cold water rinse

[JdB]

After my last pass I clean my bowl and brush, rinse off my soap puck, clean and dismantle my razor, put everything back in to place, clean the sink and than I first warm then cold rinse the remaining soap off my face.

So for me it's the last thing I do before Alum a/o A/S.

 

[pauls51]

Pores don't open and close. So the idea that you're going to open your pores with hot water and close them with cold water is just, for lack of a better term, an old wives' tale.

Personally, I've begun to tone down both ends of the extreme temperature spectrum, and I really believe there are benefits to doing so.

As a physician, my idea of what a hot water rinse and a cold water rinse actually CAN do is this: hot water dilates capillaries (little blood vessels) in t skin and allows fluids from these vessels to escape into the tissues. In other words, it causes swelling (edema). Cold water causes the blood vessels to shrink slightly and hold onto the fluids more; in other words, it reduces swelling. Think about it. That's why you use ice on an injured ankle or when you bang your head on something; because it reduces swelling.

Now, when it comes to shaving, I don't think it's a great idea to make your face edematous prior to shaving. It just makes it so that cutting the hairs right at skin level still won't produce BBS, because when the swelling goes back down, the remainder of the hair will be exposed. Using very cold water right after the shave may have some benefit, as shaving can be a little irritating, and the cold water may help to cool off that process just as it does for your ankle when you injure it.

At this point in my shaving routine, I use hot water only in my bowl and for soaking my brush. That way I get a nice warm lather. All rinses are with warm water.

At the end of the shave, I rinse with warm water and then rinse with slightly cool water. As I said, I have eliminated all hot water and all cold water rinses.

I think my facial skin feels and looks healthier since I have done this. YMMV.

Thanks for the post... I am certainly going to give this ago and compare with the way i am doing things now!.... All hot and then at the end a cold water rinse..

 

[cfriend]

This is a great typo, if, in fact, it is one.

-Andy

Was a typo, but now that I see it, I think I like it.

 

[wakefieldma]

hmmm, i also have proraso pre-post, but have never tried that... maybe i'll do next time...

but doesn't proraso effect your ASB, or you're using proraso again? i find that after using proraso pre-post, i just don't want to put sth over it... because of the cooling and the scent...

Peter Milas-I should have clarified-I don't always do this, but I find that certain aftershaves complement the Proraso really well, in my case lately it has been Musgo Real and TOBS Shaving Shop-I really want to try the Dominica Bay Rum, as I have heard this also goes really well with Proraso...

 

[james_rockford77]

Pores don't open and close. So the idea that you're going to open your pores with hot water and close them with cold water is just, for lack of a better term, an old wives' tale.

Personally, I've begun to tone down both ends of the extreme temperature spectrum, and I really believe there are benefits to doing so.

As a physician, my idea of what a hot water rinse and a cold water rinse actually CAN do is this: hot water dilates capillaries (little blood vessels) in t skin and allows fluids from these vessels to escape into the tissues. In other words, it causes swelling (edema). Cold water causes the blood vessels to shrink slightly and hold onto the fluids more; in other words, it reduces swelling. Think about it. That's why you use ice on an injured ankle or when you bang your head on something; because it reduces swelling.

Now, when it comes to shaving, I don't think it's a great idea to make your face edematous prior to shaving. It just makes it so that cutting the hairs right at skin level still won't produce BBS, because when the swelling goes back down, the remainder of the hair will be exposed. Using very cold water right after the shave may have some benefit, as shaving can be a little irritating, and the cold water may help to cool off that process just as it does for your ankle when you injure it.

At this point in my shaving routine, I use hot water only in my bowl and for soaking my brush. That way I get a nice warm lather. All rinses are with warm water.

At the end of the shave, I rinse with warm water and then rinse with slightly cool water. As I said, I have eliminated all hot water and all cold water rinses.

I think my facial skin feels and looks healthier since I have done this. YMMV.

Thanks, Doc! About a month ago we had this discussion in a thread titled 'Post shaving tightness factor' and you confirmed many of the things I said, primarily the fact that pores do not open and close. I also think that the water you use on your face should be in the same temperature range from beginning to end. I just can't see how subjecting your skin to extreme temperature differences can be good, despite how resilient it is. Great advice in my opinion.

 

[wildwing9825]

I do the cold water rinse immediately after the warm water rinse. It wakes my mind up and really emphasizes the effects of any menthol I may be using.

~Ben

 

[Mink]

I've given up the hot water/lather prep routine because it caused my cheeks to remain red for up to 24 hours. I have been having great results by just putting comfortably warm water in a towel on my face for about a minute - no lather. After my shave, I use warm water to make sure all of the soap is removed and my face no longer feels slippery. I do finish with cool water. Be careful with the alum block. I use mine where I have a weeper or think I might have burned myself, but then wash it all off within a minute or two - otherwise I get this wildly prickly feeling wherever I've rubbed the block on my skin after 3-5 minutes - and my face gets red. If there's been any bleeding, I use witch hazel. After it dries, I then use AS/Balm.

