Hot towels??

Hi guys, I have been shaving with my straight for a few months now, with what I consider to be reasonable success (ie I haven't severed my head off or anything, and nice and close). I usually lather up after a shower then strop and lather again before committing steel to skin, I have read that some people use hot towels between lathers
and I'd like to try this. Whats the best way to heat the towels? And how hot do they have to be?

Cheers for any replies in advance,

Neil

The standard way is to roll the towel into a long cylinder then put the end around the tap with really hot water, then wring out almost all the water so that your hands end up on the top of the cylinder/towel (so the hot water runs down away from your hands) then apply. The water should be hot enough to produce steam. The steam brings out the oils in the skin. Its not about the water, your face is already wet, its about the steam and the resultant release of facial oil.

Wow!! That was fast. Thanks Alan, thats exactly the info I was after,
cheers,
Neil

Your welcome. ;)

Nice method, Alan. What kind of "cylinder" do you use?

Here's my current method:

Fill the sink with HOT water.
Let towel soak in water while I make my lather
Apply lather, wring out towel, and wrap face in towel
Strop
Wipe face clean and reapply lather

Then between each pass, I soak another towel and wrap my face before continuing. Feels fantastic!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AFDavis11

The standard way is to roll the towel into a long cylinder then put the end around the tap with really hot water, then wring out almost all the water so that your hands end up on the top of the cylinder/towel (so the hot water runs down away from your hands) then apply. The water should be hot enough to produce steam. The steam brings out the oils in the skin. Its not about the water, your face is already wet, its about the steam and the resultant release of facial oil.

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Oh so thats why I've been burning my hands up every morning. I knew there had to be a trick to it!

microwave! now that'll get it hot!:tu

Microwave is exactly what I do, gets damn hot, be careful.

Do you just hold the towel to your face??? I see people saying wrap your face, can someone clarify that?

It depends on the size of the towel and personal preference, I use a hand towel I picked up at discount store get it good and wet, wring out most of water and stick it in the microwave for a coupleof minutes. the towel i use isnt long enough to do a good wrap but it will cover entire face and neck. just let it set for a moment and lather up. some times i will lather up, use the towel and lather again, it seems to do the most good to steam the lather into the beard and then relather, and then shave. the face will be well lubricated and the whiskers sufficiently moistened and should cut like warm butter. good luck :tu

I use a hand towel, folded in half long-ways. I put the towel so that the middle of the folded edge is right under my chin. If I wrap the sides around tightly, they will reach the back of my neck. And if I pull the ends somewhat tightly together, they will stay and I can go about stropping and such without having to hold the towel.

for $4.00 at a second hand store and I keep it in my bathroom. While I shower, the pot heats the water to a boil; I use the boiled water for my skuttle, for a cup of sinus rinse (http://www.unimedprod.com/) - great stuff, and the remaining water neatly houses three "cylinder" hand towels. WARNING: unplug the pot so the water does not stay at 212 degrees! People use a crock pot too. I hand a piping hot towel over the water fawcet to let it cool slightly if t is too hot to handle. We keep our hot water tank at only about 115 degrees, so, the water never really is hot enough for a hot towel.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cwrighta70

Nice method, Alan. What kind of "cylinder" do you use?

Then between each pass, I soak another towel and wrap my face before continuing. Feels fantastic!

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Sorry I missed this. You simply roll the towel into a cylindrical shape.

you guys make this way too complicated! microwave a damp towel. wrap your face, lather, shave, wrap, lather, shave. drop towel in bowl of ice water and wrap again. (it feels great!!!) done!

Hey after a hot shower I don't see a need to put a hot towel on your face. I tried doing it once but didn't see any improvement, I had just come out of a hot shower and their wasn't any noticible difference.:eek:

I've really been meaning to try this. Normally I don't bother too much with prep, just lather and sometimes wait a minute or two. I just shave the chin/neck last so it has more time to soak up lather.

Should make the hairs much easier to cut, but does it reduce razor burn or nicks? Or what exactly is the reason to prep this throughly?