Tween & Teen Boy Hygiene
Do you have a boy in your house? Not only are they getting ready for middle school, they might also like some help with their hygiene. I’m far from an expert, but let me share things I’m learning about young men and hygiene: shampoo, body soap, deodorant, tooth brushing, fingernails, hair, and even the unibrow. For your convenience, I added an entire Boy Hygiene shopping list at the bottom.
Have a daughter? No worries, we’ve got you all set with these suggestions for tween and teenager girls.
Best Shampoo
My son’s hair was starting to look quite greasy, even though he was showering every day. Too much hair product? Wrong shampoo? I wasn’t sure. I asked my hair dresser what to do. She recommended Clarifying Shampoo (any brand). It cleans out all residue that is built up. Who knew? (not good for processed hair though). Another recommendation she had was getting it highlighted because that helps dries it out. I doubt that will happen, unless he saves his money for it!
Boys Underwear
Yep…. let’s chat a little bit about this. Generally, women and moms read my site… and a lot of times, we just don’t know these things, so here it is… Boys need to make sure they keep their parts in their place. They need extra support underneath their exercise shorts that they wear all.the.time.
It’s similar to women who like to wear tights or Spanx to make sure nothing jiggles around. Makes sense, right? My kids tend to like this type boxer briefs and when needed (exercise) compression short.
Body Soap
For some reason, my children cannot use a bar of soap. Maybe because it’s too old fashioned. 🙂 We’ve had great luck making our own foaming soap and purchasing liquid soap in a pump. Tip: Wrap a rubber band around the neck of the pump so that less soap comes out. You’ll probably need to explain how much soap is an accurate amount for their bodies. You may even need to be specific about which parts they need to wash. Let them choose the scent they like the best. It encourages washing (a little bit).
Deodorant for Boys
I may or may not have made a sign and stuck it to my son’s dresser that said, “D.O. for your B.O.” Translation: Deodorant for your Body Odor. When my son hit 4th grade his teacher even included the need to use deodorant in her Back-to-School talk in September. It’s just the truth. Once bodies begin to change, the smell is just terrible. We use Dove Men Care, if you’re looking for an all natural deodorant try Fresh Kidz. Laundry tip: throw a cup of baking soda in the washing machine. Helps remove the stink.
Unibrow
Yep, I went there. I watched the unibrow grow. (Definition: Where each single eyebrow begins to grow across the bridge of the nose, forming one eyebrow.) I knew girls waxed and plucked, but what were boys supposed to do? One day I took my hair cutting scissors and just trimmed it. Voila! No more unibrow. I’m not sure if this works for all hair types, but it worked for us. Now, I use this little one-blade razor (click here), and it gets a little closer. They come in pastel colors – use the pink ones for yourself! 😉
How Often Should You Change Your Underwear & Socks?
Who knew this could be such an issue? Should socks be able to stand on their own due to the high levels of sweat? No! Should your feet smell so bad that we fall over when you take off your shoes? No! They need to be changed because bacteria can build up.
One trick we have is setting out our clothes for the week. I’ve shared before how we organize clothes, but basically you choose your outfits for the week. Now, I’m adding that the outfit must have a clean pair of underwear and a clean pair of socks. The pressure I put on these kids (wink)!
Showering
We’re requiring daily showers. Invest in a little timer or waterproof timer that can just stay in the bathroom. One child stays in too long and the other’s are just too short. We have a 5 minute expectation.
Face Washing and Acne
We found some great cleansing pads at Trader Joes. They are nice to have on hand when it’s just too hard to wash your face at the end of the day. The tea tree oil helps to keep acne at bay too. If you’re son is still struggling with acne, talk to your doctor, but they may recommend an over-the-counter cream. For as long as I can remember, this type of treatment was only allowed with prescription. Not anymore! Our pediatrician recommended this acne treatment. The key to using it is putting it on at night, washing it off in the morning and then wearing sunscreen. We’ve found this daily lotion / sunscreen to be pretty boy-friendly.
Update: I have now learned that the best acne treatment is something they will use. Something that is easy to understand. This one spoke to my son. We looked up a video and then it came with 3 simple steps. Whatever works!
