Cold water shave...... Not for me I guess

So first off, this is my first post since 2009. I had life happen but now I have the time to get back into the art of SR shaving. I have been back at it six months. It's like riding a bike...... well, kinda. today I thought a would try out this magical cold water shave I continue to hear about. Did my normal routine (creature of habit) just with cold water. Washed my face with cold water, apply a very small amount of cremo as a preshave, lather with tabac and shave WTG and ATG. I am able to get BBS with a hot shave everywhere but my neck because of my weird east to west hair growth. I thought that Cold water might be the answer. It was not. VERY rough shave with more nicks than I have had in a while. Not even close to BBS even on the normally easy spots. I can only assume that from all of the rave reviews about CWS I must be doing something wrong. Any thoughts??? (BTW my blade is nice and sharp)

Thanks!

My first cold water shave was just so-so. I resolved to continue with it and give it a fair chance. Within a few shaves I was a believer. OTOH, it is not for everybody. In a poll done a year or two ago the hot water shavers far outnumbered the cold water guys.

We don't all have the same whiskers so one thing I would suggest, if you didn't do it this last time ..... the premise of the cold water shave is that the hot water will soften whiskers which actually, according to the 1905 booklet, makes them more resistant to the razor's edge.

The cold water leaves them stiff and brittle and more easily cut off. So he recommends, and I've been doing this for years, wetting the face with cold water. Lather cold. Rub that lather into the beard vigorously. Relather and shave. That is the entire prep for the shave. This works for me ........ YMMV. :gl:

No, no thoughts at all about. Just puzzled as I don't even use a pre shave or work the lather in first either and Tabac is a favourite of mine. Oh well, maybe for some reason it just doesn't work for you, everyone is a bit different. At least you tried it.

Bob

I didn't start shaving with warm/hot water until I started shaving with a str8 razor. The first thing I noticed with warm/hot water when I was younger was the razor burns. even now if my face feels a little tender for wind burn/sunburn ect... I return to the cold water knowing that I will have no ill effects. I do miss the warm lather but I say for me it is a fair trade off. The other plus to a cold shave... that stuff will wake you up in a hurry.

Cold water shaver here. Below is the link for the 1905 Shaving made easy book. When you open the site click on the book under "view the book" on the left side of the screen. It's a good read.

https://archive.org/details/shavingmadeeasyw0020th

Another Polar bear here too. I don't shave any other way. It works for me. Sorry that your experience isn't the same.


Mick

Love the cold water shave. In fact I do a splash afterwards with a little dash of AS directly into the water. Makes for a pleasant rinse. Feels so refreshing ahhhhhh !!

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

My first cold water shave was just so-so. I resolved to continue with it and give it a fair chance. Within a few shaves I was a believer. OTOH, it is not for everybody. In a poll done a year or two ago the hot water shavers far outnumbered the cold water guys.

We don't all have the same whiskers so one thing I would suggest, if you didn't do it this last time ..... the premise of the cold water shave is that the hot water will soften whiskers which actually, according to the 1905 booklet, makes them more resistant to the razor's edge.

The cold water leaves them stiff and brittle and more easily cut off. So he recommends, and I've been doing this for years, wetting the face with cold water. Lather cold. Rub that lather into the beard vigorously. Relather and shave. That is the entire prep for the shave. This works for me ........ YMMV. :gl:

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That's the way I ride...works for me...YMMV!

Although my avatar might be a Polar Bear, my shaving is all HOT

My issue wasn't the shave part however, I just really didn't like the cold water... also just not a believer in the softened whiskers don't cut as easy part of that Manual...

I don't believe in much except what works for me but that may not work for others.

Bob

What the cold water fans neglected to mention is before your cold water shave you must make a sacrifice to the shaving Gods. If you don't they will be angry and your shave will reflect this.

Ha ha...I reckon I made several blood sacrifices then prior. The blood was mine of course.:chapeau

What kind of soap/cream are you using? The creams can make a good lather a little easier of course there are exceptions. I use Proraso for my cold water shaving. I can not quite get Mitchells Wool Fat to make a good lather while others have no problem with it. Must be me!

First I wash my face with soap, rinse, and then make sure it is good and dry.
Lather my face and then work the lather in with my fingers. Really work it into the whiskers.
Relather.
Then shave! That 's it.

