April, the Month of the Cold Shower: Day 5 (The Ultimate Chill Factor)

April 5, 2013

I decided to up the ante a little this morning and increase what I call the "chill factor" by seeing just how cold I could make the shower experience.  I went for the most chilling bath products that we have in the house (and we had a surprising amount on hand!).  Here was my entire shower experience from start to finish:

1. Entered the shower and just barely turned on the water for maximum coldness.  I didn't stand to the side of the shower stream and step into the water like I usually do, but I just got in, looked up at the shower head, and turned on the water, which came out and hit me first in the face.
2. Lathered up using Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Liquid Soap.  The menthol and peppermint oils in the soap left a definite tingle that, mixed with the cold water, increased the chill factor nicely.
3. Washed my face with Clean and Clear Deep Action Exfoliating Scrub.  This also leaves a minty tingle that is pretty fun.
4. Rinsed off, dried, and started my shave.  This consisted of Shave Secret Shaving Oil (mild chill factor), a cold water shave, Osage Rub (extreme chill factor), and finished with American Crew Post-Shave Cooling Lotion (moderate chill factor).

All in all, I found that these mentholated products, which usually are quite effective at giving one a freezing effect on the body, were not as effective as they typically are with a warmer shower.  The cold shower was enough to provide the effect.

Conclusion #4: Menthol does not increase the chill factor already inherent in a cold shower.

April, the Month of the Cold Shower: Day 2

April 2, 2013

I decided to shake things up a little and add two variables to my morning routine today:

1. I started with the water on warm (not hot) and lathered up, then switched the water to cold for the rinse-off.  What I was checking to see is if the shock factor here would be any different than an ordinary cold shower.  It is actually more of a shock to go from warm to cold than it is to just take a cold shower.  I found that I was a little less tolerant to the switch to cold water.
2. I used cold water to shave.  (Actually, shaving could be the subject for another series of posts, as I take pride in having an excellent morning shave.)  After getting out of the shower, I used cold water to shave and I was able to get just as close a shave as I do with hot water.  Now, it did not feel like a warm water shave at all; it was not an easy, leisurely pace, but a more quick, efficient process that yielded the same results.  I may need to explore this concept a little further.

Conclusion #2: It is easier to take a cold water shower than a blast-of-cold-water-at-the-end-of-a-hot-shower.
Conclusion #3: Cold water shaving has benefits.

See also:
Shaving with Cold Water