Thread: Cold water shave is the best & worst ever

Ive been wanting to try it, so do i still do a hot shower first to soften the whiskers before i do the cold lather ?

Alright, Alright - I finally did it yesterday. Well, sort of. I bailed after the first pass. It was *Horrible*! I didnt notice *any* benefit to the shave itself, and it was like eating pizza without cheese. In a cold NJ diner. Who knew 1905 could rain placebos in 2010?

PS - And a damn good thing, too, as my wife got me a Moss scuttle for Valentine's Day.

I gotta agree with you there Mijbil, you have to remember back in "05" they did not have alot of the amenities we take for granted now. Cold water is OK if your back packing out in the toolies... I needs my hot water, and boom boom juice for my boyish face skin..

I'm enjoying the cold water shaves now - I think largely because I'm improving my technique, but also because of the reduction in stuff I need.

However - I'm not sure if my shave is better. My face seems to be more prickly earlier... though it might be my imagination.

Anyone with successful cold water shaves
- do you find your shave lasts longer or not?

With respect to your shaving technique - have you modified it in any way? Or is it just your prep that changed?

I may need to work more on my technique (and blade maintenance) - but I'm up for the challenge.

All the best,
Michael.

Originally Posted by thewatermark

Ive been wanting to try it, so do i still do a hot shower first to soften the whiskers before i do the cold lather ?

I've done it both ways. Depending on whether I take a shower before the shave. It doesn't seem to make a lot of difference since I will rinse my face with cold water following the shower. On days when I don't shower before my shave I was washing my face first but stopped doing that and began cold lathering on my dry face.

The main thing that I find makes a difference for me is, as the instructions in the pamphlet suggest, rubbing that first cold lather into my whiskers with my fingers. Then I do not rinse but re-lather and shave a WTG pass. If I don't do the rubbing in of the first lather I don't seem to get as good a shave as when I do ..... so I do it every time now. Not rinsing the lather off before re-lathering also works better for me. YMMV.

Originally Posted by FTG

I'm enjoying the cold water shaves now - I think largely because I'm improving my technique, but also because of the reduction in stuff I need.

However - I'm not sure if my shave is better. My face seems to be more prickly earlier... though it might be my imagination.

Anyone with successful cold water shaves
- do you find your shave lasts longer or not?

With respect to your shaving technique - have you modified it in any way? Or is it just your prep that changed?

I may need to work more on my technique (and blade maintenance) - but I'm up for the challenge.

All the best,
Michael.

+1 on stuff reduction. The last four shaves I've just done one pass with a few touch ups. That is a big change for me. I simply don't need the second pass and I'm not using a lot of pressure or sacrificing quality. Between the scything motion and the rest of the cold water shave that is how it is working for my particular whiskers. It probably isn't lasting quite as long but that is not a problem for me yet.

Thanks Jimmy.

I noticed you talking about the difference made by rubbing with your fingers. I face lather with my brush, so I've figured this isn't needed - but I might experiment a bit more.

Another thing I like about using the straight - experimenting and learning all the time.

Thanks again for getting this thread going - cold water shaving ain't for everyone... but then again neither is straight razor shaving!

All the best,
Michael.

I tried a cold water shave for the first time today, and did not enjoy it. I had 9 weepers and 1 gusher, and didn't feel any of them. Afterwards it was the most irritation I've ever had.

Normally when using hot water I can feel right away if I nicked/cut myself - and it's been very rare lately that I cut myself. Usually my big-ass adam's apple is the source of my troubles. But this time I was raising blood all over, even on the easy straightaways.

Definitely back to hot water for me.

jeff

That's too bad man. Works wonders for me.

JF

I'm in on the cold water shave.


I tried it a few times with results that were on par, if not better, than a hot water shave.


Cold water it is !!