The lost art of the hot towel shave: a guide for newly retired guys

There's a particular kind of morning that opens up once work stops setting the clock — no alarm fighting a commute, no reason to rush the razor at the bathroom sink. It's exactly the kind of morning a hot towel shave was built for, and exactly the ritual most guys gave up decades ago because there simply wasn't time for it.

A hot towel shave isn't a faster way to remove stubble. It's a slower one, done properly, with steps that a five-minute bathroom routine skips entirely. Here's what actually happens in the chair, and why each step earns its place.

What the ritual actually involves

1. The hot towel. Laid over the face for a few minutes to open the pores and soften the beard — this is the step a disposable razor and cold tap water never gets close to.
2. The lather. Worked in properly, not just squeezed from a can, to let the blade glide rather than drag.
3. The straight razor. Passed with the grain first for a clean shave with minimal irritation, sometimes followed by a second pass for a closer finish.
4. The cold towel and balm. Closes the pores back up and calms the skin — the difference between walking out smooth and walking out red.

Why it's worth building into a new routine

At 143 5th Ave, the Royal Hot Towel Shave runs the full ritual for $35 — or paired with a haircut as the Haircut + Hot Shave Combo for $60, if you're making a morning of it. There's also the Head & Face Royal Hot Shave ($60) for the full treatment, and a standalone Head Shave with Razor ($30) if that's the only stop you need.

Making it a standing appointment

This is a ritual that rewards repetition — the same chair, the same twenty minutes, on a schedule that used to belong to a commute and now belongs to whatever you want it to. A weekly or biweekly shave is a small, deliberate thing to build a week around, and Benny's takes walk-ins Monday through Thursday and Sunday if a standing morning appointment isn't your style.