Cold Shaving Stinks

I had my first cold shave today, courtesy of my failed water heater. It was terrible. Tugging, pulling, to say nothing of the discomfort of the cold itself. Never again.

Oh, and naturally, my scuttle arrived today.

I guess if you have really sensitive skin a cold shave might work, but the idea of cold or even room temp water on my face at 5 AM does not appeal to me..

Different strokes...

The idea of a cold shower in the morning definitely isn't appealing, but I've moved toward a cool (but not quite cold) water shave, and I actually enjoy it. I would imagine when we start hitting 115 this summer in AZ, those cold water shaves will start to look more appealing.

Sure it sucks...in March. Try in July!

Works well for me. This morning I had a hot shower, chilled the face in cold water and shaved using a EJ DE86, Derby blade and canned gel. Great shave for little money.

That gel stinks like a chemists overcoat though.

Stove, tea kettle? go OLD school. Personally, I don't find cold shaving that bad. Cold shower on the other hand.....

Cold shaving made a huge difference in my process. My skin is a pain (as in it needs at least two lotion applications during the winter and it sometimes likes a product and suddenly I get rash or something) but cold water is a keeper. IMO other prep steps that can make for hot/warm water.

I've tried it a couple of times and I got a good shave from it. Putting cold water on my face after a warm/hot shower does take a bit getting use to. I may revisit it again once we move into warmer weather.

I just tried it for the first time this weekend and the shaves were close, comfortable and every bit as enjoyable with cold water as they are with hot. However, I was shaving following a long workout and was looking for a way to cool down.

It worked great after a cool shower and I'll stick with it in those circumstance, however, at 5:00 this morning I really wanted my usual warm lather.

I hated cold water shaving when I first tried it courtesy of the Army. After seeing so many fans here on B&B, I decided to try it again. I found that it is a refreshing way to change things up. I believe there is less chance of irritation and I find I like the feel of a cold razor on my face. That said I still do the vast majority of my shaving with warm water. This is one of the ultimate cases of YMMV.

I hate cold shaving I refuse to do it now!!

I really enjoy cold water shaving. I'm sure living in California helps, as it doesn't get very cold here.

I've yet to try cold water shaving. The idea just isn't appealing. But I've heard from others who have said it has its merits.

BlackBard said:

This one of the ultimate cases of YMMV.

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Oh yes.

I had my first cold shave aeons ago at boy scout camp, no less, and I vowed to never, ever do it again. We didn't spend tens of thousands of years clawing our way to the top of the food chain (and discovering fire along the way) for that​.

Still, some gents like it, and more power to them.

I did it once and I was pretty amazed by how it worked out for me. But still there is nothing better than a hot water shave.

If you want to read a lot of diverse views on cold water shaving take a look at this thread.

I am one of those odd ones that prefers cold shaving, and agree with Benjamin Franklin, "The act of shaving with cold water is much easier; it allows the whiskers to be stiff; the razor to slice the hair; and obtaining hot water much less of a bother,"

Your milliage of course may vary.

Not for me. Makes the whiskers feel like steel.

Cold water shaving used to feel like that for me, back when I was using a Mach 3 and a bar of Ivory soap. Now that I'm using a DE and proper lather, the feel of the shave is no different between warm and cold water. And, since cold water gives me less irritation, I use cold water (more properly cool, as I do allow a tiny bit of hot water into the mix) exclusively.

I do find that proper facial hydration is crucial when shaving with cold water.

No offense to the OP but, I would probably blame the bad shave on prep instead of the cold water! I only CWS and have very good results. If I shave with hot water I have more irritation. When I say cold I mean actually lukewarm not ice cube cold.