Can you fine gentlemen give me some tips on preparing a hot towel for my shave? I've never done it but I would like to. Does it need to be steamed, wet, dry, etc.? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
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Can you fine gentlemen give me some tips on preparing a hot towel for my shave? I've never done it but I would like to. Does it need to be steamed, wet, dry, etc.? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
I always run the water until hot, rinse the sink, and plug the drain,throwing in the towell (hand towell size), so to speak. I make some lather with the running hot water,and lather up good. Then I pull out the towell and fold it once, squeeze out the bottom(less drips) and smack it on my mug leaving the nose exposed(nice to breathe). I hold it tightly as I can to my face and neck whilst leaning over the sink to catch drips. Hold the hot towell on for a minute and then repeat! Feels GREAT! Lather up and shave! Makes a huge difference!:gl: ....get it on.....Tom
I take a couple of hand towels and soak them in water and ad some peppermint essential oil to the mix. I loosely ring the towels out and then place them in a crock pot on high. Let them "Cook" for about 30-60 minutes , apply to face and you will be in heaven. I normally don't have time for this, but if I do it is PERFECT! -Glenn-
Man! that sounds awesome! Crock pot in the shave den! An hour late to work! PRICELESS!!!! Gotta try it!:tuQuote:
Originally Posted by sharp
These are wonderful! Someone finally made something that works as advertised and lasts.
RoyalShave RoyalShave Green Herringbone Barber Towel
I simply soak in hot water while stropping my razor, lightly wring out and apply yo my face until I feel it start to cool. Then I fold it into quarters and use it for wiping the blade during the shave.
Nice point! I do the same! lay it on the side of the sink, It is good to see what you are taking off! makes for a quicker shave as well. "blade rinsers" are missing that, as the lather dries!Quote:
Originally Posted by GeauxLSU
My recipie is 30 sec in the microwave and it comes out great! SWMBO laughs and asks if I'm cooking towels again! Now if I can just figure out how to get a small one in the BR!!!
Oh GREAT! Another shaving web site! Just what I needed, thanks a LOT!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by GeauxLSU
And a crock pot? Are you SERIOUS?!
Actually this morning I face lathered with Musgo Real (I don't normally face lather) and put the hot towel (I just soaked it in the sink in hot water for a few minutes; I have the thermostat on the hot water system set pretty high) over the lather, holding it there until it cooled. Then washed off the lather and re-lathered. I didn't use and pre-shave. Funny, last few times Musgo Real didn't do well, but today there was heaps of lather. Maybe it likes to 'go it alone'?
I have a small microwave in my shave den(Cramped Bathroom). Soak towel, on high for 1 minute, ring out, use.
I don't normally have time for the hot towel treatment, however what I find is that by using the crockpot I can go do something else and know that my towels are ready to go when I want to use them. I don't keep the CP in the shave den though, it stays in the kitchen :)Quote:
Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider
What would the difference be between this towel and a normal towel? Thinner, maybe?Quote:
Originally Posted by GeauxLSU
This is herring bone weave cotton, a bit thinner than denim jean cloth. This is made for wiping and soaking. A regular towel is made to dry something.Quote:
Originally Posted by Firefighter2
It's funny, the old barber's manual I got hold of from the early 1900s talks about the hot towel being used AFTER the shave, but folk here talk about substantial benefits using it before hand. I haven't tried either so I really can't comment on the effectiveness either way, I just think it's curious is all and wonder if it serves a different purpose in each case.
I only use the towel after the shave; to remove the leftover cream and then hit it with the alum bar.
I used to always use a hot towel before my shave, I've gong to Lathering up before I do my other prep stuff, stroping setting up my "wipe" towel for my razor cleaning duing the shave, and then after a few minutes I take hot water and wash all the lather off my face, dry it, put on a good aplication of Bay/Rum after shave let that dry and then re-lather and start my shave, I use very cold water as a bracer when I'm done and then apply my after shave and or after shave balm, it's been working well for me for the last couple of weeks, basically I"m substituting keeping the hot lather on my face for the hot towel I used to always use in the past.
Great Shave from the above gents, you should give it a try!!
Thanks for ready my stuff, tinkersd
I apply a pre shave such as Vitos or Shave Secret and than take a shower. When I get out I wet my brush and start whatever lather I plan to use. I then wet several small towels (only a bit bigger than a washcloth) and in a bowl, I nuke them in the kitchen microwave for a bit over a minute. Back to the shave den and I whip up a good lather in a bowl. I then apply first one till cool and then the other hot towel to my face. As soon as the second one has started to cool I remove it and lather my face. This has really worked the best for me and I normally get a very good, non-irritating shave even if the razor is not edge perfect. After the shave I may use a towel wetted with very hot water from the sink faucet.
I use a Hot towel very briefly after I take my morning shower to clean off my skin. I then use a product called "Hot Towel" By Billy Jealousy. My Girl friend works at a Mens Grooming Lounge so I have had the chance to try a lot of good products. But I strongly recommend Billy Jealousy's Hot Towel Product to be used in conjunction with a real hot towel especially for people like me who have to grab the train every morning and don't have the time for a crock pot.
I wet a towel and nuke it for a minute in the microwave; it works for me everytime, I also use it before the shave to soften the stubble. HOG
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeauxLSU
Thanks, I just ordered a dozen of these towels
I use the microwave for one minute technique. Works like a dream. When I'm ready to shave, I put the same towel in the freezer. After I'm all done (but before the alum and aftershave), I put the now chilled towel on my freshly shaved face...absolute bliss. Highly recommended.
My wife and I were given 2 sets of beautiful Williams-Sonoma blue & white kitchen towels and dishcloths for Christmas a year ago. Since we had plenty already in use, the towels and dish cloths went into storage. However, when I started shaving with a straight razor eight months ago, I discovered that they made great all-around wet-shaving towels, so I appropriated them. Our sets included the W-S "striped" dishcloth in blue in a set of eight and W-S "logo" towels in blue in a set of four. Inspired by the posts on using "hot" towels for wet-shaving, I plan to try the larger towel as a hot towel. It just happens that my shaving den has blue striped wall paper, so the towels look great. They do come in a variety of colors.
The Williams-Sonoma towels are a bit expensive at $5@, so if I were in the market, I would buy the RoyalShave towels at $2.29@. However, since our W-S towels were FREE, THEY ARE NOW OFFICIALLY SHAVING TOWELS.
Here are three William-Sonoma Sites for the towels:
Williams-Sonoma Striped Towel, Set of 4 | Williams-Sonoma
Seasonal Contrast Williams-Sonoma Striped Dishcloths, Set of 8 | Williams-Sonoma
Towels | Williams-Sonoma
I just love getting free shaving goodies!
Happy Shaving!
I just run hot tap water over the towels. My water is very hot. I got my towels from Classic Shaving. I don't know if they still sell them but they had two types. One was a cotton towel with a green stripe on it and the other was a terry towel all white. I think the green stripers were vintage products while the terry is new.
Ya, you would think it's better beforehand to soften the beard.Quote:
Originally Posted by MickRussell
Thanks for all the info in your replies guys. I've been soaking the towel in very hot water which seems to work alright, but I find that it cools off too quickly on my face. I do need a better towel for this though, as some of you have mentioned.