Actually taking a cold shower is torture, especially in wintertimes, when you have to get up too early to see the day of light, the bathroom is still freezing and all you want is to stay another hour in bed. Now, as spring is arriving in its full glory we can reconsider...
Forcing oneself to take a cold shower first thing in the morning goes probably with the weird attitude, that if a thing is good for you, it MUST hurt. But I will not go further into this direction, not my cup of tea at all.
Let´s face it: Cold water is indeed good for us. Not for drinking though - no, there it is best in a mild temperature, can be absorbed much easier and does you really good. Actually drinking warm water is the best way of hydrating your body thoroughly. The idea of drinking ice-cold water to burn more calories is simply nonsense. Ice cold water inside is not good for your shocked body. Warm water is. Unfortunately I cannot cite here some 3473years-old-wisdoms, coming from the holy mountains and a nice monk, but this is simple common sense.
It is also matter of fact, that cold water is good for our skin - outside - it heightens the bloodflow and you get a rosy glow in your face, after splashing happily around with cold water. In some cosmetic lines the cold water is even expressedly asked to be employed in the cleansing process: Eve Lom and Erno Lazlo do actively use cold water as a last splash before you put your cream on. Clarins needs cold water to make its body oils really effective - for example the Huile Tonic is great with a cold shower and does really work if followed religiously.
Also giving your hair a last and very good blast with ice-cold water after rinsing out all residues of shampoo and conditioner makes your hair more healthy: again the bloodflow in the skalp is encouraged, your hair will be better nourished on the long term - so, this is much more effective than putting 1000 products on your head: good circulation - and good food - makes your hair shine at its best.
Swollen feet need cold water - let me tell you! I am a martyr in hot summerclimats - my feet get the size of a Yeti in Puschen, i.e. houseshoes. Cold water and cold compresses are the only way of getting them back into christian forms.
Varicous veins also do not like cold water - old Pfarrer Kneipp has a point here: stalking like a storch in a basin of coldest water is really good for your legs, really.
And then there is nothing like the good feeling of going into the sea and taking this first swim of the summerseason - glorious! But I admit, that the sea here in the north is too cold for me - I have learned since long, that a lovely bath in the Algarve is the thing for me, concerning seasides in any case. I advise a swim or in the early mornings, when the sun get up, or at 8.pm, when the beach gets empty and quiet. This is real luxury. For free!!
You are perfectly right! I would add the effect of cold water for exema. Our pediatrician said, cold water would activate the production of your own cortisone in your adrenal glands, simply by being given the signal to do so through the skin's contraction. You are also stimulating your pores to give back to your skin it's natural grease film, normally flushed away by showering too hot or using too much soap.
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