History of depilation. How and why men shaved in different eras When women began to shave their legs

Oddly enough, our stern ancestors took care of themselves almost more than we do now. There were centuries when men took care of themselves many times more than women, powdering their faces, wigs, getting rid of hair and tinting their lips. Ugh, you probably say. But painted lips and powder did not in the least prevent counts and marquises from fighting with other counts and marquises for ladies, lands and other resources.

Caveman and obsidian scraper

Cave people are most often represented as hairy and overgrown, but this is only partially true. Hair retained moisture on the face, increasing the risk of frostbite, which is why ancient people thought about somehow reducing their hair “reservoirs”. Ancient people used sharp shells and pieces of silicon to remove stripes. Scientists came to this conclusion by looking at rock paintings. Closer to our time, 60,000 years ago, ancient people discovered obsidian, which can be easily processed. They used obsidian scrapers to remove facial hair.

The first shaving creams, which were most often used by women, consisted of... arsenic, slaked lime or starch. They were ground with water or fat, this consistency softened the hair and shortened life a little. But it's beautiful. Such mixtures appeared 3000 BC. When people discovered metallurgy, they began to make scrapers from metals.

Egyptian shave

Despite the fact that the Egyptians appear before us with long hair, in reality they are either wigs made from someone else's hair or funny hats. The Egyptians shaved completely, even removing all vegetation from their bodies. The Greek historian Herodotus and others like him greatly mocked the Egyptians, believing that they cared too much about their appearance and were too clean. Unfortunately, Herodotus absolutely did not think that washing several times a day and removing hair was the answer to the unreal heat that reigned in Egypt. Only barbarians, peasants, mercenaries from other countries and slaves wore hair on their heads; the absence of hair was a sign of belonging to the highest caste.

Archaeologists have found large quantities of bronze razors and cream trays made of pumice and clay in burials. Hair on the face, body and head was considered a sign of neglect of hygiene, which was absolutely logical. But for some illogical reason, appearing bald or without a hat in public was considered very vulgar. Wigs and hats were made so that the air circulated better and cooled the royal head. Beards were also removed, but the pharaohs wore... false beards. And even female pharaohs. The skill of a barber was highly valued among the Egyptians.

The Sumerians, like some peoples, used flint scrapers. The first metal razors were slightly curved for greater shaving convenience.

Alexander the Great and shaving

The Ancient Greek fashion for shaving is owed primarily to Alexander the Great, who ordered his soldiers to shave their beards and cut their hair so that their enemies would have nothing to cling to during battle. Alexander's charismatic personality quickly made shaving a wildly popular topic. Razors from Egypt entered the life of the Greeks, but were slightly improved, and their material was replaced by more worthy iron and bone.

Olive oil, which the Greeks put everywhere, played a good role in making creams. It was mixed with talc, clay, cobwebs and made into something that helps shave stubble.

The Romans, who loved to borrow everything from the Greeks, also took away the desire to shave, bringing it to absolute fashion. You can only imagine the Romans with blue, shaved chins. The Romans believed that shaving was a sign of a civilized person, and not of a Jew or some kind of barbarian. Soldiers also shaved, carrying camp razors with them, and senators also shaved, using the services of a personal barber. The less hair there was on the body, the more civilized the citizen was considered. This even applied to pubic hair. And the depravity of all sorts of Nero and Caligula is not relevant - hygiene comes first. By the way, Roman razors were straight, which cemented this type of razor in history for a long time.

Middle Ages and shaving

There was not always enough time to shave in the Middle Ages: plague, crusades, raids of one country on another. But shaving was still considered a good thing. We should say thank you to the good influence of Byzantium and the same Roman Empire. After the church split into two branches of churches, shaving among the servants of God became mandatory - this is how Catholic priests were distinguished from Muslim, Jewish and others. This trend was introduced into canon law in 1096. It was forbidden for everyone except crusaders in the Holy Land to shave their beards. Women also did not lag behind and completely removed their eyebrows to enlarge their foreheads.

Steel razors were used, and a mixture of walnut (or olive) oil, ammonia and vinegar was used as a cream.

