Thread: Shower shower shower, what happened to.....

I shower simply because that is part of my morning ablutions toprepare for work.

Its not necessary to shower in preparation for a shave. Splashing your beard with warm/hot water works too.

When I don't shower, I wash my face, apply a pre-shave such as Proraso, soak a wash rag with hot water and hold that on my face for 1-2 minutes.

I have a fairly coarse/tough beard and doing so seems to help soften my whiskers so the razor doesn't pull.

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How exactly do you guys go about heating up the towel? Also, how hot is the towel? Is it water-logged, dry, or just a little damp?

Damp and hot unless you want to spill water all over your sweet vest (a dollar to whoever gets that) Personally I take a hot shower every morning, so I just shave after...often I will jump back in to rinse quickly with cold water...very refreshing.

For me the best shave is after a steam, the second best is after a hot shower, third: hot towels, forth: hot water. That is my 2 cents and if one thinks about it, it actually makes sense. Nothing seems to soften a beard better than an application of heat and water. I don't understand the guys who prep with cold water, but to each their own.

I think part of it is, the facial massage has been forgotten. Is it needed for a good shave, of course not! But it is one of the best parts of going to an old fashioned barber. Sitting down, de-stressing, letting the world melt away while we get a nice pampering for a change. Somewhere along the line, "relaxing massage" seems to have become unmanly. Not to mention that its nowhere near as relaxing when you are doing it for your own face!
Hot towels are great though. I recall somebody on here had even made their own old fashioned barber shop towel warmer. And I DO enjoy a cold water shave now and again, though I do it for the finishing pass, not for the prep!
Shave on McDuff!

i take most of the time a shower in de evening,whits is the time that i shave.I open the bathroomdoor so the damp can go away(do'nt like shaving in a wet bathroom) Rub my body dry.
Strop my razor, then again a splas of water and lather up&shave.
I used the hot towel in de beginning but i had the idea that my curent way of prep works better for me so i stick by this.

Originally Posted by monkeysfistmaker

How exactly do you guys go about heating up the towel? Also, how hot is the towel? Is it water-logged, dry, or just a little damp?

I personally just turn on the hot water, let it get the hottest it can (my house is 120F) roll the towel up and run it under the water until its heavy and to hot to hold. Ring it out, it should be steaming at this point. Don't get crazy on the ring, just enough so its not dripping wet. Put the towel around the throat first, with the two hanging pieces (to the left and right of your throat) fold them onto your cheeks over your lip. Only your nose should poke out. At this point I like to go crazy and massage hard with conditioner (irritates the pores makes my shave a lot closer)

Originally Posted by ace

I've tried hot towels to see if they made a difference, and they didn't. It is a nice ritual but one without any impact on my shave quality. I splash my face with warm water five times, lather quickly and shave. My results are fine.

+1...I tried with for a week and without for a week and found no difference

Hot shower/face scrub-->hot water from brush on my face--->extended lathering on face--->shave

seems to be what i do now

I tried a hot towel on and off for the first six months and like Ace, found that it made no difference. (If I want to feel pampered, I'll pour a J.D. on-the-rocks.) ;-)

I wash my face with Noxema because it seems to cut the oil better than soap, apply some hair conditioner while I build a lather in my scuttle, rinse then apply some shaving oil before going to town.