Thread: Cold Water Shave

I also tried a cold water shave today, southern Ontario is very hot and humid right now. So there was no way that I was going to have a hot water shave.
I also got similar results, with the blade moving with a lot less drag. Going to do it this way from now on.

I have discovered you can try both. Newbie here 2nd SE shave. prep w/hot towel, few drops of olive oil,hot water and brush to lather. Shaved 1/2 of face with 2 passes 1 wtg 1 xtg. bye this time my lather was getting flat and dry on the other side. Not wanting to wait for more hot water I lathered up again with cold water. The results for me are the cold water side went faster smoother and less burn. the hot side was uncomfortable and took more strokes with worse results . Found this thread post shave and figured I would chime in while my wounds are still fresh.
Thnx Peter B

Cold water shaves are the only way for me. (see Best Shave ever posts).

I'm sure the cold water closes pores and makes the beard hair stand up for easier cutting.. I've never got smooth shaves on the hollow of my neck without irritation before going to this method. From my point of view, the suggested (hot) pre shave prep is way off base.

Kirk

Originally Posted by no1slacker

I have discovered you can try both. Newbie here 2nd SE shave. prep w/hot towel, few drops of olive oil,hot water and brush to lather. Shaved 1/2 of face with 2 passes 1 wtg 1 xtg. bye this time my lather was getting flat and dry on the other side. Not wanting to wait for more hot water I lathered up again with cold water. The results for me are the cold water side went faster smoother and less burn. the hot side was uncomfortable and took more strokes with worse results . Found this thread post shave and figured I would chime in while my wounds are still fresh.
Thnx Peter B

Welcome to SRP Peter. Glad the cold water method worked well for you.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Glad you liked it Mark. A word about prep. I followed the book and all I do for prep is lather with cold tap water on my unwashed dry face. Rub the lather in vigorously with my fingers and re-lather without rinsing. I run hot tap water over the blade and shave rinsing the lather off of the blade with the hot water. Sometimes I do one pass and others two passes. If I do two I don't rinse in between but re-lather and go for it. My final rinse is with hot water. The pamphlet said to do a hot towel but I'm not into it. I dry and do an AS splash.

If a person is softening their beard with hot water before the shave they are defeating the whole purpose by softening the whisker rather than stiffening it with the cold water/lather.

Actually Jimmy, I tried both ways (right way and wrong way) and I think the right way is better. I just do a splash of cold tap water then go into the face lathering. I also think this is a better night-shave prep since you don't need to wash your face or take a shower or use a hot towel. It's quick, easy and refreshing.

Since the heat picked up I've been doing cold water shaves almost exclusively. I think the only hot water I use is when I soak the soap for a minute to soften it for loading the brush. I soak the brush in cold water, so the soap is still cold when I lather up. Oh! And a warm water rinse at the end with alum block.

I tried the cold water shave. Worked fine, but I noticed the next day I needed a shave again. Usually my shave is good for 2 days before I need to do it again. I dunno...I'll try it again and see.

Originally Posted by WongKonPow

I also tried a cold water shave today, southern Ontario is very hot and humid right now. So there was no way that I was going to have a hot water shave.

That's pretty much my plan.

Hot Canadian summer = cold water shave
Cold Canadian winter = hot water shave

I'll just have to wait for the warm weather to come back to Western Canada!

The "no washing" before lathering did the trick for me too... using the soap first must have softened my beard making it difficult to cut.

Since using cold water splash, then lathering, i have had my best and most comfortable shaves to date. Hot water first then shaving had me questioning my intentions. It seemed like i was enduring torture just to experience a bit of nostalgia. Now my shaves are smooth as silk, and my face actually looks good again. no razor burn! . I have had to shave every 2 or 3 days just to get a bit of healing time. Now, I'm having no irritation and can shave daily as i need or want to.

I mentioned this in my best shave post but will share it here too. One of my friends had given me his grandfather's razor. I was bragging to him that i finally was getting shaves to write home about and proceeded to tell him how changing to the cold water process had cured all my str8 ills. Jerry said, hell, i could have told you that! Jerry watched his grandpa shave many times with the str8 and asked him why he always used "cold" water. ( This was when Jerry was a child back in the 1950's). Grandpaw told young Jerry, I shave with cold water cause thats the way is posed to be done! When Grandpaw told you it was supposed to be done that way, that was reason enough. I wish he had related that story back when he gave me that razor a few months ago.. Now we are the grandpaws.

Kirk

After reading the original book and through this thread, I'm still a bit confused on how one makes a cold lather. Is this only possible with a soap? Can one create a good lather with a cream using cold water? Most reviews of creams are for warm lather...

Originally Posted by kaiyen

After reading the original book and through this thread, I'm still a bit confused on how one makes a cold lather. Is this only possible with a soap? Can one create a good lather with a cream using cold water? Most reviews of creams are for warm lather...

I hate to make it sound so simple, but just use cold water.
I soak my brush in cold water that I filled my shave bowl with. I pour out the water, put in my cream(from tube) and just make my lather. It isn't as easy to make lather with cold water, but the shave is better in my opinion, so it's worth it for me. I've only done it with my Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood cream though, I'll try some less expensive brands and get back to you.