Thread: Everything I thought I knew was wrong! Cold water.

Well, it's not quite as bad as all that. I forget the exact user, but in a thread about cold water shaving, someone made a comment last week about their personal reasons for using cold water over hot. They said that hot water was actually burning their skin, increasing razor burn and irritation.

Now, I've always had a problem with irritation. My skin doesn't get red, it's just uncomfortable for most of the morning. I can feel the skin is a little raw after every shave, be it with cartridge or straight, and regardless of my level of prep.

I've recently been using steaming hot towel treatments as a pre-shave and very hot water during the shave to help soften and loosen up my beard prior to shaving. I had never given thought that that could be a cause of the irritation, but this user's post made me get to thinking about. So, yesterday, I took a nice luke-warm shower, soaked my beard, and then did my normal shaving routine using cold water from the tap rather than steaming hot. The difference was amazing. On three days growth, I got an incredibly comfortable and close shave. I was shocked at the difference. To make sure it wasn't a fluke, I gave it another go this morning. Just a little bit of irritation, and I did nick myself, but nothing serious, and still very comfortable post shave.

I don't think cold water shaving is going to be my only approach, but I am definitely losing the scalding hot stuff directly to the face. I am officially a believer in the benefits of cold water shaves!

Good to hear your success I think I'll keep the cold-water shaves for the summer and luke-warm for the winter. Not going back to hot water anymore.

Face lathering can also cause razor burn, I tried it a couple of times and stepped off from that.

Originally Posted by Laurens

Good to hear your success I think I'll keep the cold-water shaves for the summer and luke-warm for the winter. Not going back to hot water anymore.

Face lathering can also cause razor burn, I tried it a couple of times and stepped off from that.

For sure face lathering can cause "razor burn" from heavy handed use of a shave brush, particularly from brushes with heavy backbone that are scritchy. Found that out breaking in a boar brush. I face lather and cold water shave exclusively now and that is not a problem any more as I have adjusted my brush technique to suit face lathering. Also some people just have more sensitive skin too and that adds to it also.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

For sure face lathering can cause "razor burn" from heavy handed use of a shave brush, particularly from brushes with heavy backbone that are scritchy. Found that out breaking in a boar brush. I face lather and cold water shave exclusively now and that is not a problem any more as I have adjusted my brush technique to suit face lathering. Also some people just have more sensitive skin too and that adds to it also.

Bob

You're quite right, I have a sensitive skin and scritchy brush. Can you tell me more about the face lathering technique you use?

Laurens

First off I don't think I have overly sensitive skin being able to do 2 full 3 pass shaves a day with a straight with little irritation. I might have a head start in that department. You might try to lighten up on the pressure you are using on the brush when lathering and use just the tips. I have several different brushes ranging from boar to various grades of badger and a synthetic Muhle and each uses a slightly different technique. If that fails a different brush with less scritch might be in order.

I have a 2 band SOC badger that has backbone and soft tips that works nicely but if you lean on it while lathering you can still induce "razor burn" caused by the brush. My favourite all around brush is a Muhle XL synthetic silver tip tha works with MWF/Tabac or creams well.

Everyone is different so it might be a matter of finding the right combination technique and brush for your sensative skin or stick to bowl lathering.

Bob

Thanks, Bob. I have a few knots coming my way, so I'll get to experiment with those soon. Using just the tips for face lathering doesn't seem to work for me. I can brush endlessly without getting a proper lather. Pushing the brush into my face will cause irritation.
For the time being, bowl lathering it is

Good to hear you did try cold water shaving and found there was an actual benefit to you. Personally I can't say that I have any more or less irritation using hot or cold water when shaving. That being the case, I just went with what was less time consuming and most productive for me. OTH if I had of preferred using hot water in the same circumstance I would have but the point is to at least give cold water shaving a fair trial.

Bob

Originally Posted by vmathis12019

...Now, I've always had a problem with irritation. My skin doesn't get red, it's just uncomfortable for most of the morning...

I am definitely losing the scalding hot stuff directly to the face. I am officially a believer in the benefits of cold water shaves!

Funny. Until I read that thread it never occured to me a cold water shave was anything except a punishment in "The Dirty Dozen". After a lifetime of post shave red- or irritated neck I recently tried the straight razor + cold water thingie and that's all she wrote. Neck doesn't even get prickly when I sweat. Well, if I ever regularly worked hard enough to have sweat-neck I don't think it'd burn. OK. I did sweat once, maybe, since cold water shaving and no irritation.

Originally Posted by vmathis12019

Well, it's not quite as bad as all that. I forget the exact user, but in a thread about cold water shaving, someone made a comment last week about their personal reasons for using cold water over hot. They said that hot water was actually burning their skin, increasing razor burn and irritation.

Now, I've always had a problem with irritation. My skin doesn't get red, it's just uncomfortable for most of the morning. I can feel the skin is a little raw after every shave, be it with cartridge or straight, and regardless of my level of prep.

I've recently been using steaming hot towel treatments as a pre-shave and very hot water during the shave to help soften and loosen up my beard prior to shaving. I had never given thought that that could be a cause of the irritation, but this user's post made me get to thinking about. So, yesterday, I took a nice luke-warm shower, soaked my beard, and then did my normal shaving routine using cold water from the tap rather than steaming hot. The difference was amazing. On three days growth, I got an incredibly comfortable and close shave. I was shocked at the difference. To make sure it wasn't a fluke, I gave it another go this morning. Just a little bit of irritation, and I did nick myself, but nothing serious, and still very comfortable post shave.

I don't think cold water shaving is going to be my only approach, but I am definitely losing the scalding hot stuff directly to the face. I am officially a believer in the benefits of cold water shaves!

Think it was me that said that, the hot water just seems to irritate my face. When I started, I'd get out of the shower, do all the prep, or the, "shave parade" as I came to call it, and would end up with red, irritated skin.

Finally gave in and tried a simple cold shave, sometimes I'll use pre-shave, but most times I forget, and just splash the cold water on, two passes for a DFS, the alum block and I'm done, with little or no irritation.

With the hot, no matter what I did, I get a big red blotch of irritated skin on my lower right neck area. Would ease up more and more in that area, and still come away red. With the cold shave, all that's gone.

For me it works, lesson I learned was always be open minded enough to try different things. That's how you find out what works best for you.

Just like after a year I'm starting to find that the Thiers-Issard may be my Holy Grail of Razors...YMMV!

Cheers and enjoy!