Once you get the hang of this the irritation should be a lot less.

The neck is always a problem. I never get it 100% but it is a lot better now.

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Originally Posted by Zorro

What kind of soap/cream are you using? The creams can make a good lather a little easier of course there are exceptions. I use Proraso for my cold water shaving. I can not quite get Mitchells Wool Fat to make a good lather while others have no problem with it. Must be me!

First I wash my face with soap, rinse, and then make sure it is good and dry.
Lather my face and then work the lather in with my fingers. Really work it into the whiskers.
Relather.
Then shave! That 's it.

Once you get the hang of this the irritation should be a lot less.

The neck is always a problem. I never get it 100% but it is a lot better now.

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If you have hard water, MWF has a hard time lathering...it's not you.:)

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Originally Posted by archer831

So first off, this is my first post since 2009. I had life happen but now I have the time to get back into the art of SR shaving. I have been back at it six months. It's like riding a bike...... well, kinda. today I thought a would try out this magical cold water shave I continue to hear about. Did my normal routine (creature of habit) just with cold water. Washed my face with cold water, apply a very small amount of cremo as a preshave, lather with tabac and shave WTG and ATG. I am able to get BBS with a hot shave everywhere but my neck because of my weird east to west hair growth. I thought that Cold water might be the answer. It was not. VERY rough shave with more nicks than I have had in a while. Not even close to BBS even on the normally easy spots. I can only assume that from all of the rave reviews about CWS I must be doing something wrong. Any thoughts??? (BTW my blade is nice and sharp)

Thanks!

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The cold water shave works for me because it saves time and preparation. I get a fine shave hot or cold.

Someone mentioned that that your first shave using a different method might not be your best. That makes sense.

To elaborate on my situation, my tap water doesn't get REAL hot, so obtaining hot water via microwave or electric kettle is a pain. Living in a semitropical climate, it's a waste to turn up the hot water heater.

I switched to cold water shaving about 3-4 months ago and now prefer it over a hot shave. Much like Jimmy, I too did not have a great experience on the first shave, but I stuck with it and now I get much more comfortable shaves.

One thing that I did notice in the transition from hot to cold was you get a bit more "tug." I am betting this has something to do with Jimmy's "stiff whisker theory." IMO getting used to this extra bit of tug teaches you to make clean cuts rather than scrape your face to death.

My advice would be to try it a few more times, and if it still doesn't work out for you then go back to hot water :D . Either way, you haven't really missed out on anything as you said you can already achieve a BBS with hot water.

As long as you're sure your razor is shave ready, you gave it a shot and it didn't work out for you - time to move on.

I tried it a few years ago, it worked and I got good results but it just didn't "do it" for me. Went back to hot shaves and haven't looked back.

I've tried it all from a half hour of hot prep to no prep at all. I've never seen a difference in my shaves either way. Lately I've been doing one hot water splash only because it feels good. I suppose that there are some people who can benefit from a lot of preparation. I'm just not one of them.

Hey Ace, I'm in the same boat as you. Just did not make a difference so why bother.

Bob

Well, I'm not against prep, but I am against wasting time. If I had seen a result from it, I would certainly put the time in and do it. The way I look at it, I can take the 5 to 15 minutes saved and talk to my wife more. It would have about the same effect on my shaves.

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Originally Posted by ace

Well, I'm not against prep, but I am against wasting time. If I had seen a result from it, I would certainly put the time in and do it. The way I look at it, I can take the 5 to 15 minutes saved and talk to my wife more. It would have about the same effect on my shaves.

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Same goes for me, went from 30-45 minutes, which was fun and had it's place, down to 5-15 minutes and out the door...I actually get a better shave with cold, little or no irritation with the cold, lots of redness and irritation with the hot and all the preps.

One thing I still keep though, it's practical and I just really like it, is the alum block...just feels great after a shave!! To each their own...

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Originally Posted by ace

Well, I'm not against prep, but I am against wasting time. If I had seen a result from it, I would certainly put the time in and do it. The way I look at it, I can take the 5 to 15 minutes saved and talk to my wife more. It would have about the same effect on my shaves.

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Me neither, if prep works for you fill yer boots laddies. Just because I don't find the need for a prep or much of a post shave except for alum block does not mean it is for everyone. There is no single right way of doing stuff usually just what ever works for you.

Bob