A Nick in Time: How Shaving Evolved Over 100,000 Years of History

Gizmodo ^ | 3/18/2014 | Andrew Tarantola

[brewer1516]

You may consider a double-blade razor like Gamecock mentions in post 5 above. From what I’ve read, wet shaving really redu es shaving bumps and other skin irritation. There are plenty of websites for wet shaving out there and you can get a razor, blade, etc. fairly inexpensive. Blades are literally a few cents apiece so help offset the upfront cost.

[spokeshave]

Electric is the way to go….The Donald Style….

[papertyger]

I switched from the money sucking disposable razors to wet shaving about 2 years ago.

A good shave is the bubble bath for guys ;)

[W.]

Thanks, I've learned to shave at the end of my shower, as the whiskers get soft from the water, and to only use a disposable razor no more than 4 times to get a smooth and blood-free shave. I also just use bar soap, which works fine for the shave.

There's nothing better than a fresh razor! Zip, zip, zip, and done, and smooth as your girlfriend's butt! Eee! 8)

[W.]

Is that Vince SR getting a haircut?

[Paleo Pete]

Before I quit shaving altogether, I used a Gillette Slim, this little gem

http://www.classicrazor.com/gillette-safety-razors/slim-adjustable.html

I found shaving cream made my face burn all day and finally switched to just hot water, it works great. One time was all it took to convince me. Never used that “can of foaming goo” Frank Zappa sang about again.

Finally quit altogether, I haven’t touched my Gilette in several years. I’ve always had a beard, haven’t shaved it entirely since 1980 or so, but kept it about an inch long or less, finally got sick of the trimmer and just let it grow. I get people telling me every time I go into town I look like “Uncle Si” from Duck Dynasty. I finally saw them in an interview, I don’t look like him at all...he looks like me. (I can’t stand reality TV, refuse to watch the show at all.)

Try the hot water method, it works. Just plain hot water, as hot as you can stand it, on a washcloth, put it on your face for a couple of minutes, repeat if you think you need to. No soap, no canned goo, just water. I was surprised how well it works. And no irritation from the chemicals in whatever they put in that goo...

Until I started using hot water I never even trimmed the excess in summer, my face and neck would burn all day. Torture...hot water solved that problem, and in winter if you hunt, no smell to warn the deer of your presence.

Off topic tip to hunters...build a small fire and stand around in the smoke for a few minutes before going into the woods. Deer pay little attention to campfire smoke, in most hunting areas it’s a common smell so they think you’re just more campfire smell carried in the wind. Don’t use soap if you bathe the night before, no cologne, no deodorant, no powder, nothing that doesn’t smell like it belongs in the woods. Yeah that means no booze...who wants to hunt with a hangover anyway?

[Chasaway]

I like my Wade & Butchers...

[SunkenCiv]

Maybe the Follicality List...

[Rodamala]

I remember when I was a kid, going to the hallway closet where such things were kept and playing with the Old Man's Twinplex Stropper.

I imagine he bought it when he was in the USN at boot camp at Great Lakes.

Anyway at some point it was unceremoniously thrown out... probably around the same time his sock garters were tossed out.

The guy in this video rambles a bit, but demonstrates the device:

https://youtu.be/HnslVOd8doo

[kearnyirish2]

Gross (but funny); I don’t have that option yet...

[kearnyirish2]

Ingrown hairs are a pain; I try to shave twice a week to deal with them (giving them time to come to the surface so they can be freed with a pin). I keep the “Don Johnson” look because you can get away with shaving the rest of your face less (it would be more obvious if I was clean-shaven). The hair on my head I keep shorter as I get older; so far haven’t dealt with balding yet.

[Fresh Wind]

[Gamecock]

**A good shave is the bubble bath for guys ;)**

Well said!

[jackal7163]

Proraso but I use a 1958 Gilette Fatboy adjustable with either Feather blades or Israeli Personas. Best shave ever

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks colorado tanker.

[gleeaikin]

When I was a child in the 40s and 50s, my father used to take the double edged razor blade, press it against the inside of a drinking glass (long way up and down) and slide it left and right to sharpen the blade. I don’t know if this actually made them last longer, but he was a dedicated blade rubber. Does anyone know if this actually helped? I guess it would be an easy enough experiment to test out if you had two blades to work with.

[SunkenCiv]

I don’t think it would sharpen the blade, no.

[Alas Babylon!]

The author skipped a big deal in Roman history--the Age of the Beard. Just as Abe Lincoln had started the Presidential Beard look that went from the 1860's until the 1890's--where almost EVERY president had a beard, so too did Hadrian the Roman Emperor. In the USA, it all stopped with William McKinley (or is that William Denali?) and in Roman stopped with Constantine.

From Wikipedia: In the second century AD the Emperor Hadrian, according to Dion Cassius, was the first of all the Caesars to grow a beard; Plutarch says that he did it to hide scars on his face. This was a period in Rome of widespread imitation of Greek culture, and many other men grew beards in imitation of Hadrian and the Greek fashion. Until the time of Constantine the Great the emperors appear in busts and coins with beards; but Constantine and his successors until the reign of Phocas, with the exception of Julian the Apostate, are represented as beardless.

Hadrian

Marcus Aurelius

[chesley]

A few years ago, I got a case of shingles on my face. I stopped shaving entirely. Never went back.

I do keep it trimmed short, but only the neck gets shaved anymore.

It’s wonderful

[dsc]

A few years back I went to a VA counselor to see if he could help me get a job. He said, you might as well face it: you’re never going to get another job (or words to that effect).

I said, ok, then I’m not going to shave, either.

I didn’t grow a beard; I just stopped shaving.