History of the hot-towel pre-shave

[rbscebu]

This history was told to me about 40 years ago by an old retired Greek barber. How true it is, I do not know. It went something like this.

The ideal pre-shave routine is to hydrate the whiskers with cool water. Cool water is preferred as it does not tend the increase the blood vessel size near the skin's surface. Splashing water around in a barbershop is not ideal so barbers used a wet towel draped over the customer's face. To make the customer feel more comfortable, the towel would normally be moistened with warm water rather than cold.

It was not until the advent of cartoons that the hot-towel treatment came into vogue. From then on, more customers started to prefer their hydration towels to be as hot as they could reasonably bear. This was not preferred by experienced barbers but it is what the customers wanted/expected.

It was in early 2020 in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu that I had my last traditional SR barber shave. My barber there also used a cool wet towel to hydrate the whiskers. Maybe it was the tropical climate.

 

[Gargravarr]

Interesting. But Greece also gets pretty damn hot during the warmer months. I used to use cooler water when I lived in Perth. Down here in northern Tasmania it's still quite cool, especially in the mornings, and the last thing I need with my pre-shave is to introduce goosebumps. So maybe the upshot is just use whatever makes you feel comfortable?

 

[rbscebu]

@Gargravarr, I agree that you should do whatever suits you.

I don't use a wet towel in my pre-shave, just warm water during winter and cool water in summer, splashed on and rubbed in by hand (after thoroughly washing with a good face soap).

 

[Nanook]

The idea of cold water is to make the skin pull tight which makes the hairs stand up therefore making them easier to cut. Whereas, hot water softens the hair which is why it's a more comfortable shave than cold water.

Ideally facial hair should be left wet for at least 3 minutes prior to shaving, whether you use hot or cold water as this, according to the boffins, is the time it takes to fully hydrate hair.

 

[rbscebu]

The idea of cold water is to make the skin pull tight which makes the hairs stand up therefore making them easier to cut. Whereas, hot water softens the hair which is why it's a more comfortable shave than cold water.

Ideally facial hair should be left wet for at least 3 minutes prior to shaving, whether you use hot or cold water as this, according to the boffins, is the time it takes to fully hydrate hair.

Almost right. If the skin temperature gets down to about 5°C to 10°C only then will the hairs start to stand up more. The hairs will return to their normal position as the skin temperature rises above about 10°C.

Hot water does not soften the hair any more than cool water. It is the water absorption into the hair that makes it softer and easier to cut. The time for a hair to absorb a given amount of water does decrease with hotter water. Between 20°C and 100°C the time required is reduced by about 20%.