The Facts : How people shaved in ancient times?
It can be said that the history of shaving is as old as that of human civilization. It has been going on since the Stone Age Civilization. The need for men to shave their beards at all times has depended on personal preference, sometimes a necessity, sometimes cultural belief, and sometimes on the prevailing fashion. Today we have modern razors and electric shavers available for this task. But what about the ancient times when all these tools were not available to man? Let us know the methods adopted by the men of ancient times to remove the beard.
Flint Stone
In the Stone Age, these stones were rubbed, shavings, and made sharp. These were molded into different sizes according to daily needs. Staying clean-shaven was not the aim at that time. It is enough that the hair of the beard should be cut short enough so that sweat does not accumulate on them and does not cause infection. Even today some tribal species use sharp objects made of these stones.
Seashell
By joining two shells, they were given the form of tweezers. At that time it was a very popular method of removing unwanted hair. Clamshells were also specially used.
Metal tools
In the Bronze Age, sharp objects made of metal were more durable than stones. Different tools have been created to remove unwanted hair. The mention of all these tools is found in the Egyptian civilization. These shaving items were found in an Egyptian tomb. At that time, after the Egyptians died, these things were also buried with their dead bodies.
Invention of Razor
By the 1700th century, the razor had been invented. It was manufactured in Sheffield, England. From there it spread to other parts of the world. By 1740, this razor was also made of steel, which relieved the problem of iron razors being rubbed off before each shave. This form of the razor is prevalent even today. Even today barbers prefer the same design of the razor, only the blades can be changed in today’s razors.
There used to be a problem of close shaving at that time people had to go to the barber. There used to be no clean shave tool at home without the help of someone else.
The second problem was that the slightest mistake while using the razor would result in cuts on the cheeks or neck. Because of this, the razors were also called Cut Throat Razors at that time.
The third problem that had been going on for years was that the razor often had to be sharpened.
Introduction of Safety Razor
A Selzman King C. Gillette understood this problem. In 1895, Gillette made the first safety razor blade. The special thing about this blade was that it was disposable. Meaning instead of sharpening the edge again and again, change the blade itself. Secondly, shaving was now easily done at home and the chances of getting a cut on the face were also very less compared to the traditional razor.
Within a few years, Gillette became a well-known name. In 1904, Gillette also got the patent for the “Safety Razor”. After this, the popularity of Gillette was such that the company received an order to make special shaving kits for the American Army during first World War.
Later, such as Gillette, it became a necessity in every household. What was remarkable about Gillette was that it continued to change the design of the blade and razor. The invention of the twin blade razor in 1971 is also a contribution of Gillette. In 1998 Gillette came up with the triple blade. Today, the modern razors that we men use for shaving at home, that design is the gift of Gillette. The Gillette Company’s tagline is “We’ll stop making razor blades if we can’t make them better”
The first electric razor was released in 1930. It was created by Jacob Schick. After this, more improvements were made to the electric razor. Along with razors, hair trimmers also evolved with the times. Check out modern-day electric razors. It is helpful in both trimming and close shaving.
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
