The History of Shaving:
EGYPT
WHEN, WHY and HOW PEOPLE STARTED SHAVING -
Disclaimer: Quik Shave, Inc. cannot guarantee the accuracy of this historical timeline
The History of Shaving:
EGYPT
WHEN, WHY and HOW PEOPLE STARTED SHAVING -
Disclaimer: Quik Shave, Inc. cannot guarantee the accuracy of this historical timeline
| Shaving predates history (see the enclosed THE HISTORY OF SHAVING TIMELINE
in our next section), yet we found that it was the men and women of early
Egypt who really established shaving and hair removal as a regular part
of daily grooming, a custom which continues today for people all over the
world. The Egyptians had an unusual obsession with personal body hygiene,
with curious customs to go along with this. The great Greek historian and
father of early history HERODOTUS (485-425 B.C.) stated that the Egyptians
bathed several times a day, and "set cleanness above seemliness." Clearly,
being so clean all the time was associated with fanatical behavior by outsiders.
The ancient Romans thought that a lack ofmajor body hair was some kind
of terrible deformity. But not in Egypt..... priests there believed
that body hair was shameful and unclean. Wild animals and barbarian people had hair, not the sophisticated, super-advanced Egyptian civilization. Being hairless was accomplished by shaving, using depilatory creams, and rubbing one’s hair off with a pumice stone. Men, women, and even the children of ancient Egypt all shaved their heads bald and wore elaborate specially-made wigs, which were preferred over a natural head of hair for ultimate protection from the sun’s harmful solar rays. These wigs were made of natural or artificial hair, and were strategically designed to keep one’s head cool. It was rare to find a man or woman out in public totally bald-headed, not just for sun protection, but for making a fashion statement as well. BE HAIRLESS..... and BE HEALTHY - Another reason for removing all body hair, including that on the scalp, was because being hairless gave the people an excellent way to prevent various body infections and diseases. Back then, living in the Nile Valley wasn’t all that easy because it was so very hot; body hair and heat could become an irritating combination. Soap was not readily available to the masses, and the Egyptians certainly didn’t have the kind of hair care products like the ones we use today. Keeping shoulder-length hair clean was very difficult, and washing it didn’t always correct the problem that most people had with hair lice. But a baldhead could be easily washed and dried. A baldhead didn’t feel itchy under a wig, or create a place for the lice to hang out. Eventually, everyone started shaving everything, everywhere. Being hairless kept one cooler, as well as more bug and odor-free. The less hair one had, the easier life was. CELEBRITY BARBERS and BOGUS BEARDS - Egyptian men also thought that having facial hair was an indication of personal neglect for some reason. So wealthy Egyptians normally kept a barber on their household staff. And in nearby Mesopotamia, barbers were held in very high regard by society, like a doctor or dignitary. Every town had a street or area where a number of barber’s shops could be found. These barbers took great care of the general public by shaving their clients daily with razors and pumice stones, then massaging perfumed oils and lotions into their skin. But what about the evidence we’ve seen on ancient murals that prove
some
THE ORIGINAL HAIRLESS ELITE - Personal care items of Egyptian royalty found during archeological tomb excavations have yielded fascinating treasures from yesterday made of gold with precious jewels, such as razors, manicure tools and other cosmetic implements. And other excavations have discovered Egyptian works of art that depict in detail that only barbarians, plunderers, peasants and slaves, mercenaries and criminals were hairy-faced. Shaving and removing body hair remained an important part of personal hygiene and grooming in the Middle East for many more years. Later, this tradition made its way into the polite societies of Europe and the Western world. But seven today, there are certain things about body hair on men or women that we Americans still find most disturbing. Fortunately, having a nice head of hair is not one of them. |
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