Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
Historic Treasure of the Week -
December 1, 2002
By Janice Lewis
Vigo County Historical Society
Man has used many methods to rid his face of hair over the years
The average American male shaves approximately 15,000 during his lifetime. The bare-faced men illustrated in cave drawings as far back as 10,000 B.C. demonstrate that this grooming practice is not unique to modern man.
The first recorded history of shaving comes from the Egyptians, who as early as 4,000 B.C. removed not only their beards, but all other body hair as well. This routine was performed not only by the men, but by the women and children as well. Although hair removal was originally motivated by environmental and health concerns, it also became a means of making a fashion statement. In the hot climate of the Nile Valley, body hair and the heat comprised an aggravating combination. No only did removing all body hair make an individual feel cooler, it also removed the threat of lice and a breeding ground for offensive body odor. Although a shaved head was considered a sign of their sophisticated, advanced civilization, no Egyptian would appear in public without an elaborate wig. These hair pieces served as protection from the sun as well as personal adornment.
In spite of their obsession with hairlessness, Egyptian men realized that the beard was a symbol of masculinity. To satisfy both the hygienic requirements of the times and their male vanity, they fashioned artificial beards and, on special occasions, attached them to their faces with string, thus the images of bearded ancient pharaohs.
Throughout the ages the vogue for a clean-shaven face has come and gone. Around 300 B.C., men shaved their faces so that in battle an enemy could not grab their beard with one hand and stab them with the other.
It is of note that the word “barbarian” means “unbarbered” or “men of an unshaven society.”
Throughout history man has used many methods to rid his face of hair. These included singeing the face with a controlled flame, tweezing each hair individually, and scraping the hair off with stones, clam shells, pumice stones, or blades of bronze, copper or iron.
The straight steel razor that we see depicted in scenes from the 18th and 19th century was a major improvement for getting a close shave, but the blade quickly became dull and needed to be honed and stropped frequently.
In 1847, English inventor William Henson created a “hoe type” razor. By placing the blade perpendicular to the handle, like a hoe, he changed the say a man gripped his razor. Although the mechanics became easier, the blades still needed to be sharpened often.
In 1855, King C. Gillette of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, was searching for a way to support his family. While shaving one morning, he came up with the idea of a razor with a safe, inexpensive and disposable blade. Undaunted by engineers who said that is was impossible to produce a steel that was as hard, then and inexpensive as “needed” for this application, he asked William Nickerson an MIT graduate, to try. By 1903 Nickerson succeeded and the Gillette Safety Razor Co. began production. The company, which enjoyed instant success, was given an extra boost when the U.S. Government issued Gillette safety razors to the entire armed forces during World War I; almost the entire country was thus converted to the Gillette safety razor.
In this day and age when entire razors, rather than the blade alone, are discarded, it’s interesting to visit the Pharmacy Exhibit and upstairs bedroom at the museum to view some of the shaving equipment used in the past.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.