Thread: Cold Water Shave

no - that's fine. just simple confirmation that one can just go for it is good enough for me. I am still working on my lathering skills so heading off trying to make lather with cold water - if in fact it's difficult - might be a bad idea. But if I just need to be a bit more patient, then perhaps I can determine whether I prefer cold or hot sooner rather than later.
thanks.

It all comes down to experimenting - which I think is part of the fun.

I think the cold water shaving also requires some technique adjustment, or at least it did for me. I needed to improve my technique.

What I like most is that it can simplify things - just using cold water straight from the tap, no need to heat or maintain the temperature.

All the best,
Michael.

That's the beauty of the cold water shave is the low maintenance of it all. In old school times, without electricity or water heaters, what were they supposed to do? Boil water just for shaving? Unlikely. I also know that if I go camping, I can bring my shaving kit and shave comfortably without having to wait while water boils over the fire.

I have to say I was intrigued by the cold water shaving. I just finished my first cold water shave and I must say my neck was irritated and i got 2 cuts but the skin after was smoother that with the hot water. The rest is because of being a newbie not the water temp. I actually was able to make lather with my soap with the cold water very well, might be because I was adding small amounts to it this time.

I started out soaking the brush in cold water but put some warm water in the soap to soften. I then loaded the brush with my soap bowl upside down, I heard that gets soap loaded better on a YouTube video (cannot remember the person but I think it was Merker or something like that). It loaded better than holding the brush with a 3 finger grip near the base (who knows it may be a good trick for everyone to try).

I will try it again tomorrow and see how I like it again, and who knows maybe my technique will be a little better tomorrow.

Question: Does anyone soften their soap by putting cold water on it or is warm water best for this?

Originally Posted by TSasser

Question: Does anyone soften their soap by putting cold water on it or is warm water best for this?

I go in and put a bit of cold water on top of the soap five or ten minutes before I do the lather. Seems to make for easier lathering for me. Read my sig below and follow the old barber's advice. That may help prevent cuts or nicks.

As it was made obvious by my original response to this thread, I did not fancy the cold water shave even if I was camping theres always readily available means to keeping water warm.
However, given that my electric died on me today, and it's my new house mates turn to top it up I thought I would try it.

So lathering up was quite easy, I did use my menthol'd oil to start me off though.
The wtg was just as good as hot water, and if your only intention was to look slightly better then this would have been enough.

But I carried on and went across the grain, not really a problem here.

So I get to the against the grain stage and again there wasn't really a problem, I did get one nick under the neck and have a bit of irritation, but I usually do even with hot water I challenge this by keeping a cooled face cloth against my skin for a few minutes just to take away the burn. Instead I just rinsed off with cold water a few times and I can still feel the burn slightly. But I do suspect that the shave is actually a little closer, at least on the cheeks.

Under the chin directly is still causing me problems hot or cold so I have to still work on that.

Anyway, I am very glad I did try it because now I know that even without hot water I can still get a decent shave. Which must mean my technique is pretty good, and I think it even went quicker than before. I think I was done in about 10-15 minutes.

I would have to say I think I like cold water shaving better than warm. Yes it is nice to have warmth against your skin but everything cools down and even my semi warm lather doesn't stay warm, it goes cold. I have also noticed that my skin is smoother afterwords than with warm water. Now I know most of this can be fixed through experience and I am new but so far this is what I have noticed. I also think I get a better shave with my Straight than with my DE, which I think is a little weird.

After about 30 years of wet shaving with hot water (but only 3 months with a straight), I switched to cold water about a month ago, and I think it really makes a difference. My skin feels smoother after the shave (of course, some of that could be technique,too) and nicks/cuts stop bleeding faster, usually on their own in a few seconds.

However, I'm not sure I'll be able to maintain once the weather turns colder here. I was in Asheville, NC on business recently, and even in August, that water was COLD! After the initial shock, it was fine, but that first splash was harsh.

Winter months around here do get pretty cold, I'm in Hickory NC, but that is what the heater is for. I use to have a few personal heaters and I am thinking about replacing some of the this year. I figure putting one in the bathroom would help with the chill while shaving, and save some on my electric bill by not using the heat pump so much.

I have recently started doing cold water shaves with good results-especially when I only have a few minutes to shave. Less irritation, definitely. I soak my soap cake in cold water and bathe my face several times with cold water to wet the hairs.