Hot towel before shave - but how do you keep towel on when moving around?

[closeshaver]

I recently started shaving with a hot towel before shaving because of a couple of articles I read online. Usually I shave after a shower and I don't need a towel but sometimes when I shower at night - its really painful to shave in the morning.

I love using a hot towel - but don't have time in the morning to stand over the sink while the towel works its magic or lie down for a few minutes (and get my bed wet!)- is there something you guys do to put on a hot towel that will stay against your face / neck and still allow you to move around in the morning? Thanks so much!

 

[shakin_jake]

I use hot towels for 99% of my shaves...here's my towel steamer-

this is a consumer grade vegetable/food steamer. I use hand towel size towels...I get them wet using warm to hot water, wring it out w/my hands, place in the steamer from 10 to 15 minutes (10 minutes is enough), remove the towel from the steamer using the tongs in the pic (all this sits 24/7 on my landry room sinkside counter

After removng the towel, I swing it around in the air for approx. 10 seconds so the towel gives up some BTU's, then I can handle it. Hand towels I use, which are standard, they are rectangular. the longest length is set on mhy face horizontally. top of the towel centered and just under my nose. I take the two top ends and move them to the back of my head. the bottom two corners of the towel are pulled around my neck to the back of my head where all four corners are held using one of my hands

At that point, with the towel wrapped aropund my face/head, I'll mill about, or sit at my computer...it's only for 2-3 minutes

This video-

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6502106680110094707&ei=qZFMSc2YFoS4-QGs7ZW-Cg&q#

Shows how a barber towel can be applied by a barber for his customer sitting in a chair. I've yet to try and fold my towel like this gentleman does



Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.

 

[BarryP13]

I used to use hot towels until I realized the hot makes the whiskers "wilt" and not stand up to be cut. Changed to cool water, my shave improved and any irritation vanished. I read an old time barbers manual to not use hot towels until the end of the shave.

 

[dpm802]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6502106680110094707&ei=qZFMSc2YFoS4-QGs7ZW-Cg&q#

Shows how a barber towel can be applied by a barber for his customer sitting in a chair. I've yet to try and fold my towel like this gentleman does

The captions for this video are hilarious!

 

[smalltank]

from what I read many years ago..a good pre shave before a shave..hot towel after..in that order..

 

[Go West Young Man]

Buy a long towel that you can knot behind your head.
There are also face towels that button in place.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

I don't use towels, I use thick washcloths. I soak one with warm water, wring out the water out and 'nuke' it for 20-30 seconds. Then I let it cool slightly and the cloth is now ready for use. I then 'lean' my head back, lay the cloth over my face, patting it down a few times to hold it in place.

I let the cloth set in place for about 1 minute, re-nuke to heat and repeat once more to soften the hair follicles.

"Hot towels (and wash cloths), in their less visible form are called shaving memories". CBJ

 

[coolbus18]

Hiya Jake!,
Great idea! A Healthy Happy Shavin' Year!! I'm enjoying the Dovo 122.

 

[OldSaw]

Steamers, microwaves... holy crap! All a bunch of unnecessary gadgetry. Once it reaches a comfortable temperature a steamer or microwave will only make it more dangerously hotter. I just set my water heater to be a little hotter than I like and then I can adjust it perfectly at the faucet.

As far as moving around with a hot towel/washcloth, I don't. If I'm in a hurry I just splash my face and lather up quickly and leave the lather sit as long as I can before I start shaving. Sometimes I lather up and then brush my teeth before I shave. Not every shave is going to be perfect and when rushed something has to give. Since switching to Feather blades I have less of a problem with short prep.

 

[rajagra]

Buy a long towel that you can knot behind your head.

I have done this successfully.
Pro tip: Only wet the part that touches the face!

 

[RABIDMONKEY]

I use a mini -crockpot .....

 

[duckdown]

I never understood the benefit of the hot towel since I have always shaved after a hot shower, and thus, to this day have never used one.

Can someone tell me if there's any benefit to the hot towel prep if you are already prefacing your shave with a hot shower?

 

[ackvil]

I never understood the benefit of the hot towel since I have always shaved after a hot shower, and thus, to this day have never used one.

Can someone tell me if there's any benefit to the hot towel prep if you are already prefacing your shave with a hot shower?

It feels good.

For me a hot towel consists of one soaked in hot water and applied to my face for less than a minute.

 

[Kabong30]

Thumbtacks.

 

[Mick]

I will only use a hot towel when I have the time for a leisurely shave.

For times where time is more important than leisure I will wash my face twice using glycerine soap (Pears or Neutrogena) and warm water. The first wash removes any oils and dirt and I let the lather from the second wash sit on my face while I get my shaving tools together. I rinse off the glycerine soap just before I apply my lather. The glycerine soap will hydrate your beard just as well as a hot towel will (but it is not as enjoyable).

When I am really in a hurry I will use a shave stick and face lather.

