# Does the POTUS shave himself?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 12, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462 "2011-08-12T15:53:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/21 "2011-08-13T17:09:52Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#):
>
> The POTUS shaves all the men in the White House except those who shave themselves.
>
> So who shaves the POTUS?
>
> 😉
Nobody. She’s a woman. 😃
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### Author:  [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/22 "2011-08-13T22:38:12Z")
My little contribution is: I read in a book, I think one by Charles Panati, that the King of France in the 1700’s received a Royal Enema every day for years and years, and never took a dump on his own. :eek: I believe it was considered too sordid or low class a thing for the king to move his own bowels.
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### Author:  [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/23 "2011-08-15T15:59:26Z")
I’m sure the president has a makeup person and hair stylist for all of his press conferences. It wouldn’t surprise me if he also had someone to shave him. The professional working on him third person would give him a better shave than he could himself.
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### Author:  [@zelskid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelskid)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/24 "2013-12-20T21:08:52Z")
Wipes his own ass? Uses a bidet for that.
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### Author:  [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/25 "2013-12-21T16:31:08Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> My guess is that the president shaves himself simply because it’s something that most men do for themselves, and I doubt it would change now that he’s president.
That would be my guess as well. After all, these people had a life before they became president, and old habits die hard - it’s very likely that they take habits which they acquired earlier with them into the presidency. I might be mistaken, but I would suppose that most men in today’s Western world don’t mind shaving themselves each morning (personally, I find these two or three minutes rather relaxing actually), so why shouldn’t they keep up the habit while in the White House.
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### Author:  [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/26 "2013-12-21T16:44:53Z")
Beards seem to be more popular these days, when will we see another bearded incumbent in the White House. (Not S.Palin obviously)
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### Author:  [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/27 "2013-12-21T16:50:11Z")
I would guess that he does a regular shave as part of his morning routine but then over the course of the day may have several more touchups and whatnot so that he always looked freshly shaved for all appearances.
Unless he’s one of those people who doesn’t get 5 o’clock shadow until 3pm the next day.
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### Author:  [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/28 "2013-12-21T16:54:05Z")
> [@salinqmind](#):
>
> My little contribution is: I read in a book, I think one by Charles Panati…
As much as I enjoy Panati’s books, I can never quite forget that he was a propagator of one of the biggest parapsychology frauds of all time.
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### Author:  [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/29 "2013-12-21T16:59:43Z")
No, POTUS waxes.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/30 "2013-12-21T18:19:14Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#):
>
> In all these cases from what I’ve read the barbers might work full time but the President only visits every week or two for a trim not a daily shave. I have no cite but my opinion is that the President is responsible for his own shaving and basic personal grooming in general.
>
> That said getting a shave from the White House barber when he stops in for a trim is probably no more worrisome to the Secret Service than the trim itself would be.
> [@obfusciatrist](#):
>
> I would guess that he does a regular shave as part of his morning routine but then over the course of the day may have several more touchups and whatnot so that he always looked freshly shaved for all appearances.
>
> Unless he’s one of those people who doesn’t get 5 o’clock shadow until 3pm the next day.
Keeping up with Nixon’s 5 o’clock shadow must have been a full-time job. 😃
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### Author:  [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/31 "2013-12-21T19:00:11Z")
Just guessing here, but Im fairly sure the current president shaves himself, bathes and goes potty alone and sleeps with his wife. But it has not always been so with heads of state. I’ve read of one French king…one of the Louies I think, that was so pampered he couldn’t take a shit by himself but remained "ringed by attendants holding towells. I suppose they drew straws to see who got to wipe the royal ass that day. Nor is this limited to potentates of old. One biography of LBJ states he would sometimes invite people with whom he was meeting into the bathroom with him to continue the meeting while he did his business on the commode. The book did not divulge whether LBJ wiped his own ass, or extended that courtesy to the person he was meeting with.
On the subject of straight razors, I’ve always loved Hernando Tellez’s short story _Espuma y nada más (Just Lather, That’s All)_, the moral struggle of a revolutionary barber when he finds himself giving a shave to a military commander who has killed several of his (the barber’s) comrades. And been impressed by the sheer bravura of the captain who had been warned the barber would slit his throat but decided to see for himself.
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### Author:  [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/32 "2013-12-22T13:41:28Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#):
>
> If so, I wonder what the Secret Service thinks about someone with a straight razor on the neck of the President?
My understanding is that the Secret Service even allows people with loaded firearms to stand next to the President!
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### Author:  [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/33 "2013-12-22T18:38:43Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#):
>
> If the POTUS were female, would there be someone to do leg/other body part shaving/waxing/etc.? Eyebrow threading? This could get complicated.
Most female candidates would be post or peri-meno and have not much body hair or eyebrows left I would think. The mustache might be tricky tho.
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### Author:  [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/34 "2013-12-22T19:42:42Z")
Since this has been revived - I didn’t think Lizard People had to shave:eek:
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/35 "2013-12-22T20:56:28Z")
> [@SmartAlecCat](#):
>
> My understanding is that the Secret Service even allows people with loaded firearms to stand next to the President!
Not to speak of murderous psychotics, for extended periods.
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### Author:  [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/36 "2013-12-22T21:18:16Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> Not to speak of murderous psychotics, for extended periods.
Oh yeah, another cheap shot at Kissinger.
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/37 "2013-12-23T03:35:10Z")
The real question is does he shave with a razor or use a depilatory? He’s black, after all.
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### Author:  [@MathGenios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MathGenios)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/38 "2013-12-23T03:47:31Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#):
>
> If so, I wonder what the Secret Service thinks about someone with a straight razor on the neck of the President?
(edit: god damn it should have read the comments - everything I’ve said had already been mentioned. Just ignore the below unless you like reading stuff twice)
By same logic - whatever they think about that, they would think the same about the fact that there are dozens of highly trained guys near him with frigging guns at all times.
I don’t know if he shaves himself or not but I would assume he does not as that wouldn’t make any sense (aside from personal preference) due to his tight time schedule when waking up. I remember a documentary with… fuck forget his name… some super famous DoD guy who served a ton of presidents and he said that each morning, no exception, the POTUS receives a summary of critical threats, important shit, and everything else he needs to know (forget exact details). I would be very weary of a POTUS who’s like, yeah I’ll get to that in a few, let me just shave myself. I imagine he’s getting briefed non-stop upon him waking up, and any minute he saves is probably important (trying desperately not to mention Bush’s 7 minutes reading the goat book to kids while US was being attacked but kind of have to since this contradicts my above statements… if you have time to read a book during a fucking attack maybe you have time to shave if that is your preference… who knows what really goes on in there).
On the other hand, who shaves Michelle? hehe
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### Author:  [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/39 "2013-12-23T03:57:33Z")
Epi-POTUS by Schick 🙂
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-potus-shave-himself/592462/40 "2013-12-23T04:01:14Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#):
>
> Oh yeah, another cheap shot at Kissinger.
🙂
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