Cold water shaving- it works

[Gabadab]

I too have a very coarse beard, but it works for me. Did you gentlemen splash your face with cold water or do any type of prep?

Maybe this is just a case of YMMV.

The first time I tried this, I skipped my normal prep - which is the OCM.
I just spashed cold water on proceeded to shave using the coldest water that would come out of the faucet. I experienced a bit of irritation and redness.

I wanted to give this a fair shake, so this morning, I did my OCM, rinsed with cold water, rubbed my face with an ice cube and shaved using TOBS Avocado and a Merkur Slant with a Personna blade and went with WTG, I rubbed the ice cube on my face and then went XTG and did a last ice rub before going ATG.

No irritation and very smooth. I can honestly say that my face looks better than ever.

 

[noahpictures]

The first time I tried this, I skipped my normal prep - which is the OCM.
I just spashed cold water on proceeded to shave using the coldest water that would come out of the faucet. I experienced a bit of irritation and redness.

I wanted to give this a fair shake, so this morning, I did my OCM, rinsed with cold water, rubbed my face with an ice cube and shaved using TOBS Avocado and a Merkur Slant with a Personna blade and went with WTG, I rubbed the ice cube on my face and then went XTG and did a last ice rub before going ATG.

No irritation and very smooth. I can honestly say that my face looks better than ever.

What is OCM?

 

[Gabadab]

What is OCM?

Oil Cleansing Method

 

[Skanzo]

I must try this cold water shave.

 

[Picaro]

Second day of cold shaves, and yes, it wasnt a fluke the first one. Definately getting better easier shaves. Tried it with the 2 proraso products to check out my preconception. I was wrong there, proraso is really nice cold and works a treat.

 

[ackvil]

I wanted to give this a fair shake, so this morning, I did my OCM, rinsed with cold water, rubbed my face with an ice cube and shaved using TOBS Avocado and a Merkur Slant with a Personna blade and went with WTG, I rubbed the ice cube on my face and then went XTG and did a last ice rub before going ATG.

No irritation and very smooth. I can honestly say that my face looks better than ever.

Based on the above, I gave the cold water shave another try. This time I did my usual face wash with warm water. I then applied some Proraso pre-post shave to my face and prepared my lather. I rinsed my face with cold water and rubbed an ice cube over my face before each pass.

The shave was better than the last time with no nicks or cuts. However, I did experience minor irritation. I will change razors and see if that makes a difference.

 

[ackvil]

Based on the above, I gave the cold water shave another try. This time I did my usual face wash with warm water. I then applied some Proraso pre-post shave to my face and prepared my lather. I rinsed my face with cold water and rubbed an ice cube over my face before each pass.

The shave was better than the last time with no nicks or cuts. However, I did experience minor irritation. I will change razors and see if that makes a difference.

One thing.

While I was shaving SWMBO came into the bathroom and saw me dropping ice cubes in my lather and into the basin. Had a tough time holding on to the ice with wet hands. I discovered I am not a juggler!

Next she saw me rubbing ice cubes all over my face and asked what in the world was I doing. I told her that this was a new method of shaving I was going to try out: cold water and prep instead of hot towels. She started to laugh and asked "did that mean I was getting rid of the ugly lather warmer sitting on the vanity? And what was I going to do with all of the barber towels 'I absolutely needed' for my hot towel treatment."

Sometimes women just don't understand. I told her the barber towels would make great workout towels to take to the gym - but she just laughed. She also asked whether I was putting in an ice maker in the bathroom so I would have a ready supply of ice cubes. I told her that was a good idea - but I thought the dropping of ice cubes in the middle of the night might keep her up at night. She just shook her head and left the room.

Now, if anyone knows of a quiet ice maker, let me know......

 

[milesandcoltrane]

I posted a thread recently about how I ditched my usual Kyle's prep with a steaming hot towel and very hot water throughout my shave. I went with tepid or slightly lukewarm water without any prep besides a lukewarm shower and obtained fantastic results.

Much of the irritation and redness and bumps I usually get post shave was gone. Some of it remained though.

Today I tried cold water, as in water straight from the tap and got absolutely fantastic results! I'm sold. It's only the first time but I am very very happy with the results.

My face feels a ton better and absolutely 0 redness or irritation!

