Thread: Cold water shave

Well men a sad story. First , the last time I cold water shave was back in 1968 under strange conditions. did not like then don’ like it now. Anyway, my hot water heater conked out on me. That day one of my razors came back screaming for a try. A Friodur 17 1/2. I am new to str8 razor shaving. I lathered up pretty good and did 2 passes with the razor. WTG, XTG, and a bit of a touch up. Well the right side of my face looked like I had prikly heat around the jaw line, The left side of my face near the neck a bit irritated. Yes, the razor was sharp just came back from a honemeiste.
The million dollar question is what did I do wrong.? Cold Water, poor angle, just plain sloppy. This was my 12 th shave. I kind of finish off with my Goose ATG . Maybe making the irritation worse.
Any advise? Comments?
Thanks
H

Since it was only your 12th shave these questions and comments.

1. Did you strop the freshly pro honed razor before using? If you did you affected the edge quality because there is no need to do so before the first shave off a fresh edge.

2. Did you use a lot of pressure on the blade while shaving? Rule of thumb is old saying, "Shave the lather, not the beard."

3. Did you stretch your skin in various areas to increase the beard standing up? Not stretching the skin leaves it open to what I call 'plowing'.

4. Are you sure you are not allergic to some of the products in the soaps/creams that you use. A number of shavers are reactive to common products such as menthol, Shea butter, some fragrances, etc.

5. And finally, cold water/lukewarm water shaving has been the historical method since in home hot water is a recent development. Generally a cold water shave keeps things on a tighter level and a cold water rinse often will close up little weepers effectively.

Achieving an effective shave takes time. Generally several months of shaving produces slow progress toward an acceptable and satisfying shave. Take your time, don't rush, check your shaving angle frequently, make sure you have a good, rich lather. Strange image in my mind when I started out was the old saying, "Rome wasn't built in a day". Each day I shaved I saw myself as a Roman slave laying one stone a day traveling from the sticks towards Rome and hoping it was just over the hill.

I shave cold water all the time...at least cold for NC, which is actually cool. Like Razorfeld, I'd expect that there was another issue with the shave...some soaps take more work with cold water to get a good lather, maybe you skimped on your prep because you didn't like the water temp, or maybe any other the other things mentioned. Cold water shaves are actually better for me, and leave my skin tighter.

Originally Posted by Razorfeld

Since it was only your 12th shave these questions and comments.

1. Did you strop the freshly pro honed razor before using? If you did you affected the edge quality because there is no need to do so before the first shave off a fresh edge.

2. Did you use a lot of pressure on the blade while shaving? Rule of thumb is old saying, "Shave the lather, not the beard."

3. Did you stretch your skin in various areas to increase the beard standing up? Not stretching the skin leaves it open to what I call 'plowing'.

4. Are you sure you are not allergic to some of the products in the soaps/creams that you use. A number of shavers are reactive to common products such as menthol, Shea butter, some fragrances, etc.

5. And finally, cold water/lukewarm water shaving has been the historical method since in home hot water is a recent development. Generally a cold water shave keeps things on a tighter level and a cold water rinse often will close up little weepers effectively.

Achieving an effective shave takes time. Generally several months of shaving produces slow progress toward an acceptable and satisfying shave. Take your time, don't rush, check your shaving angle frequently, make sure you have a good, rich lather. Strange image in my mind when I started out was the old saying, "Rome wasn't built in a day". Each day I shaved I saw myself as a Roman slave laying one stone a day traveling from the sticks towards Rome and hoping it was just over the hill.

Well to answer some of your questions as well as doing self analysis; I would respond this way.
No not allergic to any of the products, no I did not strap the razor till after the shave.
Now I can say that yes, at times I apply a bit more pressure trying to cut more off especially when I go with THG. I like your advise " shave the lather not the beard”. I must make that my mantra. Also Skin stretching is not that easy for me. Especially shaving certain angles of my face. At times I find myself thinking more on how I am holding the razor , rand how to cut more beard off. I try for 30degree on the pass with the grain, and 15 degrees XTG, but I am still trying to determine those degrees with the razor. Also I am sure using my SE razor ATG did not help . in the same light I must forget about the BBS’s for a while. Also , cold shaving albiet has been around for a while not having hot water is a departure from my pre shave prep, and yes, cold water is part of my post shave prep.
Thank you for shedding light on some issues that I must concentrate on.
H

It's easy to use too much pressure when using cold water for the first time. Something about the face not being as sensitive, so you actually apply more pressure so you get the same feeling as using warm water.
Don't worry about it at all, and don't be put off - it's just part of it. Might be an idea to go back to warm water until you're more comfortable and then try it again a few months down the track.

Rather than focusing on degrees of angle, go by spine width. One or two widths away from your face is spot on.

Originally Posted by Moonshae

Rather than focusing on degrees of angle, go by spine width. One or two widths away from your face is spot on.

Thanks I have read that some where, but you think 2 spine widths not one will do it? Find that sweet spot? Thanks will try it next.
H

Yes, find your sweet spot. 2 spine widths can be a bit steep, but isn't excessive.

Shaving the lather, not your beard, was the tip that worked best for me. I've only been using a SR for 4 weeks and burn is no longer an issue, my face is less sensitive after shaving than when I was using a DE, and smoother than the DE. I credit this tip for the biggest part of my rapid success.

Like you my water heater took a dump. I cold shaved for a couple of days. Well if you count 80 degree tap water cold. I didn't enjoy it at all. It didn't feel right afterwards either. My skin was smooth but it just didn't feel right. All is good now though since I installed mine today.
I just thought of something. Maybe it's like coffee, unsweetened tea, and whisky; it's an acquired taste.

I always have trouble getting my lather correct when using cold water - then again I do not prefer cold water shaves so I don't practice much.

But I did want to add one thing about the hot water heater going out.
<Sarcasm on>
You do know that you can heat water in a microwave, on the stove, on a grill, or even over a small fire.
<Sarcasm off>