Info about Shaving
History of Shaving
Shaving has been an important activity for humans for a very long time. Early man needed to shave to get rid of the hair affected by lice and ticks. Besides a shaven face made it easier to consume food too. From those early days till today, shaving has been a very important activity. It has obviously transformed in the manner and tools used to shave, but it remains a great way to present yourself in the society.
The first blades used by the cave dwellers were made from stones and animal horns. Besides the better looks and ease of eating, lack of bear also meant that it could not be used as a weapon against you in a fight. Some men also used crudely made tweezers. Though this method of hair removal was or painful, one could go without a beard for longer time.
One of the greatest civilisations on earth has been the Egyptian civilisation. Even here shaving assumed a lot of importance. In fact in ancient Egypt, shaving was not limited to just beard, but also body and head. Shaving allowed people to keep different hair styles that created new fashion statements. The early Egyptian blades were made from sharpened flint stones. During the Copper Age, copper blades were very popular and then in the Bronze Age, the bronze blades were commonly used. In fact during that time shaving was considered mandatory and beard were associated with people dying or with slaves.
All these developments took place just with shaving tools and no one really bothered about the shaving cream. It was the Sumerians that first created shaving cream from animal fats and wood alkalis. Babylonians used another variation of ash and fat to help soften the hair before shaving.
Greeks and Roman cultures are considered one of the most advanced. While initial records show that they put a lot of stress on beards, later they moved to associating clean shaven men with upper echelons of the society. Pretty soon barber shops became community centers where people could shave and at the same time socialise with other men.
While shaving became more and more intricate over the centuries, it was not until the 20th century that a safety razor was invented. With the safety razor, the chances of cuts and injuries due to unsafe handling reduced dramatically.
Since then there have been many new designs and forms that can come up. Today we have razors in all shapes each claiming to give you a closer and better shave. The dual blade action is now replaced by triple and sometime even five blades on the same razor surface.
Today you also have electric razors that are not really blades as such. They are different kinds of mechanisms that can help you cut facial hair easily and safely. You can then even trim and take off the very tiny hair stubble with different attachments to the electric razor.
Truly, shaving has come a long way over the thousands of years man has felt the need to shave.