Cold Shower Hair Benefits (?) and Challenge!

[ipickee]

Just wondering if anyone has really seen benefits from this.
I've been reading up on the benefits of cold showers for overall health, and have started to wean myself off warm water.
http://www.health.com/beauty/benefits-cold-showers
http://commonsensehome.com/health-benefits-of-cold-showers-yep-im-not-kidding/
My hair does seem to lay smoother, but since I baby my hair anyway, it's in fairly good condition. I'm trying this mostly for the additional health benefits along with the hair stuff.
My goal is to have myself totally off warm water by the first of March.
If you don't want to go full cold shower, you could go with a full 2 min 75/25 ration cold rinse at the end of your shower.
Anyone else in?

[sumidha]

Nope. Coffee, chocolate and hot water on demand are first world perks I intent to take full advantage of until the apocalypse comes.

I tried the cold water rinses on my hair back in the day, and didn't notice any real benefit, so I don't bother now. But if it makes you happy by all means go for it. :)

[pili]

I am! I've been researching WimHoff and other cold water methods. I'm also looking at this for other health benefits other than hair.

[ipickee]

I am! I've been researching WimHoff and other cold water methods. I'm also looking at this for other health benefits other than hair.
Yay! Welcome :). Please post any information you deem helpful!

[pili]

Yay! Welcome :). Please post any information you deem helpful!

I think I'm going to start by changing my shower routine up. I'm having the most trouble trying to figure out how to shave. I normally do this in the shower with hot water to avoid goosebumps. Now I'm wondering if I should do it barber style at the sink, before my shower. I really wish I could go without, but I'm way too hairy. Lol!

Maybe shave first and then switch to lukewarm for my hair wash and finish with cold, gradually reducing the temp of the lukewarm?

[Cg]

Nope. Coffee, chocolate and hot water on demand are first world perks I intent to take full advantage of until the apocalypse comes.

This.

I do rinse my hair in cool water, but I don't wash it in the shower.

[Robot Ninja]

Nope. Coffee, chocolate and hot water on demand are first world perks I intent to take full advantage of until the apocalypse comes.


Hear hear. I am not a polar bear.

I do wash my hair with cold-ish water but I have mastered the art of bending over backwards so I get as little cold water as possible on me. Because, again, I am not a polar bear.

[Hairkay]

If I was still living in the Caribbean I'd be happy with cold water but since I'm not there. I'll keep my warm water and leave the cold showers for in the middle of the hottest summer days. Many households in the Caribbean don't have a hot water system because it's not needed. Usually people who wish for hot water get power showers that come with their own heater. Grandmother would put a kettle on to boil when she wanted hot water to wash dishes.

[likelikepenny]

If I was still living in the Caribbean I'd be happy with cold water but since I'm not there. I'll keep my warm water and leave the cold showers for in the middle of the hottest summer days. Many households in the Caribbean don't have a hot water system because it's not needed. Usually people who wish for hot water get power showers that come with their own heater. Grandmother would put a kettle on to boil when she wanted hot water to wash dishes.

My family is from the caribbean as well :D

[Shorty89]

I've said this in another thread, but I do notice a difference when I rinse my hair with cool water. I have some scalp eczema and washing my scalp, or at least doing a cool rinse helps keep it calm. I can't stand cold or cool showers in winter though so I have taken to showering as normal in warm/hot water and then doing a final cool rinse on my scalp. I then usually crank the water back up to hot to warm up my body XD.

[rhyebud]

I love hydrotherapy! Hydrotherapy helped me immensely with heat sensitivity after I got heat stroke. And my hair loves cold water rinses. I'm in, sort of. I will still use hot water, but lots of cold as well! I like to alternate.

[ipickee]

I love hydrotherapy! Hydrotherapy helped me immensely with heat sensitivity after I got heat stroke. And my hair loves cold water rinses. I'm in, sort of. I will still use hot water, but lots of cold as well! I like to alternate.

I know what you mean! As much as I love to be warm (I'm seriously cold blooded), I LOVE hydrotherapy as well! The cold shower really is refreshing and I was completely surprised that I liked it!

[Nique1202]

I never noticed any benefit from cold rinses on my hair, and cold therapy for nearly any purpose is at best unsupported by science (http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/cold-therapy-maybe-better-save-your-money/). You can pry my hot water heater from my toasty warm hands.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I didn't notice a difference when I did them. But I do notice a difference with ACV rinses so I stick with those! That's enough water torture for me.

[Aunty Miki]

Oh. He'll. No.

[rhyebud]

I know what you mean! As much as I love to be warm (I'm seriously cold blooded), I LOVE hydrotherapy as well! The cold shower really is refreshing and I was completely surprised that I liked it!

I thought I was going to hate it too, but after giving it a try I can't argue with its benefits. If something works for me, I don't really care what other people say about it. My life is better because of hydrotherapy! I would recommend the book Barron's Hydrotherapy Theory & Technique, just in case you're interested :)

[ipickee]

I never noticed any benefit from cold rinses on my hair, and cold therapy for nearly any purpose is at best unsupported by science (http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/cold-therapy-maybe-better-save-your-money/). You can pry my hot water heater from my toasty warm hands.

That article is about cold therapy. IE, extremely cold temperatures. A cold shower isn't really the same thing.

[ipickee]

I thought I was going to hate it too, but after giving it a try I can't argue with its benefits. If something works for me, I don't really care what other people say about it. My life is better because of hydrotherapy! I would recommend the book Barron's Hydrotherapy Theory & Technique, just in case you're interested :)

I'm definitely going to look that one up, thank you!

[lapushka]

I do believe they invented warm water for a reason. Just MMHO. ;)

Nope not for me.

[Frankenstein]

I always rinse my hair in cool water at the end of a wash. Whether or not it actually does anything, I don't know, but I love how refreshing it feels.