It is worth noting that during the Renaissance, beards were also grown, but people did not forget to take care of them. In general, the mechanics of hair removal have not changed: they scraped off with anything and smeared with anything, often poisonous. Women decided to go even further - they shaved their hair to enlarge their foreheads. There is an opinion that many representatives of the upper class lost their hair on their own due to a lack of iron in food and clean air; stupid city women, confident in the new fashion, shaved their hair on their own to make beautiful huge foreheads. Extremely dangerous razors also appeared, which could only be used by specially trained people. At the same time, a more or less safe shaving product and even some semblance of shaving soap appeared

More or less safety razor

Only specially trained people could use razors because up to a certain point they were extremely dangerous and you could cut off your fingers, skin to your teeth, and everything in sight. But in the 18th century, something appeared that, due to a misunderstanding, is still called. French inventor Jean-Jacques Perret wanted people to stop wasting time and money on barbers and came up with a natural razor for everyone. And that’s all, Perret installed a wooden casing on the razor, which was convenient to hold on to. But shaving was still somehow not particularly cool and sassy, ​​although compared to other razors it was much safer. The correct name for such a razor is blade. It existed for almost 200 years.

How did people shave before the invention of disposable razors? What can I say... It was a hard shave!

Surprisingly, but indisputably: in almost all cultures, even the most primitive ones, men violently destroyed their fur. And all these long beards of the Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan forefathers are a rather late invention.

The first razors that have come down to us are not even bronze, but silicon. And before high-quality processing of silicon, animal teeth and sharp edges of shells were used. Such razors are still used by some primitive tribes, for example in Polynesia.

Bronze razor

Where did this universal obsessive neurosis come from? This is sometimes explained by the desire of our ancestors to be different from animals. Some anthropologists suggest that a beard in primitive conditions was dangerous: all sorts of insects carrying infection lived in it, one could get entangled in bushes with it, enemies would grab onto it in a fight, and so on. And in the fight against beards, our ancestors went much further than scraping their cheeks with flint knives.

Silicon razors

The ancient Egyptians used razors mainly for shaving their heads, and they plucked their beards. Epilation was also used: a mixture of clay and wax was applied to the grown beard, and when everything dried, the clay-wax compress was torn off along with the hair.

The Egyptians were usually allowed to wear a beard only to one person - the pharaoh. Even if he was a woman. A ritual false beard was tied to the face of both boy kings and queens.

By the way, the fierce battle of the ancient Jews for the right and duty to have a beard bears traces of this old conflict: Semites in Egypt demanded preferences for religious reasons - they insisted that their faith forbade them to shave, and also to work every seventh day (the Egyptians only had a day off once every ten days).

People of Mesopotamia, judging by the surviving recipes, they also often epilated their faces with such patches. To do this, a combination of honey and resin was used.

Ancient Romans They burned the hair not only on the face, but also on the body. Slave cosmetologists were trained to carefully and quickly move a candle flame over the surface of the skin, burning hairs almost to the roots, but without leaving burns. Burns sometimes still occurred, and some evil masters beat the slaves for this.

In Ancient Japan there were metal tweezers. Men's beards and mustaches and women's eyebrows were plucked out hair by hair, looking in bronze mirrors. Descriptions of this process are found in Heian diaries and novels, and in her famous “Notes at the Bedside,” Sei Shonagon complained that finding really good tweezers that can easily grab hairs is a very difficult task.

Residents of both Americas They did not favor beards; hair was scraped off the face with shells and primitive tweezers. During adolescence, boys in some North American tribes had their faces burned into scars with rags soaked in boiling water to stop hair growth.

Who were the first people to remove body hair? When did women start shaving? Why? I invite you to explore the thorny path to smooth skin, our topic today is.

Cave people

Yes, yes, cavemen also removed hair! Thanks to cave paintings, archaeologists have discovered that thousands of years ago people were also concerned about the issue of unwanted body hair. 20,000 years ago, females had long, braided hair, but males had no hair. It is assumed that they used sharpened stone tools, or shells, for depilation. Moreover, sometimes the hair was partially removed along with the skin! Brrr...

They also fought rival clans, so sometimes they had to trim their vegetation for the sake of survival and so that the enemy would have nothing left to grab onto during the fight.

Ancient Egypt

The Egyptians are the founders of a large number of beauty rituals, many of which we use in modern times. But they achieved the greatest success in matters of depilation. Women of Ancient Egypt preferred to remove all vegetation on the body, and even on the head. Only the eyebrows remained untouched. Hairs were removed using seashell tweezers, pumice, beeswax, and sugar-based wax. Familiar to us sugaring takes its origins precisely from the ancient Egyptian civilization.

A carefully waxed body was an indicator of high class in society. If women had hair in their bikini area, and a man had a scruffy beard, then most likely they were either servants or members of the lower class.

The Roman Empire

Like the Egyptians, the inhabitants of the Roman Empire determined that they belonged to a high class by the absence of body hair. The rich used flint razors, tweezers, stones and creams for depilation to remove unwanted hair, including pubic hair. Statues of gods and paintings of upper-class women during this era are depicted as having no hair.

