First cold shave left me on the fence

I needed to know what the hype was about. "is there anything to it?" I would ask myself and so on a warm humid day I took my regular hot shower and began my first cold shave. Right off the bat I wasn't impressed. Unlike properly warmed and soaked hairs on warm open skin the cold whiskers felt coarse and unrelenting. Rather than slicing through soft stubble I could feel the hairs tugging as they tried to stay attached to my face. There was no pain or irritation however. Despite what felt like a much less pleasant experience and what I expected to result in much discomfort later I braved a third pass ATG. Timidly I dragged the DE down my jawline fearing the worst. Surely you understand my surprise when I rinsed and let the alum block glide over my face. "How is it that after what felt like pulling all the whiskers out of my face I experienced virtually no sting?" That is an accomplishment I hadn't achieved with the water in my new apartment after 6 months. The lack of irritation was stunning and certainly warrants giving a frigid shave another chance. I'm not completely sold however. While I can live with the substantially less luxurious feeling and experience the shave was nowhere near as close as I normally get. Is it worth perfecting a new routine to see if I can achieve a BBS shave or am I just chasing another mermaid?

Sounds like you just are not use to it. I had the same experience the first few times. But it the summer time it feels great to have an ice cold razor on my face. The closeness came with more cold shaving experience.

I cold water shave and I may be able to offer a hint. I also shave right out of the shower, and I make my prep with hot water. I'll even throw in a hot towel. I only use the cold water when rinsing after the first pass. Then its cold water the rest of the way. You may be able to get the best of both worlds, or at least what you're looking for, using hot water in the prep. Also if you really want to take it to the next level, try the proraso pre post shave cream in your prep. Then use proraso or Bigelow shave cream. That's a whole lot of cold action going on.

Above all be patient!

It really takes a bit with beard mapping and dialing in the right angle for your razor as well as finding the perfect blade for YOU!

Mallorca is a bit chilly in autumn/winter/spring, and tolerable in early summer, but every year we get heatwaves in July & August and crazy things happen when people experience what is known locally as 'Augustitis', everybody is either feeling apathetic or temperamental, a cup of coffee stays drinkable for hours, even straight from the fridge, margerine melts off the knife before you can spread it and cheese slices melt in the wrappers before you can get them onto burgers.
If you take a shower in anything hotter than lukewarm water, you'll sweat so much that you'll never get dry, if you close the bathroom door for more than a few minutes, the bathroom feels like a sauna- before you even touch the hot tap, shaving in hot water leaves your face red and puffy and sweaty.
When we get the first storm in early September, people stand in the rain getting wet, cheer, whistle, and often dance, because it's such a sense of relief !!

I like hot water shaving with a nice hot lather as much as the next man, but I bite the bullet and cold water shave during the sweaty heat in the July/August heatwave, with the bathroom door open to let in some fresh air
I prep with a cold towel
Bowl lather with shaving cream and cold water
Shave WTG, XTG, ATG, Touch-up, Buffing in cold water, rinsing with cold water between each pass
Cold towel
Alum block
Cold towel
Aftershave
I'll rinse/clean my kit with hot water, BUT I'll always clean/rinse the blade with cold water only.
I always start the 1st cold shave with a brand new blade, for the first few days it's just one extreme to another, but very refreshing and invigorating, and a big relief to be able to shave without sweating profusely
Within a week cold water shaving just feels normal, I get fewer nicks or weepers, the alum block rarely stings and my skin feels firmer and "tougher" straight after shaving.
BUT, having said all that, when the temperature drops after the 1st storm in September, my first shave with hot lather, a new blade and hot water with added privacy of closing the bathroom door feels like heaven!!

Yes, the most miserable are the dog days of summer (August, when Sirius and Orion's other hunting dogs are most visible in the night sky)

My point was mostly that to me the scales are teetering between an improvement in post shave feel (less sting, minimal irritation) and a trade off in comfort and enjoyment during the shave as well as closeness of the save. Being undecided my personality forces me to try again and experiment until I can decide one way or another good or bad.

I shave right out of the shower and do everything warm / hot but I always rinse the razor in cold water. For me it's the best way to go at it as I get the best results with this method.

If you didn't like the feeling and experience and got a worse shave, then I'd go back to hot water. Life is too short to suffer through sub-optimal shaves.

Orlando_The_Axe said:

Yes, the most miserable are the dog days of summer (August, when Sirius and Orion's other hunting dogs are most visible in the night sky)

My point was mostly that to me the scales are teetering between an improvement in post shave feel (less sting, minimal irritation) and a trade off in comfort and enjoyment during the shave as well as closeness of the save. Being undecided my personality forces me to try again and experiment until I can decide one way or another good or bad.

Click to expand...

I understand completely [MENTION=77673]Orlando_The_Axe[/MENTION]. I lived in Central Florida (aka Gods humidor) for a while.

