Methods of shaving have changed significantly throughout history, and perceptions of facial hair like beards and mustaches have changed with them. Whether or not a man grows facial hair has been determined culturally based on religion, convenience in war, and simple preference. Beards have been regarded as unclean nuisances, signs of divinity, symbols of strength, and handsome characteristic of an elite man throughout the centuries.
In the present day, due to the safety and convenience of razors, more men have embraced the ease of a clean-shaven lifestyle. Shaving is an aspect of life many men take for granted. Maybe it’s the associated terminology: ingrown hairs and razor burn sound as inconvenient and even as painful as they really can be. Below are interesting facts about male shaving:
1. Beard
Hair Is as Tough as Copper Wire: Maybe this is why so many females suffer from
pogonophobia: the fear of beards (or at least the fear of a man's stubble and
the fear of developing whisker burn). According to many sources, dry beard hair
and copper wire are indeed of equal strength (when of similar diameter). Trying
to imagine drawing a razor over a face of copper wire is just awful.
For this reason shaving experts recommend using hot
water prior to shaving. This has a twofold benefit: First, facial hair absorbs water, and it absorbs
hot water significantly faster than cold water; and second, that water weakens
the hair by as much as a third, making shaving so much easier, and the results,
substantially better.
2.
Men Have Been Shaving For 5,000 Years: Man first learned to
shave using raw materials like flint, shark teeth, and clam shells. These tools appeared
in drawings found in prehistoric caves. The very first razors were made
from copper and solid gold as discovered
in Egyptian tombs that date back to the 4th millennium B.C. It was a
custom in ancient Egypt (for men and women) to shave their
heads and facial hair.
They
also wore specially designed wigs, which offered more protection from
the sun than a natural head of hair. Not only were these wigs a great
fashion statement .They spared people from illnesses or infections. In the Nile
Valley back then, the climate was so hot that it was hard to stay clean with a
head full of hair. Soap wasn't easily available so going hairless was the best
way to stay cool, clean and lice-free.
3.
Most Militaries Require Their Soldiers To Be
Clean Shaven: It is believed during World War I,
shaving had certain advantages. Troops needed gas masks while they fought from
the trenches. A beard would only get in the way of wearing the mask properly.
It was the same deal for those pilots in World War II, who wore oxygen masks
while flying high-altitude planes.
The
origin of shaving in the military was more likely in hand-to-hand combat. It was around 330 B.C. when Alexander the Great made it
mandatory for his troops to shave – and for practical reasons. Shaving was
a defensive measure preventing enemy soldiers from grabbing them by the beard
during battle.
4.
Most People Improperly Store Their Razor
Blade: Many of us tend to leave our razor in the
shower, which is not a good practice. The damp, dewy environment causes the
blade to rust faster – and become vulnerable to more bacteria. So make a
conscious effort to store your razor in a clean and dry place. If you use the same blade for an extended
period, or if you keep leaving your blade in the shower.
There's
a greater risk of skin infections in the form of: folliculitis, which causes the skin to
form red bumps with pus-filled yellow heads; cellulitis, which turns part of the
skin red and painful; honey-colored crusts on the skin; and further spreading
of pre-existing infections (such as warts or herpes)
5.
Shaving Is a
Requirement at One American Campus: Another thing you didn't know about shaving
is that, in at least one place, you can only grow facial hair if you first
obtain an official "Beard Card." Utah's private Brigham Young
University (BYU) is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
and students attending the school must adhere to its honor code, which includes
not only abstinence from sex and drugs, but also observance of the grooming standards of the
campus, one of which prohibits facial
hair.
In
the event that a student can't shave because of a skin allergy or some other
verifiable reason, that student is issued a "beard card," granting
him the freedom to grow facial hair. Although the school's honor code dates to
1949, the facial hair bylaw is believed to have been added in the 1960s, as the
unwashed hippie movement took flight.
6. The Man Responsible for Disposable Razors
Survived the Great Chicago Fire: According to (now
widely discredited) legend, on the morning of October 8, 1871, a cow kept by a
certain Mrs. O'Leary kicked over a lantern. Two days later, four square miles
of Chicago had gone up in flames, including the home of a man named King Camp
Gillette. The fire prompted the Gillette family's move to New York City, where
King Camp Gillette hit the road as a travelling salesman.
Gillette
kept his eye open for a business opportunity and, around 1900, he found it.
Safety razors had been around for decades, but the need to re-sharpen the blade
was costly and time-consuming. In 1905, Gillette created a highly profitable
business model in which he sold his own patented safety razor for very little
profit, but sold the easily replaceable steel blades — also his own patent — at
a substantial mark-up. In his first year, he sold about 50 razors and 170
blades.
7.
Why Beard Taxes Existed Before: Toward the end of the
17th century, Russian Emperor Peter the Great introduced a new tax on men's facial hair. It was an attempt to modernize
Russian society. You could also say it was a way of dividing “classes.” Back
then, bearded men in Russia had to carry a copper or bronze token as proof of
paying their tax. The amount someone had to pay increased with his standing in
society, which made facial hair a big status symbol. Monarchs in England also
imposed this tax from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I.
“I've had a beard a fair few times and, like most guys, when I shave
the beard off I experiment with a few different facial hair styles on the way
down to clean shaven. But I've never actually had a moustache for any longer
than about 10-15 minutes - during the process of shaving off the beard.” (James Magnussen) [i]
[i] Sources used:
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“10 Things You Don’t Know About Shaving |
Interesting Facts about Facial Hair” by Antonio Centeno
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