I recently watched a video in which Geofatboy on shavenation.com did an ice-water shave. I researched the concept of cold-water shaving and found this article on cold-water shaving ...

Cold Water Shaving: The Benefits and Pleasures of a Splash of Cold Water | The Art of Manliness

... which states that some older writings on shaving advocated using cold water rather than hot or warm water. I've heard others say that using warm water (while the norm) softens the whiskers TOO much, whereas cold water helps them remain stiff enough to be cleanly shaved off with less work. Others said that the cold water keeps pores closed and thus reduces the incidence of irritation caused by infection. So ... always looking for a better shave ... I gave it a try.

For the past seven days, I used my Parker SR-1 Shavette to do multi-pass shaves EVERY day using tap water as cold as I could get it. I don't really feel I am the guy to go at this scientifically (I train hunting dogs, for Pete's sake). But I do feel comfortable telling you my observations. So, here they are:

1. It is WAY more refreshing (to me) than hot water.
2. It doesn't fog up my mirror.
3. I have had many fewer nicks than I typically get in a week with warm water. (Some of the material I read say that the cold water keeps your face from being so supple and doesn't bring the blood to the surface, and thus you are less likely to get nicked.)
4. When using warm/hot water, I could not do multi-pass shaves every day; my skin just got too sensitive. With cold water, I have had nearly zero irritation ... and SR-1 shavettes are pretty darned aggressive.

I think I am sold on cold-water shaving. But I am curious to hear what others think about it ... and I'd love to hear the observations of others, good or bad.

Hope you get a great shave every day!

Best,
Tom