Middle Ages

In that era, the tone was set Elizabeth I. The Queen was something of a trendsetter, and in her opinion, hair should be given special attention. This meant that any facial hair, and even eyebrows, were not welcome. But Elizabeth was not particularly concerned about leg hair and pubic hair.

There was also a trend of removing hair from the forehead to make the face appear longer. To do this, the girls rubbed the area with peanut butter and, in some cases, with cat poop. It sounds terrible, but what sacrifices can you make for the sake of “beauty”.

1700s - 1800s

This period took place under the auspices of the first real razor, created by Jean-Jacques Perret. Initially, this was an invention purely for men, but women also slowly began to use it for beauty purposes.

The 1800s saw the creation of the gentle razor from King Camp Gillette. Despite this, safety razors were still not available to women.

1900s

At the beginning of the twentieth century, fashion pushed girls to shave their armpits. This was simply necessary, as sleeveless dresses were becoming increasingly popular

In 1915 the brand Gillette heard the prayers of millions of women, and created "Milady cleavage"- the first razor made for women.

1940-1950s

During wartime, there was an acute shortage of nylon, so girls could not afford to wear tights every day. And to look decent without them, I had to shave my legs.

But for men, it was not necessary to remove facial and body hair. It's a shame! 🙂

1960s

In the 1960s the first wax strips, and quickly became a popular way to depilate legs and armpits. But an attempt at laser hair removal that took place in the mid-60s was not so successful. This idea was met with hostility due to the negative impact on the epidermis.

1970s

This decade was marked by the popularization of hair removal in the pubic area, as open swimsuits became fashionable.

1980s–present

Depilation has become one of the most popular procedures in the field of personal care. Today, those wishing to remove body hair have access to a wide range of methods and products. Tweezing, shaving, waxing, sugaring, using various creams, threading, laser hair removal, electrolysis - all these methods are quite effective, and you can choose the one that suits your liking and pocket.

Be healthy and beautiful, and our “Pilochka” service will take care of your “vegetation”.

Historians believe that the tradition of shaving dates back to the Neanderthals. About 100,000 years ago, those, guided by certain religious and aesthetic considerations, began to cover themselves with tattoos, pull out their hair and grind down their teeth. Shell shells were used for hair removal, and sharp fragments of quartz (comparable to modern razors) were used for shaving, leaving scars on the skin.

Prehistoric shaving was directly related to tattooing. It was enough to make ordered cuts on yourself while shaving, then rub paint into the skin - and a tattoo would appear.

About 7,000 years ago, the first depilatory creams began to appear. They included such “useful” substances as arsenic, quicklime, and starch. Having smeared yourself with them, you could lose not only your hair, but also your life. The ancient Persians perfected this process. They removed hair using cloth and honey (today wax is used).

Why did our ancestors need to shave? There are many reasons. First, people struggled with fleas and lice. Secondly, the fighters shaved their hair so that the enemy would not grab it in battle. Thirdly, the hair accumulated bad odors, and the thick, tangled beard made it difficult to eat. Finally, long beards were associated with old age and death. By shaving them off, a person became rejuvenated both externally and spiritually.

In ancient Egypt, people had special reasons for shaving. Herodotus wrote that wealthy Egyptians - and even their children - shaved several times a day. This was due to the desire for purity before the gods and to distinguish oneself from the mass of “savage” peoples. Wigs were worn on bald heads to protect the skin from the sun.

Razors were made of copper and bronze (another cradle of civilization - Mesopotamia - used stone scrapers). Only kings were allowed to wear beards - and even then they were fake ones, tied to the face with ribbons.

Alexander the Great was a fan of shaving (he explained this both by the aesthetic advantages of smooth skin and by the military - the enemy could not grab him by the beard) and never started a battle unshaven. He not only captured half of the ancient world, but also spread the fashion for removing body hair throughout it.

From about 400 BC, Hindus adopted the custom of wearing beards, but at the same time carefully shaved body hair in the most important places (women shaved from shoulders to legs, paying special attention to the latter). Hairiness did not go along with the sophistications of the Kama Sutra. For comparison, at the same time, beautiful representatives of the “civilized” Greeks were getting rid of hair on their legs using the fire of an oil lamp.

A visit to the tonsor for a haircut was an obligatory part of the daily routine of the Romans - as was a visit to the baths. It was customary to discuss the latest news with the tonsor, so barbers at first were peddlers of gossip. Some of them managed to make considerable fortunes by shaving clients.

In the Middle Ages, barbers retrained from journalists to doctors. People went to them to shave, get their hair cut, have their teeth pulled out, bleed, be covered in leeches, and even have their limbs amputated. They accompanied armies and served the inhabitants of castles. In 1540, the British Brotherhood of Physicians officially merged with the Company of Barbers. Until 1800, there was an equal sign between doctors and hairdressers.

Medieval European ladies completely removed their eyebrows, eyelashes, and hair from their foreheads and temples, which gave them a slightly alien look. In addition, they bleached their skin with lead white. Lead is an excellent remedy for being fragile, stunted and preserving beauty by dying while still young.

The outcome of the Battle of Hastings (1066), which decided the fate of all of England, was influenced by... shaving. King Harold's scouts did not find William the Conqueror's soldiers, but reported a huge number of "monks". Harold underestimated the enemy’s strength, because in fact the “monks” were the Duke’s soldiers - carefully shaven and looking like priests.

In 1722, Peter I personally cut off the boyars' beards and introduced a differentiated tax on them. Merchants paid 100 rubles a year, courtiers 60, and peasants two money (1 kopeck). Russia started shaving.

In 1770, Jean-Jacques Perret published the book “The Art of Shaving Yourself,” where he first proposed the use of “safety razors,” the cutting edge of which is limited by a frame and cannot cause deep cuts. The Frenchman was inspired to this idea by... an ordinary plane.

And in 1909, the American inventor King Gillette began selling Safety Razors safety razors below their cost, making up for the losses with further sales of replacement blades. Gillette's advertising campaign, which made its razors the most popular in the world, was the First World War. King entered into a contract with the government, according to which a Gillette razor was included in the equipment of every American soldier. This is how razors spread throughout Europe.

In 1921, Colonel Jacob Schick was inspired by the design of a rifle and created a razor with blades that replaced the old ones from the magazine - like cartridges. Five years later, he designs an electric razor with vibrating blades.

1937 Remington produces the world's first full-fledged electric razor. Two years later, Frederick Philips released the popular PhiliShave electric razor, developed by engineer Alexander Horowitz. With the outbreak of war, most of the Philips family flees to the United States, and the production of electric shavers drops sharply. Due to a shortage of defense materials, some women are forced to shave, removing body hair with sandpaper - along with the top layer of skin.

You know the rest: disposable razors, multi-blade razors, floating heads, battery-powered electric shavers, special handles for women's razors (comfortable for holding them back when shaving your legs)... But despite advances in shaving comfort, shaving technology has changed little over the past 50 years.

The exact time when men began shaving is unknown, although images of beardless men on cave walls suggest that the beginning of this custom dates back to prehistoric times. Even then, men were actively struggling with facial hair, and not the most humane methods and tools were used: silicon scrapers, animal teeth, mollusk shells, etc. There was another extremely unusual method: unwanted hair was smeared with clay, like modern wax for hair removal, and when it dried, it was torn off, of course, with the hair.

Flint shaving knives were allegedly used by the Sumerians and ancient Egyptians.

As metallurgy developed in the second millennium BC. e. the Egyptians switched to copper and then bronze razors, and in the 1st millennium BC. e. iron razors appeared. Initially, all razors were arched, but then the Romans developed straight razors.

Around 1100 BC, the prototype of modern razors appeared. According to scientists' research, it was then that people began to use a razor with a handle and one blade.

The idea of ​​a safety razor was first proposed in 1770 by a French barber named Jean-Jacques Perret. The razor of that time looked almost like the straight razor we are used to.

Since the 18th century, the stronghold of razor production has been the English city of Sheffield. Later, a second shaving center appeared - the German city of Solingen. The number of brands and manufacturers that existed at that time was so large that today it is difficult to reconstruct the history of their development. Hundreds of small and large enterprises supplied countless razors to the world market. Razors from Solingen have become famous for their first-class deep sharpening. The rustling rustle they make when shaving has earned them the additional name “singing razors.”

Humanity owes a new stage in the development of shaving to the well-known American - King Camp Gillette. In 1895, this amateur inventor came up with an innovation that buried straight razors and gave life to straight razors - he clamped a blade sharpened on both sides in a handle holder. It took Gillette 8 years to develop and bring the product to market, so his razor appeared on the shelves only in 1903.

In 1926, Colonel Jacobov Schick invented a razor design with two knives - movable and fixed. The moving blade, as you might guess, began to work from a small electric motor. These razors later became known as rotary razors, and they also became the first electric shavers. They went on sale in 1929.

Around 1950, so-called “foil” electric shavers appeared, which were invented by Max Brown - model S50. This razor was distinguished by a fixed mesh blade, which was bent in a semicircle and covered the entire area of ​​​​the shaving head. A movable knife adjacent to the inside moved from edge to edge of the head and cut off the hairs. This razor differed from rotary razors in that it did not cause skin irritation.