The Coronavirus pandemic has affected almost every niche and business whether its big or small and the barbershops and hair salons are no exception.
They have been shut down following the government compliance amid the rising cases to ensure public safety. The lockdown kept men who live for the satisfying experience of barbershop hot towel waiting.
There are a lot of great things about getting shaved at the barbershop and hot towel unarguably tops the list. The experience of a barbershop hot towel shave is unlikely any other and seem like difficult to replicate at home.
Other than being relaxing, it softens your beard which makes the shaving smoother and less irritating for your skin.
If you want to replicate the barbershop style hot towel and want to experience at home, we have good news for you. Now you can easily recreate the experience of hot towel from the comfort of your home with the right kind of towel, water heat, and shaving products.
In this guide, we’ll tell you how to make a hot towel for your face at home with few simple things and start your day on a relaxed foot. Let’s get started!
Why Do Barbers Use a Hot Towel?
Barbers prefer hot towel as it makes the whole shaving experience more pleasurable and gives a more refined and clear appearance. Hot towel shave make facial hair soft and easier to shave without irritating the skin.
The hot towel opens the pores and reduces the strength of each hair strand to the half allowing the razor to glide smoothly over the skin for a more close, comfortable, and blemish-free shave.
The warmness pulls out any ingrown hair to the surface and helps to reduce the razor burn as well. Some barbers also use hot towel essential oils such as lavender sandalwood or eucalyptus before steaming for a more luxurious twist on shaving and make it even more relaxing.
Why You Should Make a Barbershop Hot Towel at Home?
On average a man shaves around 20,000 times in a lifetime which means it will be worth it to put some extra time to pamper yourself with a hot towel treatment at home.
Around 70% of the women prefer men with clean shaved faces and hot towel makes it possible to achieve the look with comfort and ease. A hot towel is a simple treatment but has great benefits for your whole body.
Wrapping a hot towel around your face opens pores and promotes blood circulation and does wonders to your skin. It provides the benefits of exfoliation and rejuvenates your skin.
If you have difficulty falling asleep, applying a hot towel to your face will help you relax the muscles around the eyes and significantly improve your sleep.
Hot towel it is an economical and easy way to get rid of a headache, relax the tightness in the shoulders, revive weary eyes.
Other than skin it has immense benefits for your hair as well. You can wrap it around your hair to enhance hair growth.
How to Make a Hot Towel for Face at Home?
If you’re wondering how to make a hot towel for your hair or face at home to pamper yourself in the morning and experience the pleasure of getting treated at salon, just follow the steps below.
1. Prepare a Towel or Wash Cloth
Take any type of towel that’s big enough to cover your face. Any old hand towel or washcloth will work perfectly fine. Choose a towel made of 100% cotton as it is the most absorbent and gentle to the skin. You can also use a washcloth that perfectly fits your face.
2. Choose an Essential Oil (Optional)
To make your hot towel shave experience even more relaxing, add few drops of essential oil you like on the towel.
The three most used hot towel essential oils by barbers are lavender, sandalwood, and eucalyptus which works best to relax the mood.
Essential oils are easily available at any health or food store or you can order them online. You can also experiment with any other scent of your choice other than traditional scents.
If you have a cold or want to have a fresh menthol experience, replace essential oil with Vicks VapoRub.
A Vicks hot towel not only softens your beard but also acts as a nasal decongestant that will open up the blocked nose and clear your sinuses. This step is completely optional and you can skip it as essential oils can be crazy expensive.
3. Apply the Essential Oil Carefully
Apply a few drops of essential oil in the center of the dry towel in advance of the steaming so it won’t absorb too much.
When it comes to essential oils, always remember the rule, “LESS IS MORE” as they are packed with a powerful aroma and the scent will saturate the towel once it gets heat up.
If you’re using Vicks, a little bit will go a long way. Take a fingertip amount and spread it in the center of the towel. Once it will get heat up, the smell can be very overwhelming.
4. Heat up the Towel
The next step is to finally turn your towel into a barbershop hot towel. There are three different methods you can use to heat up your towel as per your convenience including the hot water from the tap, microwave the towel, and using teapot water to soak the towel.
Method:1 Hot Water from the Tap
The first and most easy way to heat up your towel is simply putting it under the tap of the kitchen or bathroom sink and run hot water on it. This way you’ll get a piping hot towel just like the barbershop.
However, this method has its own drawbacks depending on the capacity of your water heater.
Firstly, if you live in a joint family, there is a chance that other family members may use up all the hot water before your intended shaving time and you won’t get enough hot water to enjoy your morning hot towel shave.
Secondly, your water heater setting could also create an issue at that particular hour and you might not be able to get the full hot towel effect.
Lastly, even if you have sufficient hot water supply in your water heater, it may take some time to arrive and you’ll have to wait till the water starts running piping hot.
Method: 2 Microwave the Towel
If you don’t want to get into the trouble of waiting for your turn for hot water you can simply microwave it to get the exact same results.
Just put your towel under the kitchen faucet and damp every square inch of it. Wring the towel to make sure all excess water is removed.
Put the towel in a microwave-safe dish and give it a quick 30-seconds microwave ride. Apply it to your face immediately after taking it out of the microwave.
If you don’t want to apply it on your face immediately and want to do it in the bathroom, add extra 10 to 20 seconds to walk the towel from kitchen to bathroom.
If the towel is too hot wait for few seconds and then put it on your face, let it stay there for few minutes, and then proceed with shaving.
Method 3: Use Teapot Water to Soak the Towel
With this method, you can quickly prepare a barbershop hot towel in a bowl alongside your morning cup of coffee.
As you boil water for your morning tea or coffee, add some extra water in the Teapot to fill up a bowl. After filling your cup, pour some boiling water on the towel and drench it thoroughly.
Let the towel soak all the water and cool down a bit, then wear rubber gloves and wring the towel to remove the excess water. Apply the towel on your face and continue with the hot towel shave ritual.
Enjoy Your Hot Towel
Wrap your homemade barbershop hot towel around your face and enjoy the warmth while your whiskers soften up. Keep the towel for about a minute or so until it cools down.
Repeat the process until you feel your whiskers becoming softer and pores loosen up by the heat soaked up in your skin. Rub the towel in the opposite direction of the grains of your whiskers to expose the underside and get a closer and smoother shave.
When the hot towel losses all the heat, remove it, put some shaving foam on your face and shave the whiskers with a good quality razor.