 

[SRock]

Am I doing something terribly wrong? I almost never do a cold rinse! Only time I remember it is immediately after reading about the procedure on the forum. I simply finish shaving, rinse my face with hot water, clean my gear, then apply aftershave splash. Particularly when it is cold out, putting cold water on my face just doesn't seem to be in my nature. What are the consequences for missing this step? Thanks, John

It has always felt like AS's (containing alcohol) or Alum stings less after a less than perfect shave if I remember the cold water rinse. I wasn't here last winter so I didn't have to deal with the cold in the a.m. This year my cold water rinse may be set aside and I'll just allow more time between hot water rinse and applying my AS.

Me too. I usually just wash with warm water in order to get any remaining soap off my face. I have an alum block but I hardly ever use it. I'll occasionally use a cold splash, but only when I'm reminded by reading the SOTD. I can't say that I feel any different when I do or when I don't. Still, there must be a reason for it to be in so many routines--what gives?

I only notice the difference after a less than perfect shave. A slight bit of razor burn seems to be much relieved by a cold water rinse.

 

[chris456]

Thanks, Doc! About a month ago we had this discussion in a thread titled 'Post shaving tightness factor' and you confirmed many of the things I said, primarily the fact that pores do not open and close. I also think that the water you use on your face should be in the same temperature range from beginning to end. I just can't see how subjecting your skin to extreme temperature differences can be good, despite how resilient it is. Great advice in my opinion.

It was after that thread I started using warm water to rinse, with good results. Not to mention I can't stand cold water on my face, but I did it because I thought that was just the way it was done. Warm water rinse works for me.
I don't think there is any right answer here though, whatever works best for you is the way to go.

 

[Ru4scuba?]

Pores don't open and close. So the idea that you're going to open your pores with hot water and close them with cold water is just, for lack of a better term, an old wives' tale.

Personally, I've begun to tone down both ends of the extreme temperature spectrum, and I really believe there are benefits to doing so.

As a physician, my idea of what a hot water rinse and a cold water rinse actually CAN do is this: hot water dilates capillaries (little blood vessels) in t skin and allows fluids from these vessels to escape into the tissues. In other words, it causes swelling (edema). Cold water causes the blood vessels to shrink slightly and hold onto the fluids more; in other words, it reduces swelling. Think about it. That's why you use ice on an injured ankle or when you bang your head on something; because it reduces swelling.

Now, when it comes to shaving, I don't think it's a great idea to make your face edematous prior to shaving. It just makes it so that cutting the hairs right at skin level still won't produce BBS, because when the swelling goes back down, the remainder of the hair will be exposed. Using very cold water right after the shave may have some benefit, as shaving can be a little irritating, and the cold water may help to cool off that process just as it does for your ankle when you injure it.

At this point in my shaving routine, I use hot water only in my bowl and for soaking my brush. That way I get a nice warm lather. All rinses are with warm water.

At the end of the shave, I rinse with warm water and then rinse with slightly cool water. As I said, I have eliminated all hot water and all cold water rinses.

I think my facial skin feels and looks healthier since I have done this. YMMV.

Thanks for this Fish...good write up. Still can't believe you dont like Opus tho!!!

 

[Alacrity59]

Having read this thread a little I decided to try an experiment by shaving totally in cold water this morning. I'm not talking ice water, chipping the ice off the bucket kinda thing but water as it is coming out of the cold water tap. At this time of year I'd estimate the temperature at somewhere just south of 50 degrees F.
Just as an aside, years and years ago I was in the Canadian reserves and one of the thrilling things we got to do was shaving in the field while on manoeuvres. As I recall this was a fairly hideous experience . . . scrape that smile off your face kinda deal. This was what I was anticipating for today.
I decided to follow what I had learned so far so with a day old Derby blade, Merkur 38C, C&E travel badger brush, and Mama Bear Aromatic Pipe Tobacco soap I set off.

• Cold water worked well for making lather
• Let it sit on my face 2 minutes before I started cutting
• Did my usual 3 pass shave with some touch-up
• Cold water rinse at the end (normal for me)
• Witch Hazel and Aqua Velva to finish

The shave was as good as usual. My skin looked a bit more like a plucked chicken than usual but that was probably goosebumps as it is freeking freezing.

Was anything about this better? No . . . well perhaps I used less energy.

Would I do this again . . . No not by choice anyway. . . warm shaving cream is a nice comfortable feeling . . . cold shaving cream is just kinda there with little pleasure about it.

 

[JPM]

I shower after shaving so I rinse my face with the warm water in the shower. When I get out, I do cold water splash, alum, DaVinci water spray and after that dries, some AS.

However, I was running late today so I skipped the post shower routine and just hung my head out the window on my way to work. It was only about 56 degrees here in San Diego, so chilly but not too bad. Tightened the face up nicely, if only I could get that bug out of my teeth.

 

[Ru4scuba?]

I shower after shaving so I rinse my face with the warm water in the shower. When I get out, I do cold water splash, alum, DaVinci water spray and after that dries, some AS.

However, I was running late today so I skipped the post shower routine and just hung my head out the window on my way to work. It was only about 56 degrees here in San Diego, so chilly but not too bad. Tightened the face up nicely, if only I could get that bug out of my teeth.

Nice method...unfortunately, I think most B&Bers will find that it is inconsistent due to old man weather