Thread: Using cold water instead of warm

As said on the hot water from me too dude, cold is fine if you have to or like a challange which you indeed seem to, as for the no mirror bit: post some pics just after please?..lol

I always always rinse my razor with cold water when I shave, a long time ago I was told the cold shrinks the edge ever so slightly and makes it smoother on the skin, I am not sure how much an edge shrinks under cold water, but it certainly makes a difference to my face, I also always do my final rinse with cold water and rarely get any burn, so the only area I think you will feel any downside is beard prep, heck what did they have in the 19th century? no Taylors of old bond street then! did they even have soap? I dont know but I doubt it? are you gonna go the whole hog and only use the materials they had back then?

I've never heard of the benefit of rinsing the blade in cold water. Anyone else do this? I'll try it and see. J (a skeptic for now)

Out of necessity, I've done a fair amount of cold water shaving and it definitely is possible to get a good shave out of it. The trick is to go overboard on the beard prep (cold water will take more time and quantity to properly saturate your beard) and then sticking to super short strokes whilst shaving; I would also suggest you wipe the blade clean while shaving because cold lather tends to stick on the blade and cold water doesn't rinse as well either.

Good Luck!

IMO, it does not really matter.

Thanks for the replies, guys. cubed1, thanks for the advice. Since the op I've tried rinsing the blade in cold water as I go but found it started to shudder - maybe I was trying to do strokes which were too long.

Have been practising the no mirror part - and it's going well. I start off with looking in the mirror but then move away and check again after I've finished.

I have some important meetings this week so don't want to butcher my face up too much - will try the full routine this weekend.

Rob

Good Luck Rob!

Originally Posted by Frankenstein

Thanks for the replies, guys. cubed1, thanks for the advice. Since the op I've tried rinsing the blade in cold water as I go but found it started to shudder - maybe I was trying to do strokes which were too long.

Have been practising the no mirror part - and it's going well. I start off with looking in the mirror but then move away and check again after I've finished.

I have some important meetings this week so don't want to butcher my face up too much - will try the full routine this weekend.

Rob

Good Luck, Man.

For your next feat of derring-do will you be shaving whilst on fire, blind-folded, and driving?



Cheers!

Concerning no mirrors, I was immediately reminded of my fly-fishing experience. I spent days and days trying to get the routine and feel of a fly pole with minimal results. One day I started fly fishing in the evening after dinner. Soon the sky started to blush and fade to cobalt then black. Straining to see the fly and line I finally gave up trying to pick it out of the dark. That was a turning point for me and I started to really get it. I could feel the line and the pole working.

I wonder if straight shaving is anything like that. I'm still very new at this. But maybe I should close my eyes a little during the shave and listen and feel the right angle and pressure rather then just looking for it. Or I could be quite bloody wrong. The pun was intended.

C. S. Budzi

Do a normal hot-water shave, then after rinsing well with cold water try touching up the neck area where needed. For me, this consistently gives the closest results on the neck. It may work by shrinking the skin back from the hairs a bit.

I've done a ton of cold water shaving without a mirrior but always due to being left without other options. Heck, we just called it "Field Shaving," ... and its doable but you don't get nearly the same shave no matter how much practice you get. And I must say, I've never and will never do this with a straight. All of my field shaves were done with a Mach III and gillette shaving goop.