If you fly in first or business class, it’s normal to receive a hot towel, either one or multiple times per flight. However, sometimes I just can’t wrap my head around how people choose to use them.
Continue reading: Airplane Hot Towels: I Don’t Understand The Ways People Use Them?
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
It’s a clean, hot towel. In the midst of traveling (getting to the airport, waiting for your flight, etc.) it’s a brief moment to refresh and breathe. Applying a hot towel to your face feels good for many people. Let us live, man. Let us live.
Wiping your face is the whole point of the hot towels. The idea is that you are sweaty and greasy from a long day of traveling, which you get to wipe off, and it refreshes you. D'uh. The reason women often don't do this is because they are wearing makeup and the towel would smudge it.
Interesting. I use them to wipe my hands, *then* police my area. Now that I think about it, though, it would be great for a hot towel to put over my face when I'm going to sleep. Hmmmm. Anyway, I don't suffer from dry skin, so I'm very fortunate in that regard.
I did it once til I thought through what a cheap hot towel was really doing to my skin. I think people do it because of the herd mentality. They feel weird not doing it because it's what they see everyone around them doing. Same concept with how everyone immediately unbuckles upon landing and stands straight up.
Contrary to what you're hypothesizing, wiping my face IS skincare for me, at least on an overnight flight. I have a full day's worth of grime on my face and wiping it off with a hot towel is more pleasant than trying to wash my face in an airplane lav. It's not what I would do at home, but it beats not washing my face at all.
I have oily skin, I use the hot towel on my face all the time .It also feels good too 🙂
Parallel to this, I don't understand hot towels on flights departing tropical countries. Cold towels would be much more appropriate.
lol youre overthinking this way too much.
men sweaty. clean warm towel feel good on skin.
thats literally it man
Well I have greasy skin, so the goal is to dry it out more. Also, it feels nice to put a hot towel on your face.
Like some others noted, it feels somewhat refreshing. If it is after a long day of travel or maybe after sleeping/trying to sleep on the plane. I for myself usually use the towel first for my face and my hands, then I wipe across tray table, IFE screen, armrest, etc.
because the cabin is dry, I usually put this towel over my face and sit back to relax and breathe in the steam, to humidify my nostrils. so every time there is a hot towel service, it's another opportunity for me to get some humidified air. they do this at men's spa and many massage places as a relaxation amenity
I use the hot towels to clean my hands and face; now that I think about it, I should freshen my face first before my hands! It reminds me of my typical shave service at my go-to barber shop.
And I hope since the pandemic, cleanliness and hygiene come right after safety with all touchpoint surfaces being disinfected.
I do enjoy the scent on CXs hot towels. I wonder what other carriers have a good scent in their hot towels.
And just for the record, it's called an "oshibori" in Japan 😉 And it's only used for your hands (at least in that part of the world)
Sometimes I've been sweating because the airport AC isn't very good or carrying luggage and walking a long way made me sweat. I'm grateful for a hot towel to wipe the sweat off.
Ew. On most airlines, the water for hot towels comes from the tank on the plane, which is rife with bacteria. (That's why there is usually an indicator in the lavatories that the water should not be consumed, not withstanding the little paper cups in there.). For the Japanese and some other airlines, the towels are packaged moist and heated, rather than hydrated from the hot water tap.
Very much enjoying the comments, and I appreciate the insights. Let me say this -- if you've had a super long travel day, or if you were running through the airport and were sweating, I totally get the logic.
My question is more specific to just the average person who does this multiple times on flights, who is just starting their day, who isn't sweating, etc. Like, we're not all in a constant state of chaos at airports and on airplanes.
The question seems to boil down to: is it an oshibori or not? If it is, then wiping down your seat area with it is equally as inappropriate as is wiping your face.
On arrival i most certainly use the towel on my face and then use a moisturising cream. Otherwise i use the towels just to freshen up my hands.
Last week i saw someone wipe their whole face and even clean the insides of their ears with the warm towel! Each to their own.