Each to their own and if you don't like it you don't have to do it.

I have been cold water shaving for over 2 years now. That is regardless if it is -30C or +30C outside as the house temperature is pretty constant year round. A hot shower has never been part of my pre shave routine nor has any pre shave hot towels or pre shave oils. I just wet my face with cold water, lather up and do my daily 4 pass shaves with a DE/SE/SR. Rinse with cold water, apply alum, rinse with cold water and apply AS.

The shaves I get are very close and comfortable with very little to no irritation. For me it works, for others maybe not so much. I do what works for me and others are certainly free to do what works for them.

Bob

A few years ago, I stayed in a condo in Key Largo on a scuba diving vacation. As it turned out, our hot water heater was broken, so I was forced to shower and shave with cold water (although you could debate just how cold the "cold water" really is in Key Largo in August). Although the shaves were smooth enough, I just didn't care for it. Hot water is just more comfortable--to me.

But as we say in scuba diving, there's no arguing comfort. I'm very comfortable diving in 80 degree water with just a t-shirt and swim trunks. My wife, on the other hand, would be so cold that she would wear her 3mm wetsuit. I'm warm. She's cold. We're both right, and neither of us are wrong.

I shave almost exclusively with cool or cold water. For me, the level of comfort during the shave is no different than with warm water; in fact, the burning sensation I sometimes feel when my lather is less than protective is noticeably less with cold water than with warm water. All in all, my most comfortable shaves are with cold water and mentholated cream.

I suggest not going straight from a hot shower to a cold shave. You might try a quick cold-water towel soak or two in between to get your face a little numb/desensitized. For me, the colder the pre-shave prep, the more comfortable the shave.

Only you can decide, plenty of shaves to figure it out! Personally, I don't enjoy cold water shaving for the same reasons you are on the fence. My beard likes the sharpest blades and and a warm water shave.

My wife and I got our Open Water certs over the course of a month in Cozumel. The Caribbean/Mexican water wasn't cool enough to warrant a wet suit for sure... but I'm looking forward to diving here in Florida before too long. I really want to get back to Key West as it is supposed to be some of the best if not the best diving in the CONUS. How was Key Largo though? That's a heck of a lot closer than Key West!

Downing said:

A few years ago, I stayed in a condo in Key Largo on a scuba diving vacation. As it turned out, our hot water heater was broken, so I was forced to shower and shave with cold water (although you could debate just how cold the "cold water" really is in Key Largo in August). Although the shaves were smooth enough, I just didn't care for it. Hot water is just more comfortable--to me.

But as we say in scuba diving, there's no arguing comfort. I'm very comfortable diving in 80 degree water with just a t-shirt and swim trunks. My wife, on the other hand, would be so cold that she would wear her 3mm wetsuit. I'm warm. She's cold. We're both right, and neither of us are wrong.

Click to expand...

I think the arguments for hot and cold water shaving are both absolutely plausible. They emphasise different elements of the shave, so both can lead you to an excellent shave, but via different routes. I don't think one is empirically "better" than the other, they're just different ways of getting to the same place.

So it comes down to personal preference and good old YMMV. I found cold water shaving to be a thoroughly miserable and uncomfortable experience and won't do it again through choice, so give me hot showers, hot towels and hot water any day of the week!

Orlando_The_Axe said:

How was Key Largo though? That's a heck of a lot closer than Key West!

Click to expand...

Key Largo has some great diving and is very beginner friendly. Hardly any current, especially compared to Coz, and dives are shallow, in the 20 to 25 foot range. As such, most dive ops don't even send out a guide with you because if you get lost, just surface, look for the boat, find it and descend again. The whole dive is practically a safety stop. Warm, clear water with a ton of aquatic life.

The big exception is a wreck, the Spiegel Grove. It's about 100 feet down with a ripping current until you get down there. You have to descend and ascend hanging onto a rope; otherwise, you're off to Cuba in a flash.

The biggest downside is that Key Largo has nowhere near the charm of Key West. But at least you can see the boat in which Humphrey Bogart dragged Katherine Hepburn down the river in The African Queen, lol.

I love doing a cold water shave during the Dog Days of Summer ... I'll even soak my brush in ice-water and put everything in the refrigerator for an hour before I'm ready to shave. I use all the most intense menthol software I have on hand, and finish it off with AV Ice Blue.

I get a great shave from this, and its a perfect way to beat the heat. Makes me feel good the whole day.

But its not something I would do year-round. Only when the weather is 85F or above.

BSAGuy said:

If you didn't like the feeling and experience and got a worse shave, then I'd go back to hot water. Life is too short to suffer through sub-optimal shaves.

Click to expand...

+1

Second cold shave attempt felt better during the shave but I experienced much more discomfort after the shave albeit a much closer, smoother shave. I'm thinking of adding a 2nd XTG pass to see if it helps.