Thread: Hot Towel

I am trying to understand face prep. prior to my straight razors and gear arriving, so today I practiced because I had time. I used a hot towel for the first time and it was thoroughly enjoyable. I washed my face with very light soap rinsed applied my canned Nivea for Men Sensitive Shaving Gel and then applied a hot towel, heated from the tap. I left it on for approximately one minute and then refreshed towel left for another minute, then I refreshed it again for a total of three one minute applications. Then I reapplied my shave gel and shaved with my Mach 3 and got one of the better shaves that I have had for a while. I enjoyed it and will probably use the hot towel method when I get my straight razors only because I shower at night and shave in the morning. Now I am looking forward to post shave care, the only AS available here are Brut, Aqua Velva, Skin Bracer, and a generic Exchange brand comparable to AV. They also have Nivea Post Shave Balm Sensitive I have used that before, but I have never used AS. Lets keep this to pre shave hot towels though I will go post in the correct threads for post shave stuff now.

Sorry once again to deviate from forum tradition here, but I have experimented with hot towel applications and never found a result from them. All I do these days is splash my face five times with hot water, lather quickly and shave. If I thought the hot towel made a difference, I would certainly do it, but I just didn't. On the other hand, if you like doing it just for the sake of it, that's fine. I like to get my shaves completed in five minutes, so additional stuff that doesn't seem to make a difference doesn't have much attraction for me.

I like the hot towel, softens my whiskers and feels good. It's become a habit and part of my normal routine. If I think to myself that I need a fast shave and feel the need to rush through my shave, I skip shaving because I don't want to be a contributor to the "Cut of the Day" thread

Originally Posted by ace

Sorry once again to deviate from forum tradition here, but I have experimented with hot towel applications and never found a result from them. All I do these days is splash my face five times with hot water, lather quickly and shave. If I thought the hot towel made a difference, I would certainly do it, but I just didn't. On the other hand, if you like doing it just for the sake of it, that's fine. I like to get my shaves completed in five minutes, so additional stuff that doesn't seem to make a difference doesn't have much attraction for me.

I soak the bar towel in water, put it in the microwave , on a plate, for 70 seconds; squeeze out the excess hot water, then use it to remove any excess lather & pre shave treatment, then comes the alum heavy.

I don't need the hot towel before the shave, but after the last razor pass, it sure feels great on the face , cleaning it.