Sometimes I'll wipe my face with it, if I feel grimy/sweaty from a prior flight or from rushing through the terminal. Otherwise just my hands.
Omg, a rambling article that consumed so much air & could have got the point much sooner.
Hot/cold towels i thought was a asian cultural thing to ‘refresh’ you for the flight & ‘clense’ you for your f&b service. I clense my hands with them & pat the back of my neck & forehead (if sweaty) to stimulate my glands so i feel more alive.
I agree putting them on your face can create issues with sensitive skin if it contains alcohol/anti bacterial (drying) & other chemicals in the solution. I normally have x’y face moisteriser on so the last thing i want to do for a flight is wipe it all off & dehydrate.
Isn't the oven hot enough to kill and potential bacteria and viruses? Something similar to cooking chicken, it's hot enough to kill any potential bacteria.
And I'll admit, I've used that water to brush my teeth and gargle and I'm still here. I'm sure countless people have and even done worse!
I've always thought that the reason for hot towels is to: cleanse and refresh. Thus, I use them to wipe my face (which is often dirty/sweaty from the airport preflight scrum) and to wipe my hands. They're soft and usually smell nice and doing this is very relaxing and refreshing. I honestly do NOT understand using these towels to clean around your seat as there are disposable wipes available for this purpose.
I’m also a face-wiper. I always put it on my head while its hot, and it feels extremely refreshing, to feel the hot towel, as it becomes a cold towel in 5-10 seconds. Then rub it gently through my face, afterwards I clean my hands with it, then the surfaces around.
My authority on this subject was the Peruvian gentleman I was sitting next to and quietly copying on my first business class flight from IAH-LIM on United (back when the 767s had F) in 2014.
Wash your palms, then each individual finger, then the top of your hand. Then proceed to gently wash your face, and if you're bald like me, wash your head as well.
Seems to have worked for me ever since.
It's one thing if you see it on planes, but it's another if you see people wiping their faces in Japan with oshibori lol.
I've always treated them as oshibori no matter which airline provides them and only use them for my hands before meals. If they're disposable paper oshibori then I may use them to wipe spills or a surface, but even those I tend to just limit their use for my hands.
I use a hot towel on my face on long haul flights to wake up when I'm feeling sleepy. It feels great 9 hours into a flight when they bring them just before the final meal service. And then, like all good gay men, I reapply my moisturizer.
A hot towel on your face after you just woke up from a nap on an airplane is so refreshing and wakes me up. Why do spas place hot towels on your face? It feels nice!
What confuses me more than the varied ways people use hot towels on airplanes is why people find it necessary to record themselves on airplanes.
Yeah, the hot towels are an odd, unnecessary custom.
Also, Ben, you mentioned yet another reason why I'm happy to be out of SoFla... (not saying the drivers in NYC are better, just, up here, I'm usually not the one driving.)
By the way, wild how there've been practically no hurricanes so far this season. What is up with that!?
I once sat next to a guy on an old AF 330 who proceeded to thoroughly clean his feet with his hot towel. Then I had the pleasure of sitting next to his bare feet from Chicago to Paris. Disgusting.
I love putting that on my face for a little steam. It feels great. I think it's supposed to be used in whatever way that makes you feel good. Don't worry about what others do/say/think.
I also don't understand what this accomplishes and I notice that airline review influencers are extremely proud of wiping their faces with hot towels and featuring it in every single one of their videos multiple times. The reason I personally don't use hot towels on my face on an airplane is because the water on them is from the plane's water tanks which is far from clean water. Even after washing my hands in the lavatory I use a hand sanitizer afterwds.
Often times I’ve had a quick walk from gate-to-gate, dragging a carry-on that’s at capacity and a heavy laptop bag, to make a connection. I use the towel to wipe the sweat from my face and as a gateway to relaxing into the flight, feeling refreshed and calm, just like after an evening shower.
I take it to the bathroom and wipe my privates with it. Warms it nicely for the flight and relaxes me.