[Nique1202]

That article is about cold therapy. IE, extremely cold temperatures. A cold shower isn't really the same thing.

I know, but some folks were talking about taking cold showers for health, which seems like a part of the cold therapy hullabaloo.

[ipickee]

I know, but some folks were talking about taking cold showers for health, which seems like a part of the cold therapy hullabaloo.

They're actually quite a bit different, but I understand what you're saying. Cold Therapy is more of a recovery technique for athletes using extreme cold where cold showers are the idea of reaping the benefits of not using hot water on your skin and hair by using just cold water out of your tap. :)

[Garnetgem]

I take warms showers and cool hair washes and i always rinse scalp and hair in freezing cold water..it gets so cold i gasp for breath for some odd reason i like that! as for cold shower on the body its a definite no as i live in cold Wales but for scalp yes..i am trying to see how cold it can go before it wont clean my hair..

[StartingAt35]

For a while now I've tended to wash my hair using 30 degree celsius water, sometimes rinsing it with 20 degree water in the end, and do notice a difference. And the effect is even clearer when I wash my hair with warmer water instead. It gets dry, something even straw-y! So I'm in :) But I do have a question, what qualifies as a cold shower? When I've looked this up before nobody really mentions any actual temperatures.

[ipickee]

For a while now I've tended to wash my hair using 30 degree celsius water, sometimes rinsing it with 20 degree water in the end, and do notice a difference. And the effect is even clearer when I wash my hair with warmer water instead. It gets dry, something even straw-y! So I'm in :) But I do have a question, what qualifies as a cold shower? When I've looked this up before nobody really mentions any actual temperatures.

Welcome!
Everything I've read indicates that standard cold tap water will do. I'll usually turn my handle so that it's a 75/25 mix of cold and hot water. And then all the way to cold during the last few minutes of my shower. I would say as cold as the individual can handle it.

[StartingAt35]

Welcome!
Everything I've read indicates that standard cold tap water will do. I'll usually turn my handle so that it's a 75/25 mix of cold and hot water. And then all the way to cold during the last few minutes of my shower. I would say as cold as the individual can handle it.

Sounds good :) I think I'll try to push the temperature a bit lower, or at least make that final rinse a standard.

[NimbleNut]

Nope. Coffee, chocolate and hot water on demand are first world perks I intent to take full advantage of until the apocalypse comes.

This (minus the chocolate part as I've given up refined sugars). It sounds like a cruel form of self torture. I've tried it in the past thinking I would eventually get used to it but no go. It just made me angry and irritable in a way that not even coffee could fix. I think it did make my hair shinier though. You guys have at it and I'll just marvel at your will power/tolerance for cold! :D

[StartingAt35]

Haha, I can see there's quite a lot of dislike of cold showers here, but I actually like them :D And that's in the middle of the Swedish winter! It's refreshing and since the temperature difference to the air is smaller, it somehow makes me feel less cold. .)

[Nymphe]

Cool to lukewarm showers are great for detangling. Hot removes excess oil and makes my coils tighter, followed by cold to lock them in. I don't do this all the time, though. Have fun with the challenge!

[Lilac Blossoms]

Nope, I turn my bathroom into a sauna. I've tried rinsing with lukewarm, cool, and downright Arctic water, but I haven't noticed a difference in my hair, so I stopped. I do turn it down a bit when I wash and rinse my hair so I don't fry it and burn my scalp, but it's still hot.

[Hairkay]

My family is from the caribbean as well :D

Well it looks as if our families are neighbours then. Have you been to visit?

[turtlelover]

I've tried this and it is NOT for me! Cold water is one sacrifice I am NOT willing to make for my hair! HAHAHA

[LadyCelestina]

No, never!!! :D My hair is bound to suffer whatever water temperature I fancy, which is mother-of-dragons scorching hot! :D

[Kaya]

No, never!!! :D My hair is bound to suffer whatever water temperature I fancy, which is mother-of-dragons scorching hot! :D

Ditto!!! :D DH always comments on my scalding shower temperatures! Well, yeah, compared to his...which are lukewarm to me! :lol:

Granted, sometimes it does get a bit too hot, but generally speaking my bathroom, which is rather small, turns into a proper steam room. I have to make sure to keep the window cracked to dehumidify and prevent mold growth!

Also, I never really noticed a difference in rinsing with cool/cold water, so fire-y showers it is! :D

[pili]

Yesterday I showered with hot only on my legs to shave, and then switched to lukewarm for my hair and body, and finished off with cold. Brrrr! Invigorating! I could immediately tell the difference on the skin of my face. It wasn't so dry and tight as it usually is after a shower. My hair has more shine too. Maybe because the lukewarm didn't strip out all the pre-oiling I did. Since my hair does not really produce sebaceous oil, it's good to retain that little bit of oil.

[ipickee]

Yesterday I showered with hot only on my legs to shave, and then switched to lukewarm for my hair and body, and finished off with cold. Brrrr! Invigorating! I could immediately tell the difference on the skin of my face. It wasn't so dry and tight as it usually is after a shower. My hair has more shine too. Maybe because the lukewarm didn't strip out all the pre-oiling I did. Since my hair does not really produce sebaceous oil, it's good to retain that little bit of oil.

I did this when I first started! It's invigorating! And once I get out, I warm up pretty quick!

[luvlonghair75]

I dumped cold nettle tea on my hair the other day it did seem to work! But the next day it, after brushing, didn't seem to be so great.

[StartingAt35]

From my experience merely rinsing the hair in cool water doesn't have the same effect as making the entire wash cold. It might be that the effect isn't as much something caused by the cold water itself, but rather by avoiding the warm water. Or it might be that a "rinse" just isn't long enough to make that big a difference.