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Cold water shaving- it works

So yesterday morning I used cold water again to shave with my Gillette Mach III Sensitive Razor. That brought the streak to three cold water shaves in a row - Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. Same result, a very close, comfortable shave that left my face refreshed. So close that I could skip a day shaving. I plan to stick with the cold water.

:straight:
 
Give cold water shaving a try.

been cold water shaving since I started to shave 40 odd years ago . the only real benefit from warm water is say just after getting out of the shower as it gets the stubble hydrated and a fraction softer so easier for the blade to cut . thing is its not needed when blades are pennies .
 
I have been shaving with cold water for years, 1971? I think. My father taught me to use cold water for the summer and tepid water for the rest of the year, never hot. I tried the whole hot towel routine after reading on these forums but it was very short lived, I shave with cold water year round and it really works hands down. A perfect title for this thread!!!
 
Perhaps it is all in my mind but I have shaved with hot water after a hot shower all of my life. Since switching to a metal DE razor I splash my face with hot water before shaving then reduce the temp to a very warm temp as i don’t like a hot metal razor on my face. I don’t think that I will change. Cold water shaving just seems unnatural. i use a metal shaving bowl to build my lather. I sit in the sink under hot water while I splash hot water over my face. When I go to build lather, the hot water in my brush with the hot bowl make a wonderfully warm lather. It feels amazing. I am not taking a cold shower and I am passing on a cold shave. YMMV
 
Perhaps it is all in my mind but I have shaved with hot water after a hot shower all of my life. Since switching to a metal DE razor I splash my face with hot water before shaving then reduce the temp to a very warm temp as i don’t like a hot metal razor on my face. I don’t think that I will change. Cold water shaving just seems unnatural. i use a metal shaving bowl to build my lather. I sit in the sink under hot water while I splash hot water over my face. When I go to build lather, the hot water in my brush with the hot bowl make a wonderfully warm lather. It feels amazing. I am not taking a cold shower and I am passing on a cold shave. YMMV
YMMV is what makes everything balanced
 
Perhaps it is all in my mind but I have shaved with hot water after a hot shower all of my life. Since switching to a metal DE razor I splash my face with hot water before shaving then reduce the temp to a very warm temp as i don’t like a hot metal razor on my face. I don’t think that I will change. Cold water shaving just seems unnatural. i use a metal shaving bowl to build my lather. I sit in the sink under hot water while I splash hot water over my face. When I go to build lather, the hot water in my brush with the hot bowl make a wonderfully warm lather. It feels amazing. I am not taking a cold shower and I am passing on a cold shave. YMMV
You might want to try a cold-water shave at least once before you decide. The feel of the cold metal razor on the face is pleasurable. Aside from reduced irritation, it is my favorite part of cold-water shaving. Splashing a little cold water on your face is nothing like a cold shower.
 
You might want to try a cold-water shave at least once before you decide. The feel of the cold metal razor on the face is pleasurable. Aside from reduced irritation, it is my favorite part of cold-water shaving. Splashing a little cold water on your face is nothing like a cold shower.
Very true, cold water on your face is very different from cold water on your entire body
 
I just came off a long stretch of cold water shaves, and back to warm. I’m not really seeing or feeling any real difference between which ever.
 
I was shaved many times by a barber in the 1970’s with different barbers, they never used hot towels. My sister-in-law has been a barber since 1980 or 81 she told me her teacher in barber school told them cold water shaves best because the hair is stiff and easier to shave. The teacher said the hot towels were for the effect and spa feeling. She shaved me many times doing a once over shave and twice over shaves, cold water in ten to fifteen minutes, felt great. Sorry for rambling on.
 
Great thread! I'm somewhat new to DE shaving, 4 months now, so still learning. But I've been shaving since maybe the late '60's so not new to shaving in general!

All my life I've shaved either in a hot shower or directly after. I mean, really soaking my face in the hot water for a long time. When I switched to DE razors I used the same prep, long hot shower first, hot water between passes. The quality of my shaves was decent, although I did get some mild irritation that lasted a few hours after.

Today I tried the whole cold water thing. No shower first, just a splash of cold water on my face. Face lathered (Stirling soap) as usual, but used cold water, no issues. Rinsed my razor in cold water, wet my face (cold water) between passes. Results were spectacular! Too much so as it may have been.

After two passes I had as good a shave as I could want or need, but since my face felt totally fine I went for both a third pass and further clean up. I mean, it all felt like a completely irritation free shave I just kept going and going. And yeah, I got beyond BBS. Then I took my usual hot shower.

In retrospect, I think the initial lack of any irritation lulled me into thinking I could just keep going and going, so I did. Probably more than needed and more than I should have. I'm not sure the hot shower after helped, maybe undid the benefit of the cold water during the shave. But still, a couple hours later and my face feels okay, certainly no worse than usual, maybe a touch better. And I can't detect stubble anywhere.

So, next time (tomorrow) I'll be a little less compulsive about getting that last tiny bit of hair in the most problematic spots, maybe do two passes with cleanup and call it good enough. I might not do the hot shower after. But, I'll DEFINITELY stay with cold water for the foreseeable future. Shaving isn't a hobby for me, it's something I do because I have to. Using cold water, near zero prep saves time, a bit of energy and is more convenient. It also seems to give me at least as good a shave as the long hot water prep, and maybe a touch better.
 
Great thread! I'm somewhat new to DE shaving, 4 months now, so still learning. But I've been shaving since maybe the late '60's so not new to shaving in general!

All my life I've shaved either in a hot shower or directly after. I mean, really soaking my face in the hot water for a long time. When I switched to DE razors I used the same prep, long hot shower first, hot water between passes. The quality of my shaves was decent, although I did get some mild irritation that lasted a few hours after.

Today I tried the whole cold water thing. No shower first, just a splash of cold water on my face. Face lathered (Stirling soap) as usual, but used cold water, no issues. Rinsed my razor in cold water, wet my face (cold water) between passes. Results were spectacular! Too much so as it may have been.

After two passes I had as good a shave as I could want or need, but since my face felt totally fine I went for both a third pass and further clean up. I mean, it all felt like a completely irritation free shave I just kept going and going. And yeah, I got beyond BBS. Then I took my usual hot shower.

In retrospect, I think the initial lack of any irritation lulled me into thinking I could just keep going and going, so I did. Probably more than needed and more than I should have. I'm not sure the hot shower after helped, maybe undid the benefit of the cold water during the shave. But still, a couple hours later and my face feels okay, certainly no worse than usual, maybe a touch better. And I can't detect stubble anywhere.

So, next time (tomorrow) I'll be a little less compulsive about getting that last tiny bit of hair in the most problematic spots, maybe do two passes with cleanup and call it good enough. I might not do the hot shower after. But, I'll DEFINITELY stay with cold water for the foreseeable future. Shaving isn't a hobby for me, it's something I do because I have to. Using cold water, near zero prep saves time, a bit of energy and is more convenient. It also seems to give me at least as good a shave as the long hot water prep, and maybe a touch better.
Very nice, what did you use to shave with in the late 60’s?
 
I'm on board with the cold water shave. 'Twas a bit chilly in the bathroom this morning, though, so a pure cold tap water shave was not in the cards. I did my usual hot shower, then mixed my shave water (charged with baking soda) about 50/50 cold and hot.

When the weather warms up again, say in early March (Gawd, I hate this place), I'll use the straight tap water . . . which will be lukewarm even when I don't add any hot. If I want to experiment again during the height of summer, I'll use water from a glass bottle out of the fridge.
 
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