I usually wipe my face, then hands (or sometimes the reverse order, I don't pay that much attention to it). I find it refreshing after rushing through the airport to get on a flight. My skincare regimen is pretty good - but in terms of moisturizer, it's probably already been on your face for a couple of hours anyway before you use a hot towel.
You've nailed my perspective here - I have a totally "adaptable" strategy to the use of the hot towel, depending on length of flight, time of day (start vs. end), and the number of towel services per flight. If it's the start of my day and I'm straight to the airport, oshibori for hands only. If it's a 14h flight US-Australia, hands for first service and face for the pre-arrival. Each to their own, I guess?
My girlfriend tends to use the hot towels for her hands, whereas I tend to use the hot towels to wipe my
Men are used to hot towels at the barber. They are usually applied to the face before a shave. That may be why you see more men then women using one on their face then just hands.
I don't think I've ever seen anyone wipe down the parts of the seat around them though. 🙂
You don't want those germs on your hands to get on your face and in your eyes that can cause pimples, styes or even eye infections, so try to use it on your face first.
Haha, I think it’s more than just thighs.
My skin is naturally really oily and I’m constantly wanting to take a shower for that reason. Airports generally are quite stuffy too. I don’t mind them warm, but air flow is a must for me. Without air, I just sweat like crazy. It’s really quite annoying. So the towel on the face is a welcome relief for me tho I don’t always do it. I probably should invest in travel size cleansers and face/general moisturizers tho since my hands do suffer from dry skin from surgical operations as a child. Plus you bring a good point it’s a good idea to cleanse and moisturize together. I’m unlikely to sweat badly once I’m on the plane since I’m not running around. Tho I do travel with a portable fan since planes can be so inconsistent with temp and airflow. I do carry moisturizers with me for my hands.
So at the end of the day everyone is different and I guess some people do the face thing since it’s kinda like going to a spa, getting a bit of refreshment before a long flight.
Ben, wise up. They are for wiping your feet after using the aircraft restroom when barefooted.
On some airlines (particularly US ones), the flight attendants just pour hot water on the towels and distribute them - no oven involved. The towels would need to be in a hot oven for a longer period of time to kill bacteria.
If the water is boiling, then it should be enough to kill any potential bacteria/viruses. If it were just warm, then probably not.
It's probably not something to be overly concerned about.
Cuz it feels nice? What would be the point of wiping your hands with them? Would I do that instead of washing my hands? No. I guess the hot towel might make sense after eating (like a fancy wet wipe) but it usually comes well before
All kinds of benefits from splashing cold water on your face, or wiping it with a cold towel. Wakes you up and stimulates circulation. Hot towel doesn't work as well, I sometimes do it anyway, or use the towel while hot to clean my hands and then dab my forehead with it when it's no longer warm. That skincare stuff is a gay thing, some straight guys seem to have picked it up lately from online influencers working for free samples.
Actually, that's a fair point. I have sometimes wondered why I'm wiping my face when I don't need to.
Sitting in condor business class waiting to take off from CPT and just had the hot towel on my face, so this made me laugh. I don’t rub my face, but I place it over my face as the heat feels good. It’s then a reminder to put some face moisturizer on my face, which I try and do a few times a flight anyway.
For me it's just a pleasant thing to do. Most of the time I use them on my hands but sometimes I feel like giving my face a bit of moisture too. There's no grand reason behind it, I just feel like it 🙂
I carry around a little towelkerchief(?) I got for like 500y at the local family mart for my face. Keep a couple in your travel suitcase, toss it in the wash on laundry day.
This seems like a hot button issue that has been answered by plenty of readers, but I second their opinion that after getting through the airport and getting situated on the plane, sometimes a nice hot towel on the face just feels like perfection.
I, for one, have extremely oily skin. I have ZERO need for moisturizer. I have to use acne control products even at 53. Depending on when the hot towel is offered (nothing on DL, sometimes AA, can't remember about UA) - my face may be very oily and it's nice to get all that off (for the maybe 1 hour that it lasts).
"Sometimes I've been sweating because the airport AC isn't very good..."
