How to hold a hot towel...?

Thoughts and input on anything related to wet shaving or men's grooming.
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PogeyBait
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How to hold a hot towel...?

Post by PogeyBait »

It's a simple question, I know. I have been shaving with a straight for several months now and am challenged with a good technique as to how to hold a hot towel over my beard for 3 minutes while stooping over the sink. Sounds dumb...but when I use a hot towel, my shave goes oh so well. My hands are WAY more sensitive to the heat than my face. I tried gloves (don't do that...), but just pressing the towel onto my face and re-heating it again and again gets really old. Do one or more of you have a good way to drape the hot towels onto your face and enjoy the process? Aside from having a nearby chair to lean back into...I just don't have a good plan for this step in our shave. How do you do this?
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Squire
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Re: How to hold a hot towel...?

Post by Squire »

Fold it, grasp each end with some heavy duty kitchen tongs and press against your face.
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brothers
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Re: How to hold a hot towel...?

Post by brothers »

Maybe this is what you've already tried, but I hold the hot wet washcloth with my hands until I get tired of it, and then I shave. This is something I haven't timed. I know this works, but I forget to do it more often than I remember to do it before I shave.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
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jww
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Re: How to hold a hot towel...?

Post by jww »

I dunno --- mebbe wrap duct tape around your head?
Wendell

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wvbias
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Re: How to hold a hot towel...?

Post by wvbias »

A hot towel is a step that I've never tried.
I've always assumed a hot shower would
achieve the same results.


Terry
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Squire
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Re: How to hold a hot towel...?

Post by Squire »

Pogeybait says it works for him though a shower worked well enough for me.
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brothers
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Re: How to hold a hot towel...?

Post by brothers »

When the cavemen who invented shaving also discovered the benefits of hot water, they would stick their heads into a giant pot of boiling water first. I think that was why they invented showers soon afterward.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
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Squire
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Re: How to hold a hot towel...?

Post by Squire »

Actually the answer to the question of how to hold a hot towel is . . . gingerly.
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bernards66
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Re: How to hold a hot towel...?

Post by bernards66 »

I too am having difficulty imagining how one could keep a hot towel in place whilst stropping a razor. Since it seems to be important to you I hope that you're able to devise a satisfactory method. For myself, after experimenting with numerous pre-lathering techniques, including some that were fairly complex, I concluded that nothing really worked any better than a simple and ample splashing of hot water on the shaving area and lathering on up. Of course I use a safety razor and not a cutthroat and maybe that makes a difference but for me, simple turned out to be better....and faster.
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Re: How to hold a hot towel...?

Post by BeatlesFan »

Sometimes I like to shave while my bathtub is filling.

On those occasions I wash my face at the sink, and soak my beard with a washcloth.

I'm not sure my experiences are helpful, as my hands do not seem to be at all sensitive to heat, whereas this seems to be an issue for you. Nevertheless, FWIW, here is my protocol:

I use a fairly large washcloth (which my British friends and relatives seem to call a flannel), fold it in half, run hot water over it, lean over the sink prop my elbows on the sides of the sink (this way all the drippings and runoff go into the sink, instead of down my chest and all over the floor) and hold the doubled-over towel against my beard for about 45 seconds. Note that in this posture, the pressure from my elbows holds the washcloth quite firmly against the face, such that it is somewhat squeezing out the washcloth in the process. Then I turn the washcloth/flannel over and give it another soaking for 45 seconds using the flip side of the washcloth. Then I wring it out and repeat the process. All in, 2-3 minutes of soaking, and it helps the quality of the shave quite a lot. I'd say it was more or less the beard-softening equivalent of a good shower.

I find that the water temperature (like SO many things in this little hobby of ours) is tricky. Too cool and the whole face-soaking gig is probably a wasted exercise. Too hot, however, and my face gets puffy, hot, red, stingy and irritated. So I would say, I try to use "quite warm water," or maybe "hot water that's comfortable to the touch."

I don't know if any of that is applicable, but that is what I do on the occasions when I soak my beard using a washcloth.
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Re: How to hold a hot towel...?

Post by EL Alamein »

I rarely use a hot towel but when I do it's because I just have the time and the spirit moves me. That said I use a washcloth as my facetowel (and since I don't use a washcloth anymore in the shower there's always an ample supply of these). My water heater is set to the highest possible setting (self-set surface of the Sun) so I only use the water from the tap. I too have sensitive hands so I merely wring out the cloth a bit so it isn't dripping anymore, but still fairly saturated, and hold it against my lathered face with my fingertips (seems tolerable enough on my fingertips). I hold it there for about a half minute or so (back arched slightly backwards to direct the water on my face - opposite of what you do) and then repeat. Then I lather again and go.

The main benefit of this, to me, is to remove the jacket from the whiskers and skin AND relax my skin/facial muscles. Otherwise the jacket removal is achieved by a good face lathering so that benefit, for me, can be achieved without a hot towel (hence, the rare indulgence). The shave seems, to me, to be nearly the same with a good face lathering. YMMV.

Chris
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