Just a note about the use of ice cubes though. I used to use it as part of my post shave routine and it caused a little irritation. The shock of going from very hot to frigid cold might be the problem. So for those of you using ice cubes, you might want to lay off and just use regular cold water straight from the tap to experiment =)

I must say the idea of using cold water to shave seemed absurd and counter intuitive at first but after my first cold water shave I'm a convert!

 

[SCYankee]

I tried cold water shaving this morning with more than a little trepidation what with being a reverted DE shaver that has always used the hottest water I could stand. Gotta say I am now a convert! Great BBS after shaving in all directions with a '60 SS and an IP blue. No irritation at all and my AS application was virtually sting free. EXCELLENT!

 

[DE Shaver]

OK, I feel my resistance waning. It seems I'll ulitmately capitulate and give cold water a try. My current regimen works great for me so there is little incentive for me to try cold water shaving but curiosity is getting the better of my judgment.

My personal thoughts...

• Although the skin might tighten up and you'll have constricted bloodflood, you may be prone to using too much pressure as cold will deaden sensations somewhat. You may not feel the irritation at first but it may be felt later on. Weepers should be less common as well due to this constriction.
  
  
• Your hair will be more difficult to cut as cold will cause them to contract and be more rigid. However, this rigidity may possibly be of more help than hinderance. Just imagine trying pressing (no slicing action) a knife on doughy bread, it will crush the it while a more crusty piece may actually be cut.
  
  
• Cold skin may hold the hair in a firm state and make it easier to get a closer shave. Since the hair is held more firmly, it won't bend or distort as much when you shave, which would permit a close cut with the razor. You can approximate this effect by stretching the skin taut as most straight shavers do when shaving. Stretching has the added advantage of standing the hairs up and allowing a closer shave. I wondering if cold promotes hair to be more erect, similar to getting goose bumps.
  
  
• Oils encapsulating hair will not wash away as well as heat helps loosen these oil deposits. However, a cold wash with soap should still remove these oils, allowing water to saturate the hair just the same, softening them up for a cut. It's a bit at odds with hair becoming a litte more rigid due to cold but water saturated hair should still be softer than the blade edge.
  

Anyway, this is purely speculative on my part. I'll give this a go and see what happens.

 

[bbarton713]

I've not tried using an ice cube before and between passes...sounds interesting. I've been shaving with cool water for a few days and I think it has been working well for me.

 

[luvmysuper]

I keep waiting for someone to post that they were just kidding here. Like sending the new guy out to look for a bucket of steam.

I'm going to start a new thread with my experiments on using Cheez Whiz instead of soap.

 

[bbarton713]

I keep waiting for someone to post that they were just kidding here. Like sending the new guy out to look for a bucket of steam.

I'm going to start a new thread with my experiments on using Cheez Whiz instead of soap.

Have him bring me back a jar of dial tone while he's at it!

 

[SCYankee]

And a spool of pipe thread!

 

[DE Shaver]

I keep waiting for someone to post that they were just kidding here. Like sending the new guy out to look for a bucket of steam.

I'm going to start a new thread with my experiments on using Cheez Whiz instead of soap.

Apparently, Cheez Whiz has been suggested for use as a shaving cream in a book. Here is a link to a video showing a woman shaving with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5QeMXqzLe0

 

[Picaro]

I keep waiting for someone to post that they were just kidding here. Like sending the new guy out to look for a bucket of steam.

I'm going to start a new thread with my experiments on using Cheez Whiz instead of soap.

Method Shaving dies in the fires of neglect, and a Frigid Pheonix rises from the ashes.

Do you recommend hot or cold Cheese Whiz. ( Is there any cheese in that stuff, perhaps its high in tallow content )

 

[petr]

THIS is what you guys should really be shaving with.

 

[jakespoppy]

I just saw this post this afternoon, and it's ironic that this morning I thought I had a little redness after my shave, and thought it might have been because my water was too hot, because nothing else was different from yesterday's shave setup. I'll try less hot water tomorrow, possibly even luke warm to see how it goes, and then may try cool water the next time if that works. i think no matter the water temp, it will still be necessary to use the same care in prep and making sure there is plenty of wetness in the lather throughout the shave.

 

[Owens187]

And a spool of pipe thread!

And check your blinker fluid while you're at it...

 

[prettyuglyfoxymoron]

I've used both cold & hot water ever since I started DE shaving. Both work perfectly fine for me. The warm lather just tends to feel a bit more nicer on the face.

One look at the Kyle's Prep thread during my first few days on the board was enough to put me off it permanently. It looked tedious.