hot or cold water?

Purbeck said:
First ever cold water shave done. P&B Denali, mongoose with feather pro and a sink full of ice cold water. No shower, just cold water face wash and cold flannel.
First things first, lathering with cold water is a pain, pointless and the lather results suck compared to hot water. I'd lather hot and let it cool.
The shave was irritation free but not as close or as efficient as my usual hot water routine. In fact much less irritation, especially on my neck. I think the lack of stubble softening is the reason efficiency was down. Very refreshing though and I'd do it again, especially abroad in hot weather. The cold steel was a nice feeling and easier to feel the blade and angle.
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I would advise a normal prep routine, which I believe in your case would be warm or hot. Only cold water when washing between passes and soaking the brush. Warm up the blade too. I wouldn't go as far as committing to ice cold water just cold. This is what I used to use and with great results. I don't think it makes a huge difference compared to razor/blade/product/technique.

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I'll give it a go Nishy. I have just taken delivery of RR Stealth, Blackbird and the latest Rockwell 6S so am keen to try them all - cold water shave could be a way of doing that without getting irritation that I'd usually get when shaving every day.
 
That thread reminded me that I can warm water to shave. lol

The last week I had one of my best BBS shaves in my life, but I will go back to warm water to perfect my shaving routine.

I just realised you said "hot". Never get in contact with hot water! Or you will have the skin of a 50 years old when you reach 30.

I always rinse with ice cold water though. There is no point on using warm water if you have done shaving, but there is a point in rinsing with cold water.
 
I would say in my case it's more down to technique as opposed to water temperature when validating the shave as causing irritation or not. I tend to wash with warm water after the shave to clear any pores of soap the cold water splash to close them. When my technique was not spot on, cold water helped 'save' my face from more irritation, but it obviously isn't the best answer.

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Desert said:
How can cold water help you from getting irritated skin?
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Its not so much help against, that IMO is down to the quality of the razor and the quality of technique by the user. Cold water would only calm down heated skin (through irritation) and that's about it. I believe warmer water softens the whiskers, which scientifically speaking should make slicing them easier.

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I tried a cold shave this morning. Tech, Gillette Yello, Arko stick.

Lather – I didn't find any difference in getting a lather using a slice of the stick in a shaving bowl.

The Shave?

First pass sounded rough. As in I could hear the blade cutting hair louder than normal. The idea is that cold water makes the hair stand up (the purported science being that water softens hair just as warm water does, but warm water relaxes the skin, allowing the hair to lie flatter). No real difference in outcome that I noticed apart from that.

Did a 2nd XTG and a 3rd pass that was pretty much in line with my normal XTG and then mix of XTG and ATG. Comfort levels at this stage were in line with my normal shave.

Outcome?

Well, I would say it is one of the smoothest shaves I have yet produced. Areas around my chin and mouth that normally are hard to get really smooth were absolutely immaculately smooth. A really outstanding shave overall.

Irritation?

Well, there was none, but I use a Tech, which isn't the most aggressive blade, so (that's) not normally a problem anyway.

Final Thoughts?

Well, this works for me. I'll do it again. That said, shaving is not just about outcomes. If you're getting a great shave with warm water, or simply feel like some heat on the face that day, then (that's) a plenty good enough reason to turn on the hot tap.
 
I use cold water exclusively these days, works very well for me. I have never experienced any issues lathering with cold water.

I don't think using cold water for shaving is "uncomfortable" since I shower with warm water so the cold water helps me cool down a bit. Sometimes I shave before showering with the only prep being cold water on my face for 2 minutes or so.
 
ive been shaving with hot water and my cella lately, and been getting bad shaves. lots of irritation and nicks.

this morning I got my water hot, wipes the damp badger brush on the cella and put it in the cup of hot water with the fat boy and Wilkinson blade. then I filled it up with cold tap water and forgot about it. when I remembered to shave the water was luke warm . Lathered up, and got more lather then with hot water and the shave was SOOOOOO damn smooth and goodly;
 
I cold water shave now. Works noticeably better for me especially with something like a feather AC.

I get no razor burn and less ingrown hairs, personally I think it's very little to do with the physical cooling of the skin and more to do with the skins reaction to cold...the hairs stand up more, lifting themselves further from the skin. This helps my neck massively as my hairs grow in multiple directions and lay very flat to my skin, making them difficult to cut and likely to produce an ingrown if I'm not careful with prep.

Cold shave errrrrrr day
 
Daniel said:
I cold water shave now. Works noticeably better for me especially with something like a feather AC.

I get no razor burn and less ingrown hairs, personally I think it's very little to do with the physical cooling of the skin and more to do with the skins reaction to cold...the hairs stand up more, lifting themselves further from the skin. This helps my neck massively as my hairs grow in multiple directions and lay very flat to my skin, making them difficult to cut and likely to produce an ingrown if I'm not careful with prep.

Cold shave errrrrrr day
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I had never thought about it this way. I have the same issue with you. My hair grows towards multiple direction on my neck.

I came to the conclusion that we don't need warm water if we take a shower before shaving.

And what you said about the hair that stands up away from the skin, it makes sense. It may be more difficult to cut with an ordinary blade, but if you use a very sharp one, then it can only be a win.
 
It's easier for surfactants to remove oil, dirt & dead skin from your face using warm or hot water. That's why you wash your whites in hot water. You should do this before shaving. The soap/cream will provide any lubrication you need for the shave.
 
Bogeyman said:
It's easier for surfactants to remove oil, dirt & dead skin from your face using warm or hot water. That's why you wash your whites in hot water. You should do this before shaving. The soap/cream will provide any lubrication you need for the shave.
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I get this. But surely this can take place in a hot shower then get out for a cold water shave?


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Bogeyman said:
It's easier for surfactants to remove oil, dirt & dead skin from your face using warm or hot water. That's why you wash your whites in hot water. You should do this before shaving. The soap/cream will provide any lubrication you need for the shave.
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Whilst this is true, I was getting some awful shaves from stripping too much natural oil from my skin (Kiehls facial fuel wash), pre shave.

If you watch shaves being conducted in India and the far east, they use a cream wash, to remove dirt, as well as providing a layer of lubrication; pre shave. This works best for me.
 
Nishy said:
Whilst this is true, I was getting some awful shaves from stripping too much natural oil from my skin (Kiehls facial fuel wash), pre shave.

If you watch shaves being conducted in India and the far east, they use a cream wash, to remove dirt, as well as providing a layer of lubrication; pre shave. This works best for me.
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If you're getting bad shaves, water temp would most likely not be the prime culprit. As well, they squat to shit over a hole in the ground in India. Would you recommend that? :D ;) Having spent time in the Third World I quickly realized that most there do things merely out of expediency and/or ignorance and not due to some innate cleverness.
 
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