Shaving with a Hammam bowl

shaving cylindersI’ve written in the past about my old-timey (possibly hipster) shaving setup. I use shaving soap, a brush to apply it, and some combination of safety razor (which takes those cheap unsafe double-edged razor blades) and cartridge razor (which uses those overpriced disposable plastic multi-blade cartridges).

I like to finish up my shave with a splash of cold water to the face to help tighten up the pores. I shave in the shower but do the cold water thing in the sink after the shower has concluded. It’s not just a shock to the face, it’s an overall shock to the system because the water doesn’t just stay on the face, but also drips down to chest and arms. Not to mention the awkward sink is a little small and low. And by that time, the fan or open window is dissipating the steam, sadly trading my lovely sauna-like environment for a more practical lack of mildew and mold. In short, the cold-water-splash is suboptimal.

I had been looking for some kind of bowl I could fill with cold water and bring to the shower. I figured I could splash my face while keeping the rest of me in the blast of hot water. I could also position the bowl closer to my face. Alas, I couldn’t find a truly great bowl. Ceramic and glass (even Pyrex) were off the list for obvious reasons. That left wood and metal. Most of the wood bowls, like the one I already have, are designed to hold shaving soap. They’re tiny. The metal bowls I could find were more of the rounded kitchen mixing bowl variety: wide top and small base. In other words, easy for kittens to kick around and easy to accidentally bump and spill.

But then my friend Linda Mercury posted about Turkish bath accoutrements, introducing me to the Hammam bowl. This gave me a name to a style of bowl that had been eluding me for so long. A quick internet purchase later and I had a wonderful and beautiful bowl that now fits my shaving needs. And can be used for luxurious baths.

hammam_bowl_for_shaving

Posted in: Dear Diary

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Brian Enigma

Brian Enigma is a Portlander, manipulator of atoms & bits, minor-league blogger, and all-around great guy. He typically writes about the interesting “maker” projects he's working on, but sometimes veers off into puzzles, software, games, local news, and current events.

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