Lest the moustachioed, sideburned, goateed, stubbled, and soul patched feel neglected by the discussion of facial hair thus far, this chapter is concerned with your iconoclastic history. In the evolution of mankind, certain brave souls decided that you could selectively trim and shape the tufts that grew on your face, eschewing, as it were, the full enchilada. continue reading

Naturally, a market split of the adult population between “wet” and “dry” continued to stimulate fierce competition and industrial innovation. Gillette marketed “long lasting” stainless steel blades in 1960. Though available as early as 1945, cartridge razors reappeared and were heavily marketed in 1965. Plastic disposable razors proliferated through the take-out, throwaway ’60s and ’70s. (No one worried about landfills back then.) ... continue reading

The French, ever inventive, also introduced the shaving brush in 1748, often fashioned from stiff badger hair, which made shaving more pleasurable and convenient, as soap could better soften the whiskers. This was a start in the link between shaving and luxurious pampering which we continue to embrace today. Even so, most European men continued to be shaved by professional barbers until about 1900... continue reading

By 500 bc, Alexander the Great insisted that his troops shave to avoid dangerous beard-grabbing in combat, and because he believed it looked tidier. His logic persisted for almost two centuries. In Rome, the rich retained servants to shave them, while the less wealthy would head to a barber who used an “iron novacila,” a shaving instrument which tended to rust and grow blunt, cutting many and killing a few with tetanus. But this didn’t deter Roman men from seeing a tonsor because, as has always been the case, the barber shop was the heart of local gossip and news. As well, one’s class and status could be read by the hair on your face, including whether you were a slave or master... continue reading

The fortune of facial hair has waxed and waned for five thousand years. If your archbishop said shave, you did so to avoid hell’s fire. If your sovereign’s beard caught fire, you sympathetically removed your own. Any student of history can appreciate the vagaries of the male ego and the impositions of vanity, but until 150 years ago, removing the beard was no simple task... continue reading