Thread: Hot towels?

Does anyone use a hot towel to prep? What kind of towel do you use, and when and how often?

I got a professional shave once and she applied a hot towel three times. Once before lathering, once after, and then again before shaving the second time.

And when/how do you clean them? I mean, if you apply it after lathering, it will get full of lather (naturally). And some people use the towel for wiping the blade instead of rinsing it under running water, which again gets it full of lather and stubble.

Questions, questions, questions...

I LOVE hot towels. I just use a regular hand towel (a soft one, though) and soak it in VERY hot tap water along with my brush. I mix up my lather, apply the lather, and wrap the towel over the lather while I strop. This really helps to open up the pores and get the hair standing up. Then I wipe the lather away and re-lather.

I do this twice, then use the same towel at the end to wipe my face...except using cold water.

I just wash it in the washing machine.

I get my towel good and wet, stick it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. This is after I shower. Lather, use hot towel, lather again and then go for the great shave.

Hmm never considered hot towel AFTER lathering or between passes. Cant wait to start with the str8. Im used to shaving in the shower with all that good steam but cant dare try that with a str8 and only shaved outside the shower a few times in my life which I hated due to poor setup and prep. But now theres a solution.

I am thinking of doing something similar now. Using a scuttle for my lather holder, applying a thin layer of lather to my face with my fingertips (either cream or a real layer of lather made up from soap or cream using my brush) and then doing the hot towel for 30 seconds or so. Going WTG, a warm/hot water rinse after that first pass, hot towel again or just hot towel with no rinse (might be redundant to do both) and then 2nd pass ATG with final warm/hot water rinse and a final cold water splash or cold towel. then my musgo real aftershave balsam.

There is an extensive sticky on TSD all about hot towels, and beard softening in general, just click here. You should at least skim through the whole thing, although post #10 has the major bulk of the technique. However, there are lots of new things and modifications discovered in the past 9 months, posted after that, as recently as this week.

Hi

I use an enlarge hand towel about the size of a small shower carpet.
I will use hot towel twice, apply Proraso prep cream, let rest for 5 min, lather with hot brush and Proraso soap over the prep cream, put hot towel over prep and lather for a few minutes. Then I apply lather to shave and use hot towel before reappling lather for the next pass and so on.

After shaving I wipe my face with the towel, rince it in hot than cold water and apply the cold water with it.

Wash it with regular towel. My wife always like the sent it as after shaving.

Jacques

I prefer a thin towel to a thick plush one. For some reason the nicer quality towels annoy me. The white economy hand towels at walmart are my favorite.

I don't usually use towels because I shave straight(lol) out of the shower, but it's nice to do. Preps the beard every bit as good as a shower and feels wonderful. I towel, lather, towel, lather and sometimes towel and lather once more keeping the towel in place for 1-2 minutes. Any small hand towel like you'd find in a hotel will do the job.

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