Shaving Through The Ages
What is shaving?
Shaving is the removal of hair in a very specific way, which is in cutting the hair. You know, that is basically the best way I could think of in defining shaving. It's like whenever you are dealing with hair -obviously not the hair on your head- but like anything to remove completely the hair and cutting it, in a position for example was waxing that pulled the hair out or with laser that just kills it completely or any other form of hair removal. Shaving is removing hair by cutting it.
What is wet shaving?
Wet shaving is shaving using a shaving brush. People sometime misunderstand wet shaving as shaving with water versus shaving dry with an electrical. In fact, wet shaving is using a shaving brush to shave your face, or any other part that you'd be shaving.
What is dry shaving?
Dry shaving will be electric shaving. That is, using an electric razor to shave. Even today, electric shavers are also available to be used with water, but they are still called dry shaving.
What is the difference between wet and dry shaving?
I definitely, strongly believe that wet shaving is not only better than dry shaving, but it's really the best way to shave in order to achieve the result of getting a close shave with no pain.
What is the history of shaving?
What are the benefits of shaving?
The benefits of shaving are that you will definitely look more neat. When you get a close shave, and a shave where there is no suffering, no pain or anything, your complexion looks much clearer. And we've had people say that they look younger, just from getting a good shave.
How is shaving different from culture to culture?
There are some cultures, and there are also some religions where you don't shave. Then there are some religious rules where you can shave, but shave a certain way. For example, in the Jewish religion, you are not supposed to use a blade where the throat is. So therefore they will not shave, when extremely religious, or they will just shave certain areas with electric razors. In some of the Muslim cultures, it's recommended not to shave and you can see that they grow a beard. It definitely has a cultural aspect to it, as well as a religious aspect to it. In the European world, we favored shaving more. But again, what you're faced with is like fashions. We've gone through, in the last ten years, a couple of fashions ways where culturally, for example, men were recommended to shave the whole chest. And now it's back to having a hairy chest. You'll have shaving on the face, or you'll have the little goatee. So there's really trends that are associated with fashion when it comes to shaving.
Why do some cultures forbid shaving while other cultures require it?
In cultures, whether one shaves or doesn't shave is a conscious thought, whether that is collectively or individually. It is not something that is just being tossed out and not thought about and ignored, so it becomes a choice whether one shaves or not.
When were shaves performed by barbers at the height of their popularity?
This whole thing died in the 1970s. So, until the 1970s, that was the proper way of shaving for the gentlemen. In old style, it was the barber coming to you. So, when you go like, for example, in France, in the court of Louis VI, the barber was coming to your room, and he was shaving you. And, that's what the gentlemen used to have. FACT: In 1094, barbers were also considered surgeons and dentists. Going to the barber came after the democratization of shaving to go to the barber; because only the rich could afford to have a barber come to them.
Has the barber shaving tradition died?
When I started in this business, that's one thing that I did realize - that the tradition of going to the barber died in the ‘70's. That came with this whole phenomenon of rejecting everything that our parents were doing. It was also modernization. When we look at the modernization of shaving, and the disposable razor coming about, and the foam coming about. The life accelerating is like the rejection of what our parents did. That was definitely a symbol of what your father was doing. Your father had either a straight razor or a single-blade, and there was one thing you were sure not to do, which was to be like him.
How much would a shave cost at a good barber today?
Has shaving become an art?
