Should whiskers really be soft?

YMMV but cold shave works for me.

I used to get patchy shaves and irritation doing the hot shower, hot water shave. Now, good rinse with cold water, lather and shave, alum block and some AS and good to go.

Another trick suggested by a member here is to keep your shaving soap in the fridge, or in a cold spot. Helps load the brush and creates, IMO, a nice sticky lather.

Give it a try...that's half the fun!!

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Originally Posted by Phrank

YMMV but cold shave works for me.

I used to get patchy shaves and irritation doing the hot shower, hot water shave. Now, good rinse with cold water, lather and shave, alum block and some AS and good to go.

Another trick suggested by a member here is to keep your shaving soap in the fridge, or in a cold spot. Helps load the brush and creates, IMO, a nice sticky lather.

Give it a try...that's half the fun!!

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That feller must be a really smart guy :) keeping my stuff in the fridge works really well for me.

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Originally Posted by edhewitt

That feller must be a really smart guy :) keeping my stuff in the fridge works really well for me.

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Yes, he is, I also hear he's won spelling bee's in the Kremlin, cliff diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and defended a small Amazon village from a horde of ferocious army ants with nothing but a hoe and a glass of water!!!

:)

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Originally Posted by Phrank

Yes, he is, I also hear he's won spelling bee's in the Kremlin, cliff diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and defended a small Amazon village from a horde of ferocious army ants with nothing but a hoe and a glass of water!!!

:)

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I also heard he keeps a pocket universe in his, well, um pocket :)

I haven't tried a truly coldwater shave yet, but I do find that's splashing cold water on my face during the shave, in between sections completely stops any irritation from occurring...

I generally will shave right out of the shower, or hold a hot towel on my face to prep beforehand....

but after reading this, I think tonight I'm going to try a truly coldwater shave, I'm going to splash coldwater my face, build my lather using cool or cold water...and then finish with cold water splash like I've always done....i have a feeling it will go well

For those of you that are advocates of the cold water shave: do you rinse your blade with cold water as well?

I find that I have blended aspects from both hot and cold water shaving. Warm shower, cold rinse before lather, hot lather, cold rinsing in between lathers and hot water to rinse the blade. Kind of like shocking the skin like at a nice European bath house going between hot and cold cold baths, or like any true Canadian and jumping in the snow right out of the hot tub.

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Originally Posted by superdaveosbourne

For those of you that are advocates of the cold water shave: do you rinse your blade with cold water as well?

I find that I have blended aspects from both hot and cold water shaving. Warm shower, cold rinse before lather, hot lather, cold rinsing in between lathers and hot water to rinse the blade. Kind of like shocking the skin like at a nice European bath house going between hot and cold cold baths, or like any true Canadian and jumping in the snow right out of the hot tub.

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I don't rinse my razor at all, I just wipe the lather off on a damp cloth during my shave, using a sort of mini stropping stroke, then dry it off at the end then strop ready for next use.

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Originally Posted by Laurens

Have you tried a cold water shave yet? Perhaps that would prevent the irritation you describe.

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Well, now I see I wasn't clear enough. What works for me is just lathering up, leaving it on for some time and shave. I think there is no need to put ANY water on your face before and during the shave. Not cold, not hot, not any at all. You need ONLY the lather. It has the necessary ingredients to prepare your skin and your beard too. But if you use extra water, you kind of dilute the lather and it can't work its "magic". :-)

I've noticed that when I rinse my razor in hot water the razor tends to stick to my face but when I rinse the razor with cold water, the razor won't stick to my face. I'll have to try using cold water shave all the way next time and see what happens.

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Originally Posted by szarvi

Well, now I see I wasn't clear enough. What works for me is just lathering up, leaving it on for some time and shave. I think there is no need to put ANY water on your face before and during the shave. Not cold, not hot, not any at all. You need ONLY the lather. It has the necessary ingredients to prepare your skin and your beard too. But if you use extra water, you kind of dilute the lather and it can't work its "magic". :-)

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That depends completely on how much water you use in your lather. If you make your lather a little dry, you can apply it on a wet face and still get the same result.

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Originally Posted by Warpiper

I've noticed that when I rinse my razor in hot water the razor tends to stick to my face but when I rinse the razor with cold water, the razor won't stick to my face. I'll have to try using cold water shave all the way next time and see what happens.

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I've never heard of this before! The only reason I can think of, is that the hot water rinses your blade better than the cold, the cold leaving some of the soap on your razor. I've had good results with rinsing in hot water, cold water and wiping on a damp wash cloth.

The latter is my current favourite, as the risk of bumping my razor into the sink is the lowest. Contrary to Ed, I don't make a stropping motion, but a wipe parallel to the edge. I find it does not degrade the edge when I do.