Thread: Cold water shave

Originally Posted by manonengine

Thank You!!!!!! I am very thankful for you starting this thread. I have tried it now as well and have also found the book (thanks for that CaliforniaCajun) and read it. My shaves have greatly improved. I can almost get by with one pass now. Shaving with a straight just gets better and better thanks to this forum.

Welcome to the fold sir. Feel free to join us at the Polar Bear Club. Frankenstein and I would be proud to have you.

Mostly I shave with warm water. I find it easier to work up a lather and much more comfortable than shaving cold. I do use hot water if I haven't shaved in several days but normally, warm will do. I don't usually have any trouble getting a close shave as long as I use good technique and a sufficiently "sharp" razor.

I haven't tried shaving cold for a number of years; maybe I'll try it and see if I like it for the summer

Only been straight razor shaving for less than 2 weeks and was willing to try anything in order for me to allow me to shave better so I tried the cold water with piles of cool lather consisting of glycerin, creams and soap, a really slick creamy mix. I washed my face and really rubbed this lather in, rinsed and reapplied.

Well not sure if it was me changing my lather mix as I normally use just shaving soap after a hot shower but my face is a mess of scraps and rash and have basally not shaved anything off (perhaps 5%, maybe 40 % in places but in a patch) and last night my shave was so so much better with the hot shower and soap and was quite pleased with myself with the result.

There seemed to be a lot more tugging and pulling on the first stroke downwards from my sideburns but thought it was my imagination as I have read all this hype on the cold water shave so I progressed though.

But maybe this is due to my lack of shaving experience but I type to you now with my face on fire and VERY frustrated as I have to wait to my face calms down to attempt to shave some whiskers off.

Think I will stick to what I know for now with the hot shower and soap.

Perhaps I will progress to the cold water trick in a few months to see if it makes a positive difference then.

For your burn,try using some nice witch hazel .It's really soothing.a good AS is Ogallala.It's smells nice and has a very soothing witch hazel base.Also pay attention to your pressure.Sometimes that can be a culprit in cases like this. Don't give up on the cold but do maybe get a little more experienced and come back to revisit it. it really is nice and worth it .

Just another thought.How much glycerin did you use and was there glycerine in the soap prior to adding ? I have seen on some of these threads that glycerine will dry out skin if there is too much. Mitchells wool fat is an excellent soap with lots of nice soothing lanolin in it and is very nice on the slick department.

Thanks, yes I used witch hazel on top of the alum and I was clenching my teeth as if someone poured gasoline on my face and lit a match, thankfully though the sting never lasts forever.

I must admit I really loved the coolness of the lather but I just think I need more experience in shaving before going back to it. I am only a learner and as of last night my shave with the hot lather was my best straight shave of my first 2 weeks yet but I feel like the cold set me back a few notches. I will also experiment with my new found glycerin lather mix and cut back on that as well just in case.

Also..don't use the Alum.The witch hazel will work as an astringent and toner just as well. The Alum will set you on fire.

Just to clarify...I use cool/cold water to shave maily out of necessity since hot water is a bit more of a valuable commodity for showering out here than is cold water. The cold water does seem to rinse off the soap better and more quickly though. Don't know if it's a coincidence or if there's any merit to my observation. Straight razor shaving is like golf in this respect...it isn't HOW you get a good shave, it's the fact that you GET a good shave...like golf, it isn't HOW you make the score but the fact that you get there in the fewest strokes as possible to get your score. Our "score" with str8 shaving is the all over BBS shave. There are so many was to get a good shave (or score in golf) and each is individual and contingent on many variables...there are fundamentals that are to be observed and adhered to but within the grand scheme...not many rules. As long as you enjoy it, happy shaves.

Still shaving cold daily since February of 2010. I wouldn't think of doing it any other way. YMMV.

I've been cold water shaving for as long as JimmyHAD, and I agree, I wouldn't do it any other way and of course-YMMV. When I started I did have to make adjustments in my technique and approach. My advice to PlanetOcean is if it hurts STOP. Get your shaves proficient and then try again. Best of luck.