Cold-water shave experiment
I read a brief discussion on reddit’s Wicked_Edge about the efficacy of a cold-water shave: the claim is that cold water causes the skin to tighten, erecting the stubble for effective demolition. So I thought I’d give it a go. (The guy who started the thread was asking whether this would work. I never understand that: he presumably has access to cold water and shaving paraphernalia, so he has everything he needs to get the answer—and not just a general answer (“yeah, it works for some guys”) but the answer to the specific question: “Will it work for me?” Still, I understand why he wants to verify before trying: he shaves in the shower, so a cold-water shave has more severe implications for him than for me, who shave at the sink.)
Still, his asking prompted me to give it a go. I soaked the Edwin Jagger boar brush in hot water while I showered, but I used cold water to wet the brush and work up lather. It wasn’t nearly so unpleasant as it sounds: cool, but not shocking. I couldn’t tell that using cold water helped: I got a very close shave, but then it’s a two-day stubble attacked with a Slant Bar razor: it will naturally be a close shave.
I guess I have to try again with normal stubble and a regular razor. Still, not too bad. Three passes, the alum bar (which I’ve drifted back to using once again), and a splash of Pinaud Special Reserve (with a thanks to the reader who sent it to me), and I’m ready to get my ankle X-rayed.
After reading a forum discussion a few years ago I completely converted to cold water shaving. I noticed a significant decrease in weepers and razor burn. The quality of lather was improved as well. It’s a refreshing feeling even in the winter.
Gogo
18 July 2011 at 10:32 am
I’m not sure it makes any difference for me – warm or cold. But I will say I’ve never had a good experience w/ alum. It virtually always stings even on a great shave and it leaves my skin very dry. MY mileage did vary.
Dandaman
18 July 2011 at 12:16 pm
I was on holiday in Morocco recently and noticed two things water related. One, it was so hot cold water came from the tap tolerably warm so I could shave with it. Two, the area has soft water and I was shocked what a difference the soft water made in my shave, that seemed to improve every aspect of shaving so much that even my wife commented on how better my shaves looked. The hard/soft water difference seemed to count more than the cold/hot water in the quality of my shaves there.
Kevin
18 July 2011 at 12:30 pm
Good comments. Thanks. @Kevin: And soft water improves many things: besides the shave, think how much better laundry will do (though detergents fare better in hard water than soaps). Most of all hard water is hard on the plumbing and the taps. IMO, anyone who lives in a house in a hard-water area should investigate seriously having the entire house (except for the kitchen cold-water tap) on soft water, using a softener that recycles based on volume used rather than on time. (Takes care of vacations on the one hand and having house guests on the other.) You want to leave the kitchen cold alone because softened water has a higher sodium content than one should daily ingest.
LeisureGuy
18 July 2011 at 12:53 pm
This is entirely off topic because I was away and am only now catching up on the entire thread. But permit me to comment at this late date on my recent success with the Goodfella razor because several folks, yourself included, have had issues with the handle and I seem to recall you sidelined the Goodfella initially because it didn’t work to your satisfaction first out of the box.
Although I was always able to use the Goodfella handle without too much difficulty I found that replacing it with a Muhle handle (in my case from an R41) or any other handle with a metric M5 X 0.8 thread (another example, my lovely handle with those dimensions from Bob’s Razor Works) makes a world of difference.
These longer, heavier handles, for me at least, provide a major improvement in balance and control making the Goodfella one of my current favorites only a cut or two below the Muhle R41.
Yoda
19 July 2011 at 4:35 am
@Yoda: Excellent thought. I’ll give it a go. You’re right: the head is not the problem. I have an R41 so I’ll swap out the handle.
LeisureGuy
19 July 2011 at 7:18 am
Michael -Those of us at Simply Shaving were wondering if you could share a picture of your impressive shave soap collection. http://simplyshaving.myfreeforum.org/ftopic710-0-asc-0.php
Phil Huntsinger
19 July 2011 at 8:41 am
The problem is the collection is now large enough that it’s scattered and less photographable. But I’ll see what I can do.
LeisureGuy
19 July 2011 at 9:31 am