Thread: Heating a towel at home

I went to the local barber to get some pointers on shaving properly with a straight. It turns out he had a really excellent suggestion on how to heat up a towel for your face. He suggested getting the towel wet, wringing it out moderately, then put it in a crock pot for 20 minutes. That should leave you with a very moist and very hot towel for your face. This would be even more effective if you haven't showered before-hand and just did a facial scrub. Also, he tore out his entire section on shaving and handed it to me on my way out of his shop. He told me he had three more of these books at home, so it wasn't a big deal. I'll be scanning these and uploading them some time this week.

I use a glass mixing bowl, a towel, and extra water... pop it in the microwave for a couple of minutes and it is way to hot.. I usually have to let it cool... Mike

It's so hot it seems to evaporate off my face the minute I take the towel away. I sometimes need more water to splash my face with.

I can't wait to read what you've been given by your barber!

X

I have my hot water cranked all the way up, so it's usually warm enough after a quick soak in the sink. However, you can wring most of the water out, fold the towel in half, roll it up loosely and pop it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Just be careful when taking it out the microwave.

I can understand the hot towel process for proper beard preparation. I myself apply hot, wet washclothes to my face for about 3-5 minutes before lathering up. I find that the hot tap water and the application of the washclothes is more than adequate to soften my beard before final preparations.

My question is this...is it really necessary to put towels in a microwave, or a crock pot to heat them up? What is the advantage of putting towels in the microwave, crock pot, or even an oven over simply applying hot water soaked towels/washclothes to prep your beard?

Someone, please inform this newbie of the benefits of these methods. Thanks,

Jeff

I live in a desert, bathroom is far from H2O heater, it's just quicker and uses less water.

Also, house with little kids so my H2O heater is not very hot.

Mike
Albuquerque, NM

Originally Posted by str8rzrshvr

My question is this...is it really necessary to put towels in a microwave, or a crock pot to heat them up? What is the advantage of putting towels in the microwave, crock pot, or even an oven over simply applying hot water soaked towels/washclothes to prep your beard?
Jeff

Most of my friends keep their hot water heater in that "economically friendly" zone. I keep mine cranked all the way up, all the time. I like a really hot shower to loosen muscles up after an intense workout. Most of the time, my towels are hot enough using tap water. BUT... add a spouse and/or children, and the availability of super hot water dwindles, so you adapt, overcome and improvise

Hello warmth lovers,

What is a "crock pot", please?

Should much appreciate someone posting a link to a picture of one.

Thanks and greetings,

lux

Originally Posted by lux

Hello warmth lovers,

What is a "crock pot", please?

Should much appreciate someone posting a link to a picture of one.

Thanks and greetings,

lux

http://www.google.com

Originally Posted by str8rzrshvr

My question is this...is it really necessary to put towels in a microwave, or a crock pot to heat them up? What is the advantage of putting towels in the microwave, crock pot, or even an oven over simply applying hot water soaked towels/washclothes to prep your beard?

Someone, please inform this newbie of the benefits of these methods. Thanks,

Jeff

Ok, Being a newbie here I'll probably solicit a few laughs for trying but here's my 2 cents .

Basically it was economics. The faster you get one bloke out of a chair the faster you get another in and the more pence you have at the end of the day. the hotter the towel you can get a patron to tolerate, the faster you get him shaved. Especailly when the bloke was a cow poke off the trail with sometimes weeks or months of growth on his face

The barbers of old used hot/steamed towels basically to speed up a process of softening the beard and conditioning the face, breaking up oils, etc. Where warm water and lather softens it after a bit, a good hot towel speeds it up considerably.

The towel acts as an insulator, keeping the wet heat on the facial hair longer than just warm/hot water. the thicker the material the longer it holds the heat. the more material, the longer it holds the heat. The longer it stays hotter than water alone the faster the beard softens and oils/dirt loosen and the quicker you can get a good shave easily.

FUD