These are only my observations and with a straight razor.
The razor/Blade itself: Should be as fresh or as well honed as possible. With cold water it will be obvious quickly if it is suitable for cold water shaving.
Prep: Wash the face with a good hand soap and remove it well then rinse thoroughly.
Pre Shave: If you use one this can be beneficial.
Lather: Experiment, as I feel an excess of loaded product and then plenty of water is even more essential with a cold water shave. Don’t aim for an “Exploding lather”, a creamy wet lather fo me has proven a good compromise. I have found not all soaps seem suitable for cold water. Not really sure why, possibly just my imagination – no they do react differently. I have tried a few so far and withhold my choice.
The shave itself: Different. I always felt for the majority of my shaving life I needed a face softening hot towel prep to get a good shave and yes it certainly was smooth but I have noticed since using cold water ingrowns have dissappeared and that is probably the lack of heat/soap on my skin. This may not be the case for everyone but it may be worth considering.
The actual razor feel on the skin is not the buttery smooth I have been accustomed to with hot water, more like popping off the whiskers with purpose. An insanely sharp blade works beautifully but the face feel is different during the shave compared to a hot shave, I would say I’m much more aware of the whiskers being removed. It is just a different type of shave.
I still get a DFS with a single pass and my skin is much happier.
Post: Whatever you normally do.
I wash well with plain water and then use a smear of Macadamia oil with Lemon myrtle.
Please add your long term observations as these may be useful for others on the forum.
Steve
The razor/Blade itself: Should be as fresh or as well honed as possible. With cold water it will be obvious quickly if it is suitable for cold water shaving.
Prep: Wash the face with a good hand soap and remove it well then rinse thoroughly.
Pre Shave: If you use one this can be beneficial.
Lather: Experiment, as I feel an excess of loaded product and then plenty of water is even more essential with a cold water shave. Don’t aim for an “Exploding lather”, a creamy wet lather fo me has proven a good compromise. I have found not all soaps seem suitable for cold water. Not really sure why, possibly just my imagination – no they do react differently. I have tried a few so far and withhold my choice.
The shave itself: Different. I always felt for the majority of my shaving life I needed a face softening hot towel prep to get a good shave and yes it certainly was smooth but I have noticed since using cold water ingrowns have dissappeared and that is probably the lack of heat/soap on my skin. This may not be the case for everyone but it may be worth considering.
The actual razor feel on the skin is not the buttery smooth I have been accustomed to with hot water, more like popping off the whiskers with purpose. An insanely sharp blade works beautifully but the face feel is different during the shave compared to a hot shave, I would say I’m much more aware of the whiskers being removed. It is just a different type of shave.
I still get a DFS with a single pass and my skin is much happier.
Post: Whatever you normally do.
I wash well with plain water and then use a smear of Macadamia oil with Lemon myrtle.
Please add your long term observations as these may be useful for others on the forum.
Steve