You're thinking of Singapore, specifically, aren't you? Because THEY ARE THE WORST WITH THIS. Aircon set to 27° Celsius isn't particularly cooling.
Omg, a rambling comment that consumed so much air & could have got the the point much sooner.
"Do you wipe elsewhere, too, or more of a 'bidget' fan?"
And the scrotum or vagina. What about the scrotum or vagina?
"What would be the point of wiping your hands with them?"
To have clean hands.
What I do not understand is why you care? For someone who goes on and on about wanting privacy in premium cabin travel, I am not sure why you are writing (again) about what someone else does with their hot towel.
I come here for travel news and reviews, not skincare advice.
We wipe our faces with them because it feels good. 99% of men in the world don’t have a skincare routine!
Good on you! Let 'ORD_Is_My_Second_Home' have it. He's on the recent 'don't share airline ticket details online post' being a prick.
Pre-flight, no lounge: wipe dirt off my face, then hands, and it helps me relax into my seat
Mid flight, especially after napping: quick wipe of the face in case there's some... ummm... drool or whatever random unsightly thing (you never know!)
Towards end of flight: boredom, need to fidget with something at that point
I mean, that level of snobbery from someone who lives in the Midwestern United States, by choice, is just unreasonable...
I usually let it cool down a bit, wipe my face and back of my neck, then clean my hands with it, and then wipe down any greasy touch points
I personally never use the hot towel on my hands or my face because my skin gets very uncomfortably dry afterwards. It may have to do with my skin type, and Ben may have the same skin type as me. Because otherwise, I never understood why people put the towel on their face either. I assume it is because they don't have the same reaction to it as I do.
@1990 - Don't jinx us. There's a potential hurricane in the Carribbean right now, and it is too early to tell if it may impact South Florida. But yes, it is quite wild that there was no hurricane impact in FL this year (so far).
I always thought it was like an oshibori at a Japanese meal: for cleaning your hands off before eating... the seem to bring them around right before the meal service.
Oh, I might be jinxing myself... Hurricane Sandy formed October 22, 2012, and hit NYC area on October 29... there's a tropical storm Melissa south of Haiti right now, but she appears to be staying in the Greater Antilles... for now.
What I do when I see pieces that don't interest me, is, like, I don't open them. Then, after I don't open them, I don't read them, and then I don't comment, because I know that particular item isn't up my alley. And then I don't have to tell Ben what I don't like, because neither he, nor anyone, cares about my opinion of the content of his blog, that he writes and publishes, and that we all read for the low low price of free. Just spitballing here.
@TravelinPenis
It's called expressing an opinion. Just like what you do, you idiot.
I didn't realize there was actually any question about it. Of course I use it to wipe my face and sometimes the back of my neck, as well as my hands. It is refreshing whether hot or cold ( in hot climes) and helps me settle in, or wake up for breakfast on a long haul. Now I guess I need to worry about someone sneaking a video of me wiping my face with a towel to post on TikTok.
Who the f::k cares
Maybe you should pen an article on modivations of ass wiping
After waking up from sleep on a plane, a hot towel is the left way to refresh my face.
After hours of travel, airports, and recycled cabin air, my skin feels coated in a mix of grime, oil, and sweat. That’s why the hot towel is one of my favorite parts of a long-haul flight — it’s not just a nice gesture, it’s reset for my face.
I use it to wipe away the day and freshen up before settling into the meal and the rest of the flight. When airlines go the extra mile with a facial spritz, it’s even better — like United’s TheraFace, Virgin Atlantic’s mist, or Qatar’s hydrating spray in the lavatory. Instant refresh. Love it!
When I don’t get a hot towel at breakfast service, I keep facial wipes handy to do the same. It’s a small ritual that makes a long flight feel human again.
You'd be better served going to the lav and washing them with soap if that were the goal.
I was instructed years ago in my distant youth that wiping ones face with a hot towel was trashy at best. I therefore have never used on my face and that would be particularly unsanitary after using on your germ filled hands.
