13
The old barber who taught me to use a hot towel 8 years back
I was thinking about my first mentor, Mr. Harris, over at his shop on 5th Street in Portland... he retired last month and it got me remembering how he'd always do a 3-minute hot towel wrap before every straight razor shave. Three years ago I dropped the habit when I moved shops, but last week I picked it back up after a client complained about irritation. Has anyone else noticed how much smoother the shave feels with that simple step?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
the_aaron14d ago
I mean, I gotta push back on this a little. Not sure the hot towel is the magic bullet everyone says it is. Heat opens the pores, sure, but I've read some dermatologists saying that rapid cooling after the shave actually helps with irritation more. @taylor_moore mentioned it opening things up but I find that if the towel cools down too much during the wrap it just ends up making the skin more sensitive. Maybe it's just me but I've had better results skipping the hot towel entirely and just using cold water rinse before and after.
6