Why So Many Shave Dad Guys Reach for Thayers Every Shave
Jeff asked a simple question in the group: who’s a die-hard Thayers user. He said he can’t get through a shave without it. Forty-one reactions and thirty-two comments later, the answer is in. This is not a niche habit.
Most guys aren’t just dabbing it on after the razor. Robert uses it every shave, right before his aftershave. Jose uses it daily, cucumber specifically, and keeps using it on days he doesn’t shave at all. Donald put it about as plainly as anyone could.
The cucumber version is the clear favorite in the thread. Ben, LongIsland, Robert, and Jose all named it by scent. Neville put it in a different category entirely.
Rose petal has its fans too. Mike called the rose version amazing. And a few guys use the coconut water variant as a specific step, not just a swap. Stephen sprays it on after rinsing off, before he moves to a splash or balm. PJ just listed it flat: coconut water.
There’s more than one way it gets used. Ray uses it every shave and follows with an alum block. Rich runs an alum block too, though he says witch hazel or rose water can do the same soothing job on their own. Stephen layers it into a routine with a separate aftershave step rather than treating it as the last thing on his face. James switched off the regular witch hazel to a 2% AHA toner about six months back and doesn’t think he’s going back, which got Brian asking what AHA even is. Not everyone in this thread agrees on what belongs in the bottle, and that’s fine. Jeffrey skips the bottle entirely and mixes his own with witch hazel and aloe. He says it’s cheaper.
Mark is the wildcard here. Thayers works fine, he says, but in recent years he finds himself reaching for Lucky Tiger instead.
Not everyone is sold on the brand itself. Bob made the strongest case against paying for the name.
He’s not wrong that witch hazel is witch hazel at some level, and Dickinsons is a real alternative worth knowing about if you’ve never priced it against Thayers. Wayne already runs that math every shave. He buys Thayers when it’s on sale and the Target store brand when it isn’t, whichever comes out cheaper that week. Two guys looking at the same shelf, landing on two different calls. Both defensible.
What the thread doesn’t have is much disagreement about the basic idea. Alcohol-based aftershaves sting and dry out skin that just got scraped by a blade. Witch hazel doesn’t do that. Whether you’re buying Thayers, Dickinsons, a store brand, or mixing your own, the group’s consensus is that something in the witch hazel family belongs in the routine somewhere, before or after the splash, on shave days and, for guys like Jose, on the days you don’t shave either.
If lather quality is still giving you trouble before you ever get to the post-shave step, our guide to building a better lather is worth a look.
Smooth shaves out there.