I really could do without the whole hot towel thing altogether. When they hand it to you, often it is scalding and I’m surprised people don’t burn themselves. I would rather that AA, for example, would take the 5 cents per person per flight it spends on towel procurement, storage, and distribution and instead invest it in upgrading its catering to something that has been approved for human consumption.
Its baffling that you wonder why passengers wipe their faces with a hot towel. There's a calming factor and a refreshing one. Geez you raise some peculiar topics here. And why do, supposedly, fewer women wipe their faces with it, think about smudging their make up ... they'll end up looking like bette davis is who's afraid of baby Jane.
Ben, do you not sweat? Regardless of time of year, I'm generally sweaty by the time I board a flight. Wiping your face/neck with a hot towel is the closest you're going to come to a shower without being able to shower. I can't sleep if I'm sweaty and sticky, so this helps me fall asleep on the flight. Alternatively, it's never once crossed my mind to wipe my seat down with a hot towel.
Have you ever tried putting a hot towel on your face?
If not, this whole discussion is kind of pointless.
Just give the tingling experience a try — then you won’t need to write a post about it.
With you on the last part, which is why I use it on my face (and neck) first and only then on my fingers and hands.
Hot towels and Japanese customs reminds me of my first trip to Japan when I was 24. Went with a college buddy of mine whose parents (Americans) lived in Tokyo. His dad took us around to experience the country: sushi, the oshibori, the Shinkansen (bullet train), sleeping on the tatami floor and among others a "hotsy bath" as he called it. Shall I continue, and is this appropriate for a travel blog? Oh, well, I did fly to Tokyo so here is "the rest of the story." HT to Paul Harvey. When we came out of the bath his dad asked, "did she wash your...private parts"? Sure did, and it was great. He said, "she just handed me the towel and said "dozo" (please, do it yourself) and that's what happens when you get old so enjoy it now." Nice knowing you all, but will probably get removed by Ben.
The hot towels are traditionally for your hands before a meal. But before I do that, they feel so good to press to my face for the moisture and warmth.
A couple of comments…
Regarding skincare, maybe have a chat to a chemist to understand how it works, what it does and doesn’t do and whether or not you want it to stay on your skin between applications.
I travel a lot, and as it happens, many of my trips are to warm destinations, and often involve a hectic taxi ride to the airport, running around and often being driven to the plane on a bus. Long story short - 8 times out of 10 by the time I take. Y seat I feel sweaty, grimey and overall gross. A warm towel is the best way to feel a bit more human, short of an emirate shower in the clouds.
Most men don't wear moisturizer. I wipe my face with the hot towel just because it feels good
First, I don’t like when the hot towel is almost dry - not an uncommon occurrence.
First, wipe face and maybe back of neck, then hands, then surfaces like tray table, screen.
Done.
I like to tell Ben what I don't like to read, because when he posts crap about people misbehaving in airports and airplanes and then posts something with a credit card referral that interests me, then I can go to another blog that doesn't post trash to actually sign up for the card.
Hot towel to the face because it's refreshing, like a brief steam treatment. I'm usually sweaty or greasy on a long travel day (especially in hot climates, where you never quite cool down), so it helps with that.
And it's much gentler than soap or a face cleanser (which will dehydrate like you describe). Good quality ones like JAL uses are typically not "rough towels" either...
If somebody was wearing layers of product or carefully applied makeup, then of course not... No insult to Ford, Ben, but you might want to look at what's in the products he's encouraging you to use. Much like sunscreen, many of them are more of a "capitalism wins" than "you win" (check them against EWG's SkinDeep database). You might end up wanting to wipe them off with your next hot towel 😉
Duh... using the towel to refresh , on your face is the whole point. Then I wipe my hands and finally the tray table. Not all airlines are the same (the size of towel and what they put on them). US airlines just dump some hot water (many times, not that well) from the coffee pot.... Better airlines provide hot towels multiple times during the trip.
So all the 'warm-towel-on-your-face-is-bad-for-your-skin' posters have apparently never taken a hot shower in their whole lives??
Clearly logic is not their friend. More to the point - It's. Just. A. Warm. Towel. Not an acid bath on your face! Get a grip, gurls.
