Thread: Cold water shave

I am curious if anybody else preps and shaves with cold water? I read an old pdf book from the early 1900's (found it on this forum but cannot remember the name of it). It recommends using cold water for a closer shaves as it causes the whiskers become more rigid and giving some resistance to the blade. I have tried this and am now only using cold water. I find that it does give me a close shave and the cold water really doesn't bother me. It's also a nice wake-up in the morning.

Has anybody else tried it? Like or dislike and why?

Yes, I've been doing the cold water prep and shave, from the same book, since February 2010. See this thread here for plenty of opinions pro and con.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Yes, I've been doing the cold water prep and shave, from the same book, since February 2010. See this thread here for plenty of opinions pro and con.

Thanks for the link. After reading that thread I have decided to give cold water shaving a try and see if I can get even closer.

It's true! The shave rocks. Kinder to the skin, too.

Originally Posted by STEVENMITCHELL

I am curious if anybody else preps and shaves with cold water? I read an old pdf book from the early 1900's (found it on this forum but cannot remember the name of it). It recommends using cold water for a closer shaves as it causes the whiskers become more rigid and giving some resistance to the blade. I have tried this and am now only using cold water. I find that it does give me a close shave and the cold water really doesn't bother me. It's also a nice wake-up in the morning.

Has anybody else tried it? Like or dislike and why?

I've seen discussions before and even downloaded and read the book when I first started, but I never realized that the cold water shave is the way you're supposed to do it.

Since I easily overlook things, especially when I'm new at something, I'll post the book and tell you that the pertinent discussion is on pages 50-55. In a nutshell, it says a well-lathered face using cold water makes the whiskers more brittle and more easily removed.

Shaving made easy; what the man who shaves ought to know .. : 20th century correspondence school, New York. [from old catalog] : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

I guess I'm gonna have to strap on the truss, work up my nerve, and try it, because I can attack certain areas from 8 different directions and haven't quite achieved the perfect shave.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Yes, I've been doing the cold water prep and shave, from the same book, since February 2010. See this thread here for plenty of opinions pro and con.

Maybe you can't answer this, but after reading Pages 50-55 of this book I'm wondering why cold water shaving isn't common knowledge.

I never heard of such a thing until you discussed it earlier this year. When I was a kid in the 60s, barbers used to apply hot lather around the ears and shave with a straight. Naturally I thought shaves were supposed to be hot.

Now I have to try it. Before jumping in the cold water I don't know whether to thank you () or thank you () becuase I sure enjoy that warm lather.

Yeah I was as surprised as anyone by the idea that shaving with cold water might be better. I decided to give it a shot and it turned out to be better for me. It isn't for everybody though. Some guys say they do better with the hot.

I used to do the hot shower and vigorously wash my face twice (in the hot shower) to soften the whiskers. Come out and lather up with hot tap water out of my shaving brush and store the brush in my Moss scuttle for the second pass to keep it warm. Loved the warm lather.

I rinsed my face with cold water and it was good. Then I read the book and began doing it his way. I almost never shower before the shave now. I drop my brush in the lather bowl to better absorb the cold water . I splash some cold water on top of the puck of soap and go do something else for five minutes.

As the book recommends, I lather with the cold water on my dry face. I rub the lather in well and then lather again. That is all of my preparation. I shave sometimes with one pass and a touch up on neck and chin and other times two passes. When I'm done with the shave I rinse my face with hot water as the book recommends. It is good too. If I didn't think it was better this way I would be doing it the way I thought that was better, whatever that would be. My poor old Moss scuttle is under the sink gathering dust.

I do my first pass with a hot lather, and then I do a cold rinse and XTG/touch up pass with cold water only.

+1 to markevans.

I also do my first pass hot, and 2nd pass cold. Helps to get rid of that extra little bit of stubble

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Yes, I've been doing the cold water prep and shave, from the same book, since February 2010. See this thread here for plenty of opinions pro and con.

You got me convinced. Took six months to make myself try it, but those hairs were popping off (you could tell by the sound of the razor), it was comfortable, and I was getting whiskers I couldn't get before. I could also do strokes that dragged and pulled (and cut) with the warm preparation. It is also a time saver as well, which means I should be able to straight shave more often on mornings before work.

I wouldn't have believed it until I tried it. I shaved before my shower so that lends itself to the cold water rinse.