Cold water shaving- it works

[Fenris]

I was just thinking to myself how as much as I love the slow relaxing routine of wetshaving... its too damn hot. The only reason I'm having hot showers right now is to ready my face for shaving. And when I get out of the shower, the last thing I want is to stand there in the hot, humid bathroom, sweating while I try to enjoy my shave.

So with that said, I'm going to have a nice cold shower, and try my very first cold water shave!

 

[khun_diddy]

I think you'll enjoy it.

 

[Unihiron]

I'm going to try it on my next shave. I've read the whole first page and i'm willing to try it. I hope it works like it does for the others. I won't do a complete cold water shave but I'll try a luke warm shave and see what happens.

 

[Unihiron]

My first cold/lukewarm/not-hot shave was really good. I can't really tell a difference between my hot water shaves and cold shaves. I'll stick with the cold. Its a very interesting way to shave for sure.

 

[Effy]

I read through many pages on this - as a cold water shaver, it was interesting for me.

If you haven't given it a go, I would suggest it. Once you might get a bad shave and then go back to your regular routine. OR you might find that it works for you............

I shave in the morning with out a shower. Wash my face in cold water, soaking the brush for a few minutes. Cold means as cold it can be from the tap. Then carry on like everyone else but with cold water instead of hot.

I don't know if I can get closer or not with hot or cold, but it IS better for my skin and gives me a DFS most times, sometimes even a BBS. I can now shave every day which is a great way to start each morning.

 

[Guru17]

I have been shaving with cold water for about 30 years - whether it was DE or cartridges. Started reading on internet and got caught in the hype of hot water. My shaves are better now, but that has to do with improvement in lather making and technique.

Should give CWS another go to see how that goes with a somewhat better technique now.

 

[coonskinner]

I have been doing this for a while.

I'm not sure I won't go back to a little warmer water when the weather gets cold but I am enjoying it now.

 

[DougK]

I've shaved with cold water before and while it worked, it wasn't all that pleasant. However, I feel the same way about hot water shaving. Water that is at or a little warmer than body temperature seems to work the best for me these days.

 

[Calabash]

Summer time cold water shaves are in order for me...I even keep my Pinaud after shave chilled in the fridge...feels good!
Stay cool...

 

[Meringueman]

For those of you who have had bad experiences cold water shaving, did you use a sharp blade? I haven't tried it with a milder blade yet but it worked really well for me with a feather. I experienced absolutely no stinging when I rubbed on my alum. I also noted that some people experienced a greater amount of tugging--I assume that's because the cold makes the hair firm up by flattening the cuticle layer--so I wonder, can that be countered by a sharper blade?

 

[Midoio]

it depends how big is my beard. cold water shaving works better with 1 day whiskers, hot water for longer hair.

 

[Meringueman]

it depends how big is my beard. cold water shaving works better with 1 day whiskers, hot water for longer hair.

That's a great point actually.

 

[Guru17]

it depends how big is my beard. cold water shaving works better with 1 day whiskers, hot water for longer hair.

It's again YMMV - cold water works very well for me whatever the time between shaves. The shaves in fact feel a lot better with 60-72 hours' growth, but that's because the skin had time to heal up.

 

[The Phlebotomist]

Well, This am, after reading so many positive reviews, I decided to try shaving "cold". No other parameters were changed.
It did not work for me....it was uncomfortable and just didn't feel as smooth.
The results of the shave were no different than with hot water, other than I drew blood in a few places..... enough to send to the lab for some blood tests that were due.(just kidding)
I have extremely sensitive skin with some scars and irregularities from childhood acne. I really believe that those two things affected the results.
So, I will stick with the hot water. But........Cold shaving makes perfect sense when you analyze it.

Patrick....The Phlebotomist.

 

[mkiraly]

I think I will give this a try, and report back....

 

[razorhead63]

Ah, found this old thread tonight. Might try this on the next shave. Seems interesting...

 

[Hepcat]

I tried shaving with cold water this morning after reading about it on this forum. In a word the result was "Excellent"!

I used the Gillette Mach III Sensitive Razor I bought last year at a close-out price from my local pharmacy and the same cartridge with which I've been shaving for a while. The shave cream with which I lathered was from the same tub of GFT I've been using since October.

My shave was without a doubt closer and my face felt not only less irritated but actually refreshed after shaving. Granted the cold water was a bit of a shock on my face here in Toronto on a January morning. Moreover I did sense more of a cutting action on my whiskers implying that they weren't as soft as they tend to be when I apply hot water first, but that caused me no problems. My whiskers aren't too tough for a standard blade.

But like I say, I was very pleased with the result and will continue cold shaving for the time being. I may try it with a Schick Tracer next since I still have a bunch of Tracer cartridges I bought cheap off Ebay in inventory.

.

 

[Hepcat]

The cold shave I got with the Gillette Mach III Sensitive Razor was so close that I really didn't have to shave Tuesday morning. I had no more stubble on my face than I normally do in the early evening on a day when I've shaved in the morning.

So Wednesday morning I tried cold shaving again with a first generation Schick Tracer (no rubber baffles, no comfort strip). Once again, I've never gotten a closer shave! Baby smooth on my cheeks until at least the evening. And my face felt so refreshed after shaving I almost forgot to splash on any after shave lotion (which I didn't need anyway).

I'll certainly continue the cold shaving for the time being.

Interesting though that I had a leftover Schick Tracer cartridge from the early 1990's but I couldn't find the handle. I couldn't believe that I'd thrown it out so I decided that I must have left it over at my sister's house where it probably got deeply buried in some box when she moved a couple of times since then. So I bought another Schick Tracer handle packaged with two cartridges off Ebay from a seller here in Canada. I got quite a few very good shaves from the old cartridge I had and I was pleased. When I tried the "new" old cartridges I'd bought though, I found them highly abrasive and kept nicking myself. While the abrasiveness disappeared cold shaving, I still ended up with blood easing out from pores here and there.

I'm bewildered. The package didn't strike me as being anything but old unsold store stock. Moreover the seller only had a couple to sell. There's consequently no indication that the blades might be counterfeit. Puzzling.

Oh well. I still have three packages of unused old store stock Tracers with added rubber baffles and comfort strip I'll try.

 

[ajkel64]

Its not for me. I tried it and struggled with the whole concept. I have poor circle in my hands and the cold effects them terribly. Many find the shaves in cold water gives them less irritation and that is a good thing. If it works for you then stick with it.

 

[2Vu5_T]

As long as I can remember I've used whatever temperature that came out of the tap. Of course in third world countries during summer months (and sometimes year round) it can get more than warm lol - but right now, stateside, it's cold water.