Hot or cold water.

bald as

bald as

ARKO! dealer & walking ECG
Joined
May 4, 2015
Location
Adelaide
Which do you use?
Have you always used one over the other?
Can you quantify any actual differences?
Do you have a particular technique? Prep etc.
Why did you change from one method to the other?

Steve
 
I’m 100% cold water shaver throughout the whole season and I soak my brushes in cold water before shaving, because it a complete waste of time to wait until the hot tap is warmer or slightly hot before shaving.

Wake up @bald as start using cold water

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About cold water shaving

Link 1:- https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/cold-water-shaving/

Link 2:- https://sharpologist.com/2012/03/cold-water-shaving-2.html
 
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Which do you use? Cold, exclusively.

Have you always used one over the other? Used to use warm water but always finished with a cold water rinse.

Can you quantify any actual differences? Not really but i believe my neck appreciates the change. I also used to think that warm water was the key to making soap "work" such as when washing hands etc, but now know that cold water does the exact same. Even switched to using Cold Power laundry detergent!

Do you have a particular technique? Prep etc. Lather gets made with cold water as well. I use synthetic brushes so a quick dampen under the cold tap is all.

Why did you change from one method to the other? My lower neck is prone to getting that awful red appearance after shaving, so i researched cold water shaving and with the assistance of a few guys here made the 'small' leap. I started this around August last year, and of the colder mornings i feel its no problem to use cold water. I don't think someone will notice a change after just 1 shave, try it for 10 days and see how you go.
 
i have only used warm water as this is something i have done since day dot.. i did one cold water shave once (after a friend recommended it) and didnt think much of it at all and went back to warm shaves..

after reading the links and endorsements above, i reckon i will give it a proper try and get back to the forum
 
bald as said:
Which do you use?
Have you always used one over the other?
Can you quantify any actual differences?
Do you have a particular technique? Prep etc.
Why did you change from one method to the other?

Steve
Click to expand...

This is without a doubt a case of individual differences @bald as , what works for one will almost certainly be different for another and/or some commonality maybe enjoyed between the parties.

I need to shave with warm/hot water and judicious use of a pre-shave soap i.e. high glycerine and lanolin, the Valobra Pre Shave soap is the one for me. Others are happy with a simple high glycerine soap, others use no pre-shave prep at all or may use oils which I have found produce too much blade skip and tend to 'cloy' in the warmer months.

My prep is a simple affair and is part of my 5.45am routine - I simply wash my face thoroughly with warm to hot water, build a simple lather with the pre shave soap and rub it onto my face, leaving it there for 2-3 minutes while I load my brush with shaving soap and make my lather. Prior to applying the shaving soap to my face for the first pass I briefly wash the pre-shave soap lather off, I feel a noticeable difference in my skin and my bristles from the combination of lanolin and glycerine.

I have tried on a few occasions shaving with cold water and my skin hates it, the absence of softening the thick bristles on my face invariably leads to irritation and a less than rewarding shave experience and the same goes for shaving without adequate pre-shave preparation. I have tried both methods in both hard and soft water (Sydney and Adelaide) in an attempt to investigate the variables a little more objectively, and have also run the experiments in both hot and cold weather at different times of the year with little difference to my skin, I need to shave with hot water and a pre-shave soap.

At the end of the day, this is undoubtedly an area that boils down to individual differences in skin type, whiskers and personal preference. Given these variables and preferences if we are honest there cannot be a 'right way' or 'wrong way' if we approach your questions with any objectivity as we all have different skin types, hair types and personal preferences.

Edit: Lanolin and Glycerine pre-shave soap, not tallow.
 
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Hot water shower is my only prep, lather build and face wash between passes is also with hot water. Final rinse off is with cold water.

I experimented with just cold water for a few days - didn't like it at all; I suspect my thick beard needs warm water to soften it up
 
I switched to cold water a couple of months back and found the following.

Warm water softened my whiskers and skin more significantly (which for me led to increased irritation) leading to a closer shave.

Cold water left the whiskers and skin less soft resulting in less irritation but not as close a shave.

Given most of my shaves are short sharp and to the point, cold water gave me a better deal.

As usual YMMV.
 
I do warm in winter and cold in summer. Cold in winter gives a noticeable reduction in smoothness, reducing cutting efficiency / closeness. Warm in summer makes me sweat and makes my skin too soft...

In spring and autumn it’s a case of six of one, half a dozen of the other and boils down to whatever I feel like on the day.
 
I am a warm water guy.

Wash my face with face wash and warm water (usually in the shower) before shaving.
Warm water throughout the shave including lathering.
Warm water rinse.
Cold water rinse.

I find the final cold water rinse quickly settled my skin down after a shave.

I have tried cold water shaving but it just didn’t feel right for me.
 
Cold Water Experiment - Day 1

I did not want a warm shower to have any influence on my cold water shave so i decided to jump right into a cold shower.... #$%@$ is pretty much what i initially thought but tell you what after a few very cold seconds i adjusted and found this was the perfect cool down after a summers ride into work.. this may yet become a thing for me.. a summer thing anyway

back to the shave.. i didn't mind the cold water shave this time around, the only other time i tried this was in winter (once) so I may have the same reaction to cold water shaves in winter that @RazorPlay has.

The shave comfort during the shave i found neither any better or worse than warm water. The shave comfort after the shave wasn't as nice as yesterdays but i am not sure if this was down to my technique today, cold water or the slight sunburn i have on my neck, i did get a couple of nicks today.

One positive thing i did note was that i got a BBS in one less pass. What usually takes me 3.5 passes took me 2.5 (the .5 being touch ups).

so far, so good.. we'll see how it pans out over the next few days
 
DAY 2 Cold Water.. same close 2.5 pass shave as yday but more irritation skin today, not razor burn sort of like the feeling you get from a blade that should of been binned. Got a nice lather from A&E soap so dont think its that. Either the feather on use 3 was not good or cold water aint for me.. Will try again tomorrow with a fresh persona.
 
@bald as you might be right there.. i will tell tomorrow when i try again.. will try to be more than careful with my technique to rule that out.. all other factors will be the same (apart from soap, i just cant seem to use the same one twice in a row :))
 
Keep in mind also that cold water out of the tap is a lot warmer in summer than it is in winter. At least where I live in Perth.

I can remember using the cold tap in a hotel room in Canberra in the middle of winter and it certainly felt pretty close to freezing at the time... whereas it is closer to 20+ degrees in Perth at the moment. It's a big difference...
 
DAY 3 - experiment over for me, for now anyway. taking into account the comments regarding water out of the tap i might give this one more go in winter just to see.

Today's shave with room temp tap water, was not comfortable again. this was also with a new blade, a persona platinum. There are no post shave issues at all this time unlike yday, but the actual shave itself feels like i am tugging at the hairs instead of slicing through like a knife in warm butter. I guess my hairs are quite coarse and need to be softened.

I have not enjoyed the shaves without my usual prep, a warm shower. YMMV i guess.
 
StratMan said:
DAY 3 - experiment over for me, for now anyway. taking into account the comments regarding water out of the tap i might give this one more go in winter just to see.

Today's shave with room temp tap water, was not comfortable again. this was also with a new blade, a persona platinum. There are no post shave issues at all this time unlike yday, but the actual shave itself feels like i am tugging at the hairs instead of slicing through like a knife in warm butter. I guess my hairs are quite coarse and need to be softened.

I have not enjoyed the shaves without my usual prep, a warm shower. YMMV i guess.
Click to expand...
I still have a hot shower beforehand and only when i then start to add the lather to my face do i splash some cold water around. Cold shower? No Sir Ree Bob!
 
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