Thread: A warm/cold water shave combo?? Or straight cold or straight warm?

I want to share with everyone what my shave routine has been lately. I've only been SRS since november but I'm getting my best results this way. The reason I'm asking for opinions is because it seems kinda silly in theory.

Now heres where I might have my facts mixed up and want to clarify in my mind.

Warm water shaving opens up your pores and softens your bread. This makes it easier for the razor to cut the hair and makes it easier to get closer to the skin? Cold water shaving stiffens the hairs making them stand up more(for close/easy shave) and closes your pores to reduce razor burn?

What I've been doing is hot shower then as soon as I get out I apply my proaso pre shave cream. I make my lather hot(Or what qualifies hot from my tap) And apply to face. I then apply a hot towel to the lather for about a minute and then wipe my face clean. I then dry my face apply warm later and do my WTG shave. I then hit my face with the coldest water My tap can make. Then reapply lather (Which by now is room temp) and do my XTG then cold water for ATG.

If this counter productive? Am I better off doing a straight cold water shave or straight warm water shave? I know the main answer I'm going to get back is what ever works for you.

Yea, that is the main answer for sure, whatever works for you. Personally I tried all the extra stuff in my shave routine and found it did nothing for me. So I cut the mustard out and simply used cold water and face lather now. I get as good a shave as before with a whole lot less rigamaroll. Again everyone is different.

Bob

I can say that dermatologists I have asked say change of water temperature has no effect on pore size.

As for water temperature, I use water that is lukewarm to cool. I get a better lather in that temperature range and it's comfortable, no hot or cold skin shock. I have read that softening the beard is not the goal of the prep, rather it is to get the beard to stand up to make it easier to cut. Some claim you won't get as good a shave if the beard is soft and lying flat on your face.

Anyway, I have a very coarse beard and I have never gotten it soft by applying shaving cream, pre-shaves (which I use), or hot showers. Pre-shave creams, gels and soaps (Proraso, Florid, MR GLO) all leave my beard standing up and without any natural oil covering the hair.

But a lot of things people do in prep are just plain enjoyable and that's why they'er done. No further discussion required.

I hear good things about a cold water shave.. I just can't man up yet to get there.. But whatever is working for you than keep doing it

I use hot water to shave followed by a hot water rinse then a cold water rinse. Seems to work fine. I don't stress about it any more than that.

I tried cold water shaving for a bit and have now settled on the mid-temperature, neither too cold nor too hot water. I find it gives a nice comfortable shave, where you don't get the horrible shock of the cold water or (I find) the more sensitive tenderness of the hot water.

I will admit, though, I do like my bread soft, even if its relevance escapes me!

Wash my face with cold, wakes my up anyway.

-however-
You will have to pry my warm scuttle, filled with uberlather, from my my cold dead hands ........

I do a cold rinse after