Cold Water Shaving

You still are not getting it. You tried CWS once and it didn't work for you and now think you're some authority on shaving and every one who doesn't have your experience is wrong. No one said 90% are too dumb to figure it out. You are the one who just said that. I never did.

I am saying quit attacking people who differ from you. I do not understand why are so worked up over the matter. And I don't appreciate your constantly saying the "odd one" and "against the norm". Forums are not for being nasty, but for sharing information and learning and engaging others in a friendly way.

 

This topic made me look for pictures demonstrating the electric razor cut whiskers versus a good wetshave with razor (not sure that there's anything to glean relative to this discussion necessarily, but interesting nonetheless)
Electric Razor: http://www.sciencephotogallery.com/...hair_cut_by_electric_razor/print/6423332.html
Wetshave: http://www.sciencephotogallery.com/r2/coloured_sem_of_shaved_beard_hair/print/1116656.html

 

I tried the cold water shave too. I did it for a week to try and give it a fair chance. Yesterday I shaved with hot water, and decided that cold water shaving was not for me. To put some perspective on my experiment, I started wet shaving in 1968, so I do have more experience with wet shaving than my post number would indicate. Here are my Pro’s and Con’s as well as some of the supposed Pro’s.​

Pro’s:

1. Saves time.
2. Saves money as it uses less water and energy.
3. Less likelihood of bleeding as skin surface is cold and capillaries are closed.
4. Lather is just as easily made with cold water as hot.
5. Cold water is easier on your skin than hot water.
6. You learn to shave when hot water isn’t available.
7. It’s invigorating/bracing!
8. You shave closer as the hair is cold, stands erect, and is easier to cut.

Con’s:

1. If I wanted to save time, I would still use an electric. 2 minutes and done!.
2. Yeah, I started wet shaving to save money. If I shaved like I did as a kid and young man I would save money, but when you turn it into a hobby and collection? LOL!! Once again, if I wanted to save money, the electric wins.
3. Less likelihood of bleeding as skin surface is cold and capillaries are closed. True!!
4. Lather is just as easily made with cold water as hot. True!!
5. Cold water is easier on your skin than hot water. Just how damn hot is your water!?!!
6. You learn to shave when hot water isn’t available. True!!
7. It’s invigorating/bracing! Kind of, but I also did not enjoy shaving, it became something to endure. I also did not like the feeling of tugging on my face as it added an element of stress as I kept waiting for the skip and cut. I prefer the comfort of warmth.
8. You shave closer as the hair is cold, stands erect, and is easier to cut. This is definitely a YMMV area. I didn’t find this to be so. I could get just as close of a shave as hot water but not closer. I also did not have to do any more passes with hot water than cold to achieve the desired result.

So, try it. If you like it great! If you don’t also great! This isn’t rocket science kids, it’s only shaving.​

 

Perhaps you guys could consider a Cold Water Shower to cool down a bit.

 

Folks, remember that any process in wet shaving is a Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV) thing. Just because it works for you doesn't mean it will for someone else. Saying something doesn't work for you is fine. Repeatedly shouting something isn't possible, isn't fine. Let's not be so "I'm right, you're wrong!" about this. That's not how we roll at TSD. I'll thank you all in advance to remain civil and keep YMMV in mind.

 

It's a scientific fact that's been around since the creation of the universe. A wet or dampened object is more difficult to slice with a sharpened implement because the object has a greater coefficient of friction. Note the table in the middle of the page.

It's the same reason a car skids off the road when it's wet rather than when it's dry. The same reason a farmer will only cut hay with his sickle when the hay is dry and not wet. The same reason a lawnmower blade cuts dry grass more cleanly when it's dry. The same reason a chainsaw will cut a dead, dry tree easier than when the tree is green, full of water and living. The same reason a human hair is easier to cut when it is stiff and dry rather than wet and limp.

BTW, your analogy of "hot butter" vs. "cold butter" is invalid because the "hot butter" is a liquid and longer a solid.

 

Thank you, Jody. That is all I wanted to say, myself.

 

Where are the threads on the benefits of dry shaving, then? I venture a guess that there will not be many takers on that... Substitute room temperature, solid state butter with hot butter, and his analogy holds true. Softened butter is significantly easier to cut than frozen butter, and it is not debatable.

YMMV is a super concept for discussing preferences, but for science, it is exceedingly poor approach. There is such a thing as correct and incorrect in that arena. In this discussion, it is verifiably true that softened whiskers are easier to cut than stiff ones. The YMMV application to science is the reason, I contend, that we cannot move forward our discussions away from basics of science and math (bevel angles, bear prep, etc.) and advance beyond a rudimentary understanding of what is going on... Remember too, that I use a cold water/room temperature water shave approach.

 

Then where is your verifiable proof? BTW, Gillette "researchers" is not verifiable. If you listen to them, they will have you believe 5 blades is the only way to shave.

I've cited one of mine above. There are plenty others.

 

This has gotten interesting for sure!

 

Sir, you cited something that "proves" a point that I am willing to bet my house that you do not even believe. Otherwise, you would not be shaving with water at all, or any lubricants for that matter. I proposed a very simple, easy to do it yourself, experiment that demonstrates what we all know. When you do, report back honestly the results.

Additionally, deny the fact that softened butter cuts easier than frozen butter, please. You will not, because it's preposterous.

That proves that my point made earlier is true, it depends on the circumstance. Sometimes, something stiff is easier to cut than the same thing in a softened state, but as it relates to cutting something hard with something very sharp, ie. shaving, softened whiskers are easier to shave. It's not debatable. Let's think about this, if you heat metal, you can bend it and cut it easily. Without adding heat, it is significantly more difficult to bend or cut metal. These are all things we know.

 

Sorry but most of you comparisons are wrong. Don't cut hay when it wet because it harder to dry out when it's down(air movement thing). Not easier to cut a tree when it's dead because you you can't determine where it will fall(dead tree=widow maker). A good beautician will wash your hair before they cut it. Grass clumps when it's cut wet and mats so it's harder to rake or blow away. The car tire thing doesn't relate to cutting(or does it??) -)

 

Goes to show examples of coefficients of friction. If a stick of butter had the tensile properties of a whisker and would bend and lay over....

The point that cold water shavers try to make (I'm not a cold water shaver) is that warm water causes the molecules in the whisker to expand and become "limp" losing its tensile strength. IOW, it lays over and doesn't stand erect where it can be cut easily by the blade. The coefficient of friction is then increased making the whisker harder to cut because the blade has a tendency to "skip" or move over the whisker instead of cutting it.

 

YES!! Finally we can start with the name calling...right?