There have been a few questions about the barrel. Apparently, I have tapped a heretofore unknown wellspring of barrel interest.
First: the barrel is made of cedar. It was explained to me that there are two kinds of cedar. There is a tree that grows in Siberia that they call a cedar tree but is, in actuality, some other kind of non-cedar tree. These barrels are made of the real cedar, “like in Tibet”.
Looks cozy, doesn't it?
The next question: No, I probably could not have scratched my face. 
The top of the barrel is two panels, each with a half-circle neck hole cut out. Then there were towels packed in around so that the steam stayed inside the barrel. Luckily, my face was not itchy at all, as this would have driven me CRAZY.
Which brings us to the third and final question: could I have escaped, had I wanted to? And I am not sure, but the question has tinged any future barrel visits with a mild panic. The aforementioned panels are made of the aforementioned cedar– and the whole was as big as my neck, not my head. So in order to get into the barrel, Lilia slid one of the panels away and I brought my head through, then she slid it back. I’m not sure that I could have moved the panel using only my neck strength (though I do have a very strong neck). Perhaps I could have gotten my fingers in around the towels and pushed. Perhaps there was an “emergency escape” button somewhere, though how I could see it and push it at the same time I don’t know.
Any other questions?
Mindbumping 