arthrirtis in his hands and as it worsened it was painful for him to wet shave and he started to use an electric half the time.
He then had a stroke at the age of 72 from which he recovered well but lost his fine motor skills and went to an electric shaver full time. When I was visiting him a couple of years later he offered me his DE razor. I took it and asked him if he missed using it since he used to be so fussy about his shave. He said not really since getting a BBS shave at that point in his life was the least of his concerns.
G
gone down south
Most people I know who are FROM the Era Of Good Shaving and whom you would think would use a Super Speed or Tech everyday (my 78 year old uncle for example) seem to use ELECTRIC razors
I am with you on staring at forty...I just turned thirty nine. I solved turning thirty by sleepin with an eighteen year old lol! Doubt I can pull that off again
Wp
To rebalance the universe you need to start sleeping with a 52 year old now
I have a hereditary condition called Essential Tremor.It is worse in the morning and settles down in the evening.So I shave in the evening.
Nothing like a sharp blade on your face to steady that hand.
Nothing like a sharp blade on your face to steady that hand.
I stopped by an estate sale in the neighborhood a couple of months ago (as I found out later, the lady was unable to live alone any longer, and was moving) and asked the folks if there were any razors or other shaving gear. The whole house full of people, including me, erupted with laughter when the young man nearby said, in response to my question, "grandma didn't have a beard!"
Yeah, that comment caught me a little off-guard too. I'm sort of glancing sideways at 53. I had no idea how far over the hill I'd come.
- Chris
For a preview, Gillette Fusion Power!
My grandfather has tremors that are so bad, there is no way he can shave by himself. What he does ? He goes to a barber twice per week ! He has found a competent one, and enjoy those shaving moments a lot...
- Thread starter
- #13
Yeah, that comment caught me a little off-guard too. I'm sort of glancing sideways at 53. I had no idea how far over the hill I'd come.
- Chris
Hopefully there was no smugness taken from my post because none was intended. For godsake I work with 25 year olds who pine for younger days! Of course it's all relative but I think there's something a little different about turning 40. I certainly view it as a bit of a milestone and a time to take stock. I feel like I've reached some sort of summit and I need to at least start thinking about making my descent down the other side into that mysterious fog below....(Maybe too much melodrama) but you'll have to excuse me, I'm turning 40 after all!
My grandfather switched to electrics late in life...didn't care anymore about the "joy" of the shave and shook due to dementia. It was much easier for him.
I used to know and 80 year old gent who was a flyfishing buddy of mine. Even with shaky hands he could still cast a line where he wanted and tie really nice looking flies. While watching him tie a fly once, I saw that he was having trouble cutting the thread with a razor knife. I joked that he better not shave with a razor. He replied that it wasn't a problem because once the blade touched his face that steadied his hand.
Good point. I guess if you suffer only from mild shaking, it still is possible to shave, at least with a DE.
My grandfather has sometimes trouble holding a cup of coffee without spilling it all over the place because of the shakes. This is why he is going to a barber. The problem wasn't that he was cutting himself like crazy, it was rather the fact that he could not get good, clean shaves. Stubble was left everywhere.
I have mild shakes, and I don't think it's how everyone thinks.
My hands shake a little bit, like when I hold a coffee cup, or just put them out, but once supported, even the slightest bit, the shakes subside.
So I get little shakes just holding the razor, but once it touches face, it's perfectly still. No problemo.
My hands shake a little bit, like when I hold a coffee cup, or just put them out, but once supported, even the slightest bit, the shakes subside.
So I get little shakes just holding the razor, but once it touches face, it's perfectly still. No problemo.
I too have a condition called "Kinetic, Benign, Essential Tremors". It is not Parkinsons but does create the shaking hands and head symptom. I shave with DEs and lately a Rolls Razor. For some unknown reason, once I pick up a razor, the shaking lessens enough so I may shave. If I pick up a cup of coffee, however, the shaking continues. If I don't use two hands to hold the cup, it will spill.
Go figure!!!
Go figure!!!
My grandfather is 78 and shaves with an electric razor. If he used any bladed razor, he would cut his throat open.
Similar threads
