Thread: Cold water shave is the best & worst ever

I was unaware of this point.Next I will try this.I am highly thankful for an important and very essential information.

Shaving with cold water has always been my favorite method. In my opinion it is better than warm or lukewarm water. The shaving is less irritating and in case you cut the wound bleed less than warm water. I have never used ice cubes and, as far as I can tell, many books of the past about shaving suggest using cold water, including the already mentioned book "Shaving Made Easy".
I found this advice also in old Italian books about shaving. To me, it is better than warm water and has a more tonic effect on the skin.

I totally agree with you. The straight razor system is designed for cold water not warm water or hot water. And it works fantastic!!! Thank you for the Italian perspective on this process.

I`m from Poland and I do use cold shaving for long time. I got this from my grand grandfather who was in Russia (Syberia) and was working as a logger. He told me one thing: "how do you expect have hot water in climate were is -70 celsius outside... of course we always had cold shaving and works best..." This was about years 1910-1915 when he was there. i guess this makes sense. They just adopted techniques as there was nothing else do use/try...

Hi Friends - going to give the cold shave a try tomorrow.

After reading, in many way's it makes perfect sense. Going back even 50 or 60 years, let alone certain working conditions, hot water would be a luxury, and the amount of resources to generate the hot water would also be great!?!

So I'm going to give it a try...check in tomorrow!

Cheers!

I have been straight razor shaving for three months now and I moved to cold shaving right away before the first month.

Reason 1: I shave in the morning after my shower and I have been finishing with a cold shower for almost two decades now... so after the vigorous finish, getting back to the hot water conservation and ritual was a step back...
Reason 2: Less razor burn
Reason 3: Less focus on prep, temperature decrease, getting back on right temp... = More zen on my shave and myself
Reason 4: Lather lasts more
Reason 5: I take quite some time preparing by beard so, granted that the whiskers are well hydrated, coldness make them more brittle
Reason 6: Tighter skin. I have to stretch it a lot so it helps with the stretching and the grip while doing so


All in all... very happy with the change.

Overall recommendation: for those who shave after a shower try a cold shave after finishing your shower with cold water

Back in '04 when storms caused power outages for 10 days once and 12 another time, I learned to take cold showers. Step in to the stream with your ankles first and ease in. By the time you get above your knees your circulation will help you adapt to it. Then jump in quickly.

Been shaving cold since this thread started. Not for everyone but continues to work best for me. For showers, I'll take mine hot.

This thread has been around from quite some time.
I have now had my first cold water shave (well, luke warm actually).
Results were a good/decent shave BUT this is NOT the kind of shave I will do unless forced by circumstances.
For the Particulars if you like read below:
I'm TDY (Temporary DuTy) in Kuwait...the water used is NOT potable (can't drink it, but safe for showering, brushing teeth and shaving.
I was glad that building lather was not much of a chore. I have a water softener at home so always seem to have uberlather from just the shaving soap. I use D.R. Harris (DRH) and have read here that DRH can be very temperamental...happy to say that wasn't the case at all.
The shave itself was fine, good results; but it simply wasn't what I consider to be luxurious.
I guess for me, Hot Water equals luxury.

This thread has been alive for a long time in many forms, titles and headings.
I respect those who cold water shave.
I also acknowledge that for some who cold water shave the results are great.
For me, the results were the same, but I didn't enjoy it as much.

Over to the next gentleman to try...

I usually do three passes.. Two with lather from the scuttle so it's a warm pass.. Then my third pass is usually a rinse with cold water a cold water splash then my finally pass.. I do find less razor burn and yes I do enjoy the cold water pass it's kind of a wake up!!!

Originally Posted by BingoBango

Another plus to this: I like to run the cold water at the end of my showers,

Tip: there are professionals that can help you with things like that!

Two thumbs up on your avatar!