It all depends on your time VS pleasure ratio... The more time you have, the more pleasurable you can make your shave. The less time you have the more you need to find ways cut your shaving time down.

Thumbtacks.

Or a staple gun

 

[Kabong30]

Or a staple gun

Those are for Philistines and cartridge shavers!

 

[shakin_jake]

Steamers, microwaves... holy crap! All a bunch of unnecessary gadgetry. Once it reaches a comfortable temperature a steamer or microwave will only make it more dangerously hotter. I just set my water heater to be a little hotter than I like and then I can adjust it perfectly at the faucet.

As far as moving around with a hot towel/washcloth, I don't. If I'm in a hurry I just splash my face and lather up quickly and leave the lather sit as long as I can before I start shaving. Sometimes I lather up and then brush my teeth before I shave. Not every shave is going to be perfect and when rushed something has to give. Since switching to Feather blades I have less of a problem with short prep.

~~~~rather than replying to each individual statement, I'll cover everything here. That said, about unneccesary gadgetry, I felt the same way when I first contemplated going over to the steamer to heat my towels. I was using the water from my hot water heater and it was never hot enough, although the temp of the water coming out at the faucet was 138 degrees fehrenheit. We have two water heaters in our home. One is only on in the other side of the house when we have company and that bathroom is used. The main water heater is 120 gallons and I can't see raising the temp higher for my towels. For the rest of our water uses, 138 degrees is just fine. Enter the steamer

Sometime back I quizzed the forum what they were using to heat their towels...the guys that used the barber towel prep exclusively. Invaribly & for the most part, they were either heating their towels in a microwave or a steamer like I'm using. I too thought that was a lot of trouble so I kept on using tap water yet at some point I wanted higher water temp and commandered the food steamer to use exclusively for my towel use

I gotta tell ya, for those with an open mind (not the old dogs that can't learn new tricks=, the steamer is a Godsend. Yes!, the towel will be too hot to use as it comes out of the steamer, that's why I use a pair of dedicated tongs (that's what I'm calling my grabbing device, I'm sure there is a specific tool name I'm not using) to grab the towel, it's way too hot to handle as it comes out of the steamer, but remember, if your tap water isn't hot enough, you're never going to be satisfied using it, trust me, I used tap water for a loooong time until I saw the light

Anyways, about 10 seconds of waving the towel around in the ambient air is enough to get the btu content down enough for comfortable hand use yet still hot enough to soften dem whiskars, and for the boys that claim that heat irritates their face, it doesn't bother my skin one lick. Some like it hot, and I'm one of them. If you're a cold water shaver, why are you replying to this thread? That's a rhetorical question. But I will say this, there is a cold water shaving thread. You will not find a contribution in that thread from me. Anyways....


Now I will quote and answer this statement-

Not every shave is going to be perfect and when rushed something has to give

~~~not when I'm shaving...if I don't have time for a proper prep, I don't shave. Same if I'm tired...I don't get my face anywhere near my open blades. It's not worth the risk of screwing up. If the world at large does not care for my hairy face, tough toe nails

To each his own, the OP originally asked how do you keep the hot towel on your face, I offered how I use mine, along with my before and after routine. I certainly do not wish to convince others that the way I prep will be good for them. I'm merely stating what I do for my prep

Someone asked if it's necessary to do the barber towel prep if you shower before shaving. I don't use the barber towel prep when I shower before shaving because, when I do shower before shaving, I make sure I prep well in the shower. Having said that, when I first started wet shaving, and I was showering before a shave, I tried using the barber towel prep right after the shower, and more than thrice. What I found was if I concentrated on making sure I cleansed my skin well and spent extra time letting the shower head water cascade down on my beard for the correct amount of time, I got the same benefit as if I would don the proverbial barber towel

Again, let me be perfectly clear....for those that find the way I prep too much trouble or too much bother, fine, I didn't compose my responses for you. For those I've helped in any little way...I'm glad to have been of some service to you



Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.


@ coolbus18- Glad to hear your Dovo open blade is working out for you...I love and use mine often

 

[LovingLather]

Well said shakin_jake. I too use a hot towel nearly every shave, even if I have just showered. No particular reason other than I just enjoy the feeling. Btw, what part of north central Florida are you from?

 

[shakin_jake]

what part of north central Florida are you from?

~~~ Reddick, smack dab between Ocala and Gainesville. Intertestingly enough, if you look at Scott's (life2short1971) location, his sez north central Fla. too, like mine...when I PM'd him I found he is in Lake City Fla., about 70 miles away, which is north Fla. yet is centraly located (longitude)

Orlando is central Fla., Jacksonville is considered north Fla. although on the eastern coast...we're located between the two, so most around here consider this part of Fla. north central


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.

 

[LovingLather]

Gotcha. I went to UCF and lived in Orlando for 10 years, never heard of Reddick but there are sooo many towns in Florida.