Cold water shaving- it works

[jakespoppy]

I shaved this morning, using luke-warm water, almost room temperature. As I mentioned before, I had noticed yesterday that I had a slight redness, not really irritation, just a touch of redness after my shave, and I wondered then if I'd used water that was too hot. I must say, I had no redness this morning, and the shave was very comfortable, although I did miss the hot water in my prep. I'll experiment a little more with this. In any case, my face after the shave this morning with a Merkur HD, Red Personna blade and Speick shave cream was BBS!

 

[Seraphim]

Fill your scuttle with water and icecubes, and throw your razor in the freezer while you're taking a shower.....





Actually, I'm on board as well. Not frigid cold water, but cool, or whatever comes out of the spigot has been working just fine for me.

 

[pizzaguy]

Just tried it this morning ,cold water shave then shower worked great

 

[ackvil]

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.

Phil:

It only works if you keep the Cheez Whiz in the freezer for 15 minutes and then face lather it.

 

[DE Shaver]

Well, despite my initial misgivings, I did try using cold water instead of the hot water I normally use for my morning shave. I've made no other changes to my regimen and I only used cold water from the tap only, no ice. Using my standard technique, I managed to complete my shave and the verdict is that the cold water shave provided an excellent shaving result. There was no irriration and the shave was near BBS. In addiiton, using cold water was not as uncomfortable as I thought it was going to be.

Now, I will qualify that my regular shave routine provides me with excellent results as well. Regardless, cold water shaving did not degrade or negatively impact the shave. What I ended up is a nice, close, irritation free shave. One trial, however, does not make for a definitive conclusion but if today's results are any indication, cold water is able to facilitate very good shaves. I will continue to try it out for the remainder of the week and see if the results hold up.

 

[luvmysuper]

Ok, not a bad shave with the Cheez Whiz, but a lot of irritation afterwards.

Probably less to do with technique and more to do with all the neighborhood cats chewing on my face on the way to work.

Next experiment;

Jello Pudding

 

[DE Shaver]

Ok, not a bad shave with the Cheez Whiz, but a lot of irritation afterwards.

Probably less to do with technique and more to do with all the neighborhood cats chewing on my face on the way to work.

Next experiment;

Jello Pudding

When you're done with the Jello pudding, try some plain yogurt.

 

[Seraphim]

Phil:

It only works if you keep the Cheez Whiz in the freezer for 15 minutes and then face lather it.

Your wife's gonna love that....next time she peeks in the shave den, it will not be piping hot towels, nor ice cubes clattering about, but Cheez Whiz being applied to your cheeks.

She's going to have you shipped out to Shady Acres for sure!

 

[ackvil]

Your wife's gonna love that....next time she peeks in the shave den, it will not be piping hot towels, nor ice cubes clattering about, but Cheez Whiz being applied to your cheeks.

She's going to have you shipped out to Shady Acres for sure!

She has already threatened me with that if I spend any more money on DE shaving which I originally told her was supposed to save me from the "high cost of cartridges."

 

[mretzloff]

One thing I have noticed is that I get a better lather if I soak the brush in hot water, as opposed to cold water. Other than that, everything is cold.

 

[bbarton713]

One thing I have noticed is that I get a better lather if I soak the brush in hot water, as opposed to cold water. Other than that, everything is cold.

Not only did I soak my brush in cold water, I added an ice cube to it and let it soak in that water while I showered. I got gobs of lather doing a face lather. If I got more with warm water it wouldn't have mattered since I had stuff in the brush I never used.

 

[armykunin]

A question for the cold water shavers - do you shower before your shave?

A cold water shave sounds fine, but it'll be a cold day in hell before I start taking cold showers for the sake of a better shave I rely on my hot shower to wake me up enough to wield sharp objects.

Nope I just take a regular shower and then splash my face with cold water b4 I start shaving.

 

[jakespoppy]

One thing I have noticed is that I get a better lather if I soak the brush in hot water, as opposed to cold water. Other than that, everything is cold.

I noticed my lather didn't seem quite the same. I think I'll try using warmer water for the lather.

 

[DE Shaver]

One thing I have noticed is that I get a better lather if I soak the brush in hot water, as opposed to cold water. Other than that, everything is cold.

I didn't notice this but I'll now keep a watchful eye for this issue. What soap/shaving cream did you use?

 

[maestro78]

Just tried a cold water shave this morning. No noticeable difference. Not for me, I guess. Won't be doing it again.

 

[Gabadab]

This seems like it makes sense.

Using Kyle's method, the heat would not only make the beard softer, but it would tenderize the skin making it prone to nicks and irritation.

Do I really need to soften my whiskers with heat? I use a fresh blade each time I shave, so a unsoftened beard shouldn't provide much resistance to a fresh blade.

This cold water method has dramatically reduced redness that I would have from hot water shaving.

Of course, this may be a fluke. I'm giving it a month of testing. So far, three days and my face looks better than it ever has.

 

[brianw]

Boy this takes me back to learning to shave with my gramps....out under a tree on the farm, cold water, boar brush, straight, williams or OS puck..... As soon as my brush trials are over....it's on to testing the cold water again

 

[noahpictures]

My plan was to try cold water shaving, have a bad experience and return to this thread and post sarcastic remarks. The short: Cold water shaving works better than warm/hot water shaving in terms of having a comfortable shave. I had less razor burn, almost no irritation and no nicks.

The long: I shaved two days with cold water in the morning with a brand new Merkur Futur (no previous experience with this razor) set at the highest setting of 6 (also a first using an adjustable razor). I have a medium heavy beard and my whiskers are barbed wire coarse and wiry (grow parallel to the skin instead of growing out). Both days it was in the low sixties with low humidity. Both days I used cold water from start to finish (soaking the brush, washing the face, rinsing the razor, rinsing the face). First day I used Proraso Pre and Proraso shaving cream. My face felt frozen. As I shaved it felt as if I was shaving ice off my face, it was kind of nice. After three passes plus touch up, I had a comfortable BBS. I didn't feel razor burn or irritation and didn't nick myself at all. My face felt numb, maybe that's why I didn't feel the razor burn. I shower after I shave and after the warm shower, I still didn't feel any razor burn or irritation. The aftershave stung less compared to warm/hot water shaving. Second day I used Proraso Pre and Tabac soap; same great results. I can safely say that cold water shaving greatly reduces razor burn, irritation and nicks. If I had to put a percentage I'd go with a conservative 30%. That's huge in my book.
On the hand, cold water shaving will make you forget the word luxury. It is very practical; it can be enjoyable but not luxurious. Great for weekdays or a raw face. Will I stop shaving with warm water? No. But I will shave with cold water at least three or four days out of the week.

 

[vern]

For me shower is normal, whatever for the season, cold water is whatever come out of the tap. Not hot or cold, just tap water. It just works!

 

[grizzly]

I gave it a shot tonight and hacked my face up. That was the worst shave I've ever given myself with a D.E. razor. I'll try again in a few days just to be fair.