Cold water shaving- it works

**John_Roger** · 08-03-2012, 12:31 PM

much better shave!

**Attila** · 08-03-2012, 12:49 PM

Didn't work for me. I'll be sticking with warm (not hot) water thanks! But to each his own!

**Galhatz** · 08-04-2012, 08:40 PM

I tried cold water shaving today and I am hooked. Much better shave with zero irritation. I made a few mistakes that I knew had it been hot water prep I would have felt it later...

**JDTTO** · 08-05-2012, 01:26 AM

I tried it in january when I was still new to DE shaving but it did not feel like a keeper.

After getting a more sensitive skin due to summer heat, I revisited cold water shaving recently and I am hooked since.

**Griffo** · 08-05-2012, 07:00 AM

Having read this thread earlier today I thought I'd give it a go.

I washed my face in the sink with warm water and then rinsed and dried as I do before shaving. Then filled the sink with cold tap water, rinsed and added shaving cream. I used Clinque shaving cream today as I'm away from the usual bathroom so this doesn't need a brush and doesn't lather on the face but I find it excellent when I'm waway.

Razor was EJ DE86 and blade was a Racer.

I rinsed with cold water between passes and did my usual 3 pass shave.
I was pleasantly surprised that the blade didn't feel strange. I thought it might feel more prickly and uncomfortable but it didn't. Nice shave no nicks and no irritation afterwards. Bit hard to judge if better than a warm shave as I get comfortable shaves with the EJ and Racer combo anyway.

Certainly will try it again as if it feels no worse during the shave and the result is no worse than a warm shave then why waste the hot water.

Be interesting to see how it goes over a week.

**Dr Charles Green** · 08-05-2012, 08:39 AM

I tried it today as it was 90 degrees here when I shaved this morning. One of the joys of living in Key West, FL.
I did everything the same as I usually do except used cold water throughout.
Filled basin with cold water and soaked my brush. Put some cold water on my soap. I shave with Dove Rose Soap. Love the scent and because of the moisturizing cream in it it gives me a very comfortable shave.
My pre-shave has always been Noxzema ($3.99 for a 12 oz tub at Publix) to prepare for shaving. Splashed cold water on my face before the pre-shave.
My razor was Merkur 34c with a Persona Red blade.
My brush is an inexpensive one I picked up at CVS ages ago and it has served me well for years.
Found that the brush made a great lather in cold water - my first surprise as I have always been told that hot water creates better lather.
Shaved as I usually do. First pass WTG, second pass across the grain, third pass against the grain. With each pass I re-wet my face with cold water and the re-lathered.
I was amazed as I got a DFS with the above procedure.
My post shave routine was the same. Rinse in cold water. Splash on Witch Hazel and Clubman.
I will be cold water shaving from now on.

My suggestion to everyone reading this - in the summer at least try it and see if it works for you as it did for me today.

**Wildalaska** · 08-05-2012, 08:56 AM

I have cold water shaved many many many times. There is no difference in shave quality for me, and its far more comfortable and relaxing for me to shower shave

JM · 08-05-2012, 02:54 PM

Googled this up:

**gus1942** · 08-05-2012, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by Wildalaska

I have cold water shaved many many many times. There is no difference in shave quality for me, and its far more comfortable and relaxing for me to shower shave

+1

Gus/Botoc

**bastimret** · 08-10-2012, 04:47 AM

Tried it for the first time this morning. Combined with QCS Iced Key Lime it was a fantastically chilling experience.

**ingrownhair** · 08-10-2012, 08:04 AM

I've been cold water shaving for a week now. I don't notice any noticable difference personally, so will probably continue doing it. With my hot water heater located (what feels like) 10 blocks from my house, it will save me lots of time waiting for the water to warm up!

**Hoss75** · 08-10-2012, 08:24 AM

Cold water shaving strikes me as a variable like any other...YMMV. But it's worth a try for anyone. I find it's very refreshing in the Summer and a cooler temp gets a better lather.

**Penguinetti** · 08-10-2012, 08:53 AM

I've never cold-shaved, but I feel like a CWS would be nice in the Summer, and HWS in the winter, simply for the same reason I take cool showers in the summer and hot showers in the winter.

**JDTTO** · 08-10-2012, 12:16 PM

Did anyone else notice the gear keeps cleaner when using just cold water (also for rinsing afterwards)? It's as if soap residu deposits more when warm/hot.

I do clean my razors regularly with hot water and dish soap but not between shaves.

**TonyJoe** · 08-10-2012, 02:24 PM

I hadn't noticed any difference in gear cleanliness. If anything I might say the opposite. Maybe the hot water keeps the fats more liquified or something.

Anyhow, my cold water shaving resumed three weeks ago when I remembered that I used to cold shave exclusively. That was about ten years ago before I rebelled against shaving and grew a mountain man beard. Now that I'm keeping my beard trimmed neatly, I started back on cold water shaving after a couple of months hot shaving and the difference is noticeable even if it's not huge. I don't know if it will last when winter comes, but my skin can get dried out pretty easily and the cold shaves seem to help that.

**DigitalGee** · 08-18-2012, 12:19 PM

I tried cold shaving today for the first time. While the result was fine, the process wasn't, and I probably won't be doing it again. My first "complaint" could be overcome with time. My brain had a reaction to setting up to shave with cold water. It was like when you try to read the word "red" which is printed in blue, or "yellow" which is printed in green. It makes the brain do a double-take. My brain was having trouble believing I was doing everything right and wasn't about to destroy my face, because I was using cold water. As I say, practice would probably overcome this.

But my biggest problem was how the lather (which took a lot longer to create) would stick to the razor. It wouldn't rinse off. I had to continually use a hand towel to wipe the razor free of the lather, and frequently had to unscrew the razor and partially remove the head to get the towel to the lather that was sticking like wet plaster to my razor. This made the shave take twice as long.

In the end, I liked the results, but I missed the warmth of hot water. As has often been said, YMMV. My mileage DID vary with many of the people in this thread. 'Sno problem, I'll just go back to hot water shaving.

**mspk1111** · 08-18-2012, 12:24 PM

Last time I tried cold water shaving its cause the hotel I was at had and issue with their water heater and there was no water. I didn't notice a big difference but it wasn't as comfortable. A huge part of the DE shave for me is how relaxing it is and using cold water makes it so I'm trying to get to the end rather than enjoy the experience.

**banditman** · 08-18-2012, 03:08 PM

I've been cold water shaving for a year and a half now and the results have been excellent. No problems at all with prep, lather, tools or the shave itself which is very comfortable. I highly recommend it.

**Attila** · 08-18-2012, 03:28 PM

As a counter to my recent post...I gave it a more serious go and I have recently become a cold water shaving convert. Definitely works very well for me now!

**Rivguy** · 08-18-2012, 03:30 PM

While I have done it in the past on a few camping trips, I found that I did not enjoy it. I have tried it out of necessity from time to time and again found that it was not for me so unless I have no other choice, I don't see me making the switch.

Regards,

Doug