Thread: Cold water shave is the best & worst ever

Last night I decided that the cold water during the shave has been better for me, as each shave over the last dozen or so seems to be closer than the last. I still use the hot towels during my prep and when I'm done all of my passes just cuz it feels so damn nice hahaha. But cold water does seem to do the trick before lathering for each pass and , of course, when I finish with the last hot towel.

My 2 pennies

I've done three shaves with cold water now (1 injector, 2 straight) they were all very good with no irritation. I'm sold also.

I Love Cold Shavin'. Just dropped an Ice Cube into my scuttle with my soap and cream. Lather built great, and the shave was a Gem. Join Us if you can dig these cold swipes. Straight Razor Place Forums - The Polar Bear Shave Club

I tried a couple of cold lather shaves. I had noticeably less irritation, but a little less close of a shave. ie: Stubble at 6pm from the cold lather shaves was about the same length as the stubble was at 8pm on the warm lather shaves. The cold lather stayed wet noticeably longer too.

Since I'm a newbie, I get noticeable razor burn when I make mistakes, and the warmer my skin is, the easier it turns out to irritate it enough to cause razor burn. My recommendation is for all beginners to start with cold lather, and when their technique improves, then try warm water to see if it gets them a little closer shave (or not).

ps: I read a post in the "Why does a straight shave closer than a DE" and think mparker762's assessment explains why cold lather works better for some people, and warm for others. The closeness of a cold versus warm lather shave probably depends on how much your particular face swells versus your particular hair swells in response to warm water versus cold water.

It seems the CW shave is now being espoused over at AOM:

The Case for Cold Water Shaving | The Art of Manliness

He's even advocating not using mirrors.

Fortunately, we're about 6 months ahead of them:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...tead-warm.html

Rob

Cold water shaves keep getting better.

It just feels normal now - can't quite remember what the hot water shaving was like! (Just as well too - our kettle just died...)


All the best,
Michael.

I'm giving this a try as well. I got a pretty decent shave last night, and my skin felt better afterward. Definitely seemed to be more pulling, though.

It sure was a shock every time I freshened up the lather, but in time I think I could come to enjoy it.

Josh

My last shave I noticed how much more relaxing the shaves are when i'm not worried about the warm lather drying on my face, or trying to get finished before the lather in my mug has gone cold? Not to mention the sweat dripping into my eyes or running down my face diluting my lather, caused by elevated body temp from the whole hot beard prep thing. For me, it has even made str8 shaving even more enjoyable, and I didnt think that was possible.

Also, as popular as cold water shaving seems to be getting, and as good as the shaves are, it makes me wonder if the whole hot shave thing was started as a gimmick or sales point by some barber to make him stand out from his competitors.

Any thoughts?

I think psychology has a part to play in this. If cold water is the only thing available, it's the middle of winter, you don't have a heater or fire going, you didn't get much sleep the night before, and you have to get the whole thing over with as fast as possible - human nature would have you looking for alternatives, e.g. 'I wish I didn't have to strop so much, I wish the blade was more flexible, I wish this lather was cheaper, I wish it wasn't so cold, I wish I could use hot water...'

Alternatively, some people probably do get a better shave with hot water.

Alternatively, some people probably like to vary their routines.

And perhaps the strongest point is that it would have cost a lot in the early days to heat water up, so when hot water became cheaply and readily available men probably enjoyed the luxury of it - despite the drop in closeness.

There's also a strong case for the health benefits of bathing/showering in cold water, but how many people do that?

What is a Scottish Shower?

http://www.ineedmotivation.com/blog/...-cold-showers/

http://www.edubook.com/the-health-be...d-shower/7459/

http://ezinearticles.com/?Benefits-o...ower&id=326786

I think, in the end, it's just easier on the system to use warm water.

Rob

After posting the links in the previous post I have decided to try this cold shower routine.

I am certainly not looking forward to this.

As I was one of the first to take the cold water shave seriously and learn to love it - I'm hoping this will be the same.

I encourage you to wait until I have some results before torturing yourselves.

Wish me luck, and if you don't hear from me again it's because I've had a heart attack.