Thread: Cold water shave is the best & worst ever

Imagine if you would that a shaft of hair is similar to a stack of paper cups, when this stack of cups is heated with moisture the the stack expands and lengthens exposing the softer inner core. Or so Ive been told.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Imagine if you would that a shaft of hair is similar to a stack of paper cups, when this stack of cups is heated with moisture the the stack expands and lengthens exposing the softer inner core. Or so Ive been told.

Well I am not particularly science minded. I hear something and try it and if it works I go with it and if it doesn't I go back to what did work. For me I've become a confirmed cold water shaver. Taking it one step further .... I do what the pamphlet said. My prep is lathering with cold lather on my dry face. No hot water first, no wash. I work the first lather in with my fingers and I don't rinse, cold or otherwise.

I re-lather and shave. I know this goes against everything I learned but it is working for me and I'm sticking with it ..... for now. The only difference I've incorporated from the pamphlet is I don't do a hot towel following the shave. I'm too lazy. Following the shave I do rinse with hot water though before applying my A/S. I'm not recommending this for anyone else but I will say that if it wasn't working for me I wouldn't be doing it. My Moss Scuttle is still parked in the cupboard gathering dust...... and it ain't for sale.

Jimmy pm sent, As if you havent heard enough out of me!

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Jimmy pm sent, As if you havent heard enough out of me!

Always a pleasure to hear from you Kelly.

Originally Posted by honkerman1

still pretty new to all of this, but i have a theory on the better shave...

what's the point of creating a lather? to put both moisture and lubrication between your skin and the blade? and soap/cream is made from fat, right?

so... compare lathering to making whipped cream. you should always start with cold tools to prevent the fat in the cream from melting. same goes with the lather: cold water keeps it from melting, allowing more air pockets to build and more room for water. plus, the soap/cream holds up during the shave instead of falling apart.

my newbie two cents, fwiw.

I like to cook. Thanks for putting it in a way that makes sense to me.

ill probably try it once it gets hot weather....but while its still cool outside i like warm lather

Here's what I've been experimenting with:

I've found that when I do my first WTG pass with hot water and hot/warm lather, the whiskers provide less resistance to the razor. Then I do a second cold water & cold lather pass (XTG), so that my skin tightens up and the leftover stubble stands up straight, allowing for a closer shave. Follow this with a hot water rinse to open the pores again, and then some alum and aftershave oil. Finally, a cold water rinse to close the pores, and perhaps a splash of witch hazel.

This might seem involved, but I think my skin is liking it...

The cold water shave sounds like such a good idea that in the future I'm planning on cooking my spaghetti noodles in ice water. And I shouldn't have to turn on the oven to bake the pot roast.

Man, ain't these green modern miracles something?

Haven't read through the whole thread and I'm sure somebody has mentioned this before, but doesn't cold water make your razor harder and then again sharper?

I was using cartridge razor blades up until one week ago and I'm having fun trying out my new Dovo straight. I imagine that you could have hot lather, but still run your razor under cold water. Then you would sort of get both the great warm lather feel and the super close shave of the hard cold steel.. Right?

Originally Posted by Radar

Haven't read through the whole thread and I'm sure somebody has mentioned this before, but doesn't cold water make your razor harder and then again sharper?

I was using cartridge razor blades up until one week ago and I'm having fun trying out my new Dovo straight. I imagine that you could have hot lather, but still run your razor under cold water. Then you would sort of get both the great warm lather feel and the super close shave of the hard cold steel.. Right?

I have always run hot water on my blade , DE or straight, and I still do . I prep and shave with cold water but I run hot on the blade before my first pass and rinse with hot throughout the shave. Including the final rinse of my face.