Thread: Cold water shaving...

Originally Posted by Sirtexan

Is there a trick to cold shaving. I take hot water showers, even gave it about 15 minutes before shaving. Did the cold water lather, and had some of the worst razor burn.
Not sure if I did something wrong, I use a sensitive cream to shave with, and today I shaved hot water, razor is still fine as frog hairs, so I don't know what I did wrong. Not sure if I want to try it again lol.

I don't think there is a trick, but I don't know that it suits everyone, maybe try some different products. I don't use any pre shave, or even double lather anymore, but I also only do one or maybe two passes.

Originally Posted by MJC

I don't claim to have invented this - it comes from "the wisdom"

For the harder soaps I flood the container with cool/cold water well in advance.
I them pour that soapy water off in an old mug, and use it to build up the lather.

I suspect that this "tunes" the water to the correct ph (the smart guys will chime in) but the results have been great not only at home but any location I travel to.

You can use this to face or bowl lather.

I do not do this with MdC, just soak the Boar brush in cool/cold water in advance.

Smooth Shaving

Afraid I'm not the 'smart guy' you mentioned, but I think that using the soapy water that was soaking the puck, caused the water to lose any 'hardness' that it may have had.
I've heard of people softening water like that for soaps like MWF - soaps that don't respond well to hard water.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

I don't think there is a trick, but I don't know that it suits everyone, maybe try some different products. I don't use any pre shave, or even double lather anymore, but I also only do one or maybe two passes.

I think Ed has a point there in that it may not suit everyone. Peoples skins are different and respond differently to the same things. Personally, I do no prep, no double lather too but 4 passes with little to no irritation, that is unless my technique is off or I really fudged the edge up honing. The 4th pass is in lieu of touch ups. For me it is just as easy to lather up and do a quick light XTG pass as fiddle around touching up here and there. You just have to find out what works for you and what does not by elimination.

Bob

+1 to BobH and Ed

I've been trying to shave every day this week, no point yesterday, just nothing there.

But I've found if I shave more frequently, I just splash the cold water, no prep, and 1.5 passes.

With shaving more frequently, I just do one WTG pass, and one mini-pass ATG under my jaw line and end up with a DFS.

Today will be the same, only trying Ed's idea of leaving my Proraso Red soap in the fridge over night....but yes, the cold shave isn't for everyone, but for me, it's a superior shave.

So last night I went home and tried a cold water shave. Didn't really do any prep (ie shower etc). Just filled the sink with cold tap water, rubbed my face down with the cold water, lathered up with my DR Harris Arlington soap, and hit it. It went surprisingly well. I didn't notice anything really much difference except maybe the tiniest bit more effort on the razor to start but really that may have been in my head. The shaving soap seemed to dry quite quickly compared to when I am shaving out of the shower but again that didn't seem to pose a problem. If anything I found it easier to get BBS smooth on those hairs that grow in a weird swirl on both sides of the adams apple...

I didn't really notice much of a difference in the hours after in that my skin was still quite comfortable and not irritated, although I never had any problem before while shaving with hot water. All in all, I think I will try this for a bit and see how it goes long term!

Originally Posted by bruseth

Afraid I'm not the 'smart guy' you mentioned, but I think that using the soapy water that was soaking the puck, caused the water to lose any 'hardness' that it may have had.
I've heard of people softening water like that for soaps like MWF - soaps that don't respond well to hard water.

Ding Ding Ding - MWF is the first soap that i tried this on, with great results.
Thanks for the reminder, I'm going to move the Fat to the front of the rotation when I get home.

Originally Posted by MJC

Ding Ding Ding - MWF is the first soap that i tried this on, with great results.
Thanks for the reminder, I'm going to move the Fat to the front of the rotation when I get home.

And try putting it in the fridge...Ed shared this tip the other day, tried it a couple of hours ago.

Seem's putting the soap in the fridge allows the brush to load very well, and the cold helps the lather stick to the face.

Worked extremely well for me!

Originally Posted by Phrank

And try putting it in the fridge...Ed shared this tip the other day, tried it a couple of hours ago.

Seem's putting the soap in the fridge allows the brush to load very well, and the cold helps the lather stick to the face.

Worked extremely well for me!

It is good, but I don't know how enjoyable it would be if you live in colder climes. As I said I don't even use much water for the entire shave. But what I do use is cold.
About 2 capfulls for lathering, and run the tap for a minute or so at the end to rinse brush and wiping cloth. I dampen the cloth in the shower before I shave.

Originally Posted by Sirtexan

Is there a trick to cold shaving.
......

Perhaps... the most important goal for me is to scrub my whiskers clean
so water can penetrate and soften them. For me in the gummy days
of summer this means a boar brush and face lather. I often let a second
lather rest on my face long enough that I need to freshen it to shave. It is
possible that the razor scratched

We all have different skin and tap water but for me Kirks soap in the shower
to wash my face goes a long way. I can get the same result with multiple
passes and face lathering with a quality old school hard soap.

I do have some of the emollient rich skin care body wash stuff in the shower
and have been known to take a quick warm shower after shaving and use
that fu-fu stuff when I have not had my regular bacon/ other rich food resulting
in dry skin lifestyle.

The one thing I like to avoid is an over soak. As any swimmer or bath taker
knows the skin will take up water and get thick and wrinkled (pruned fingers)
with too much soak time. The thickening makes it hard to get a close shave
and it also results in skin that a razor can get into giving ya a rash. So quick
but clean is key for me.

All of us are different so "the trick" is to find what works. Try things......

My skin seems to react badly to water that is too hot. So I try to keep my shower luke warm at its hottest, and I always shave cold. I'll have to try putting my soap in the fridge. For me, a nice cold shave feels great, and doesn't produce any irritation.