Boys Hair
If you shower and then go to bed, your hair will be crazy in the morning. True Story. Hard to understand when you’re a boy. My boys do use a little bit of hair gel and a regular black comb. When their hair gets too long, they borrow my favorite Wet Brush.
Blackhead Remover
Ears, nose, chin, etc. The onset of puberty is hard on the skin. We whipped up this little concoction and called it “Pimple Magic”. Small roller bottle: 5 drops Melaluca, 5 drops Lavender, and the rest is witch hazel. We prefer doTERRA Essential Oils.
Update: My friend told me I should share this little tool with you too. You may or may not be completely grossed out, but you can purchase a professional blackhead/pimple remover tool. Click here: tool.
Fingernails
I still have no clue on this one. Cutting your own finger and toenails is difficult. Much to their chagrin, I still invite the boy’s to come to my “beauty parlor” to cut fingernails. Fun Fact: A good place to practice cutting your own nails is outside. If you happen to live where there are a lot of ants, the ants will pick up the toenails and carry them off. I’m not kidding! It’s gross and fascinating at the same time. Do you have any tips on this one? We really need help in just keeping the fingernails clean too. Nail brushes, showers, etc…. nothing is working. Looks like we live in the dirt.
Update: I found some amazing clippers! They are sharp and get the job done in a jiffy. I love these things so much, bought them for myself and then they were stolen. Why? Because my boys are now cutting their own nails!
Shaving
I used to say I didn’t have a clue on this, I still don’t… pretty much. My husband did step in to help here. I had no idea how to even purchase a man’s razor. I stood at Target staring at the row of razors and left with nothing. Here is the one we purchased, click here. Right now, shaving only happens 1 time a month and will gradually move to once a week. We’re just winging it here.
Toothbrushing
A long time ago we invested in the Sonicare toothbrushes for my kids. They have never had a cavity. I’m sure it’s because the toothbrush “requires” them to brush for 2 minutes. Getting them to brush 2 times a day… another issue. True story: The orthodontist just said that one boy in particular needs to brush his teeth better.
Mom: Are you brushing in the morning?
Boy: Oh, maybe I’ll switch to the morning now.
Mom: What do you mean?
Boy: Well, I already brush at night, I was thinking I should just switch to the morning.
Me:
Me (later): The goal is to brush you teeth 2-3 times a day!
Boy: (shocked)
*Affiliate links are added for your convenience.
Shopping List for Tween Hygiene Helpers
- Shampoo
- Acne Treatment (choice 1)
- Acne Treatment (choice 2)
- Boxer briefs
- One blade razor (click here)
- Shower timers: timer or waterproof timer
- Razor
- Fingernail brush and fingernail clippers
- Electric Toothbrush
- Face cleansing pads
- Mild soap and face scrubber
- Eyebrow Trimmer and great tweezers
- Wet Brush
- daily lotion / sunscreen
- Remove the stink from shoes
- this book might help too
We prefer doTERRA essential oils for all of our oil use.
Helpful books for boys and parents:
- Decoding Boys is my new favorite boy book, but this book for girls really shed some light on the the stages of moving from childhood to adulthood.
- We found this book to help us understand the needs of parenting boys.
- I bought this book for my boys. I did add some of my own commentary (because I’m the mom) and read it ahead of time. It’s tween friendly, but the illustrations kind of threw me. I feel it’s nice for boys to have a reference when they have the questions but don’t know who or how to ask.
- If you haven’t talked to your son about the birds and the bees and God’s plan, you might like this series. It might look a little old-fashioned, but we’ve found that it grows nicely with our children and is non-threatening.
- I also recommend this book for parents of boys and girls. While it was written for guiding girls through the transitions of adulthood. It is not faith based, but the information is current and worthwhile for all of us to read about.
Other Posts you might like:
Real Advice for Middle School Boys
Parenting the Connected Generation
Find some of my recommendations for children here.
Visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store here.
Thanks for great tips! The nail clippers link doesn’t work for me — it goes to Amazon.com, but no specific clippers. Can you specify? Thanks!
Absolutely! Thanks for letting me know. I found them at this link: http://amzn.to/2fHaiGV. Hope that helps.
get a little nail brush and start young. medical people use them, surgeons use them. they keep dirt from under the nails and keep people from getting sick because this is a place for major germ collection. doesn’t take long, just a second, dont overdo it.