Really Ben? You don’t sweat? You don’t get food around your mouth ever? You leave your pre-departure beverage ring around the mouth as is?
You don’t wash your face until you have access to your moisturizers and sunscreen?
I do, and a hot towel is a soothing way yo do it. .
Like the other comments, I refresh my hands and face. BUT, while I’m waiting for the towel to be collected, I put it (rolled or folded) on my nose and breath in through my nose to get some added moisture. It makes a difference with the dry air - even if for only a few minutes.
A brief exploration of online clippings at newspapers.com, from the time that you could learn everything from the daily press, indicates that this airline practice might have originated (well before 1960) with JAL, and that the technical term that US "stewardesses" learned for it in 1967 is oshibori. Which even has its own Wikipedia page. And Google AI explains,
>Oshibori are small, damp towels, typically made of terry cloth, that are served to guests to clean their hands before a meal or for refreshment. Originating in Japan, they can be served either warm in colder months or chilled in the summer and are a traditional symbol of hospitality, respect, and cleanliness. The practice is common in Japanese restaurants, and the term comes from the Japanese word "shiboru," meaning "to wring".<
Before there were travel bloggers, there were travel writers, like John Bynum Miles who wrote for the Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal of December 6, 1957 (almost the 16th anniversary of Pearl Harbor).
“Today at Hong Kong we boarded Japan Air Lines' DC-6B Pacific Courier, complete with background music, bound for Tokyo; and we must say the ensuing ride was a thoroughly delightful experience. No sooner had we made the spectacular takeoff from Kowloon Airport, than the smartly tailored Japanese hostesses donned exquisitely brocaded kimonos and gracefully swished through the aisle dispensing little, hot towels called "oshiboris," to refresh our face and hands, and attractive "happi coats," a sort of three quarter length kimono, to wear in flight."
Don’t take this the wrong way Ben. But most straight men don’t wear moisturizer lol. It’s barely a challenge to remember to put on sunscreen when stepping outside.
First why do you care what other people are doing. You’re right that in formal settings oshibori is hands only. Poor etiquette and the towel should be folded inward but if you’re on an American airline wipe whatever you want.
Never were hot towels meant to be used to wipe down surfaces. Is this an only USA thing?
Clearly logic is not their friend.
More to the point -.
Oil is not soluble in water.
That's why we use soap.
So all the 'warm-towel-on-your-face-is-bad-for-your-skin' posters have apparently never used soap in their whole lives??
Get a grip, gurls. The earth is not flat.
You guys was your face in the shower? I do it by the sink, it never even occured to me to just point the showerhead at my face, lol. I'm even very conscious about not getting water in my face when washing my hair.
It’s madness not wearing sunscreen every day. If you put that on, you don’t need a moisturiser.
Exactly what other people said. After a day of travel, through the airport in the end it is just cleaning your skin, relaxing and feeling a bot refreshed.
A lot of luxury hotels and lodges also great you with hot or cold towels and looking at the towel after the use, you wander how grey the towel gets so it does clean your face.
Oh and btw, using moisturizer is for healthy people a good way to waste a lot of money to put chemicals into your face and those are designed(!) so that your skin reduces the natural production of liquids and you get addi to them.
Funny as it sounds, clean water is still the best way for a fast cleaning.
Ben, certainly knows how to stir up the natives with mediocrity.
Thank you Ben, one is looking forward to your next flight review.
Hello again omarsidd.
To add to your education and to avoid “Spalling” of one’s skin cells, with or without the hot towel treatment, one might like to download to your iPhone and use the Yuka App. This helps to determine if your skin moisturiser is “Capitalism wins" or "You win". Checking a products Bar Code in store before purchasing can confirm which are “You win” as opposed to the “Capitalist wins”.
Just a thought old bean …. 🙂
Use to wipe the soles my bare feet. Lol...
As others have commented, wiping my face; feels good after a day of traveling to depart for a TATL
…. and a lower standard of conversation so that the proletariat can understand and join in perhaps John?
One suspects Nasty, that is the nearest a hot towel will ever get to your brain cell, yes? …. 🙂
For those who prefer to use a moisturiser, you might be interested to learn that there is an App which will rate the product accordingly. Many everyday trusted products are perhaps not as good for you as you might have been led believe.
The App is called Yuka, available from the App Store.
Agreed! I am Japanese-American and my parents always used the Oshibori to wipe their face and neck. I do the same. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
No, it is not. Neither is cleaning the bottom of your shoe with a face and hand towel. Article should have been about inappropriate use of hand/face towel as a cleaning rag.
Waht do you do, 747-400, to get sweaty and greasy from a day of traveling? Just curious!
I’m a guy and I usually use the hot towel on my face and then hands. I know it’s just intended for hands, but:
- It’s refreshing
- It makes my face feel better after sweat and oil on my face from going through security and then navigating the gate lice to board
- The side of the towel that wasn’t on my face is then quickly used on my hands.
Plus after a hot towel on the face, directing that air nozzle on my head feels very nice. I’m more perplexed by people who use it to wipe everything down and THEN wipe their hands with it. It’s like you’re putting all the grime that wasn’t cleaned onto your hands.
I'm straight and I do. After a shave and a hot shower moisturizer my skin is dry.
Also, it sounds counterintuitive, but moisturizer is good for oily skin.
I'm straight and I do. After a shave and a hot shower my skin is dry.
Also, it sounds counterintuitive, but moisturizer is good for oily skin.
Not everyone here travels to blog about it. You might leave home leisurely and get to the airport 6h early as you need to add lounge reviews etc. or finish an article in the lounge. So, you can take care of whatever skin care routine you want on the ground.
When I travel after a day of meetings, get in an Uber, wrestling my way through security, walking to the lounge (fast so I can at least have one drink before boarding starts or go to another one if there is a long line of people waiting), waiting to board (I'm not preboarding with the ability to take pictures of a totally empty plane), .... so I'm sweaty/ grimy/ ... and wiping my face followed by my hands is highly appreciated.
Marc, please be assured that when you pay for a flight abroad a world class airline, in an F or J cabin, one can afford to do all of the indulgences of which you post.
Not everyone has your skin type.
Mine is very oily. Which in turn means my face cab get sticky and collect who knows what. Like pollen. And I have bad allergies. I hate public restrooms that only offer a 'blow dryer' for your hands as I need a moist towel to wipe my face. It's my habit and getting that 'grease' off my face is what makes me fell refreshed.
What? Getting to the airport 6h early to do lounge hopping and reviewing?
Well, I fly across the pond on paid F/J tickets and have better things to do with my time than to waste it at an airport.
BTW cut that snotty attitude "be assured when you PAY"....
I have just committed the heinous crime of refreshing my face by using the hot towel. Twice on the same flight. I am sure the International Crimal Court is about to serve a warrant for my arrest.
Wait.... The amenity kit has a nice moisturiser, it is stocked in the lavatory as well, and I have packed a very nice Sekisui product in my carry on. Maybe there are mitigating circumstances and I have not caused the end of civilisation as we know it.
Warning: Some irony may have been included in this post.
You used about 20x the words necessary to say it feels good to wipe one's face on a plane.
Simple, I easily get greasy skin on longer flights because my skin "overreacts" on the dry air. A wipe down with a hot towel feels so good and I feel much cleaner afterwards!
Also it's the closest to a shower you'll get on some flights.
It’s very refreshing on your face given the dry cabin air. Live a little and give it a try. I also use it after on the back of my neck and after I’ve done all that, I then wipe down my try table and arm rests…
I found your article as I was remembering how nice it was on long international flight to have a hot towel provided after waking or before landing in economy - this was many years ago for me
to me the logical thing was to wipe my face I found it very refreshing the steam and moisture from the hot towel and breathing in the steam was helpful for dry nasal passages in the dry cabin air and the scent was also pleasant and refreshing
i must admit i just now thought of the potential sanitary issues posed by using water the airplanes tanks ...