Why not a moustache or a beard ? Why is the clean shaved face the norm in the West ?
I know fashions and trends come and go… but for most of history the moustace and beard were the norm… now they arent.
Is it? I see a lot of goatees, van dykes, mustaches and beards. Not as many sideburns as some eras, but still, there’s a lot of facial hair about.
Oops! Wait. You’re in Brazil. I can’t approach an answer.
I wonder if it may have to do with hygene?
I find it much easier to keep a shaved face clean than one with a beard.
I had a beard for a few years, but ended up going back to clean-shaven. For me, any time I saved by not having to shave every day was offset by the time taken to wash after every meal. And on a hot & humid day, a beard can be very annoying.
It is for some reason a sign of good hygiene and high class. That’s why hobos and hippies have long hair and wear beards. Beards for some reason also project an image of greater age. A clean-shaven man is a well-to-do young go-getter.
I for one hate shaving and love my beard.
posted by Rashak Mani:
Why is the clean shaved face the norm in the West ?
Rashak, your post is very timely.
2003 is the 100th birthday of the introduction (in the West) of marketing the safety razor from King C. Gillette.
Doug Bowe is right. Have you seen that show “1900 House” (or something like that) where the people have to live under conditions that were prevelant in 1900? I saw a part of an episode where the man of the house had to use a straight razor and some sort of crappy stuff as lubricant to shave and he had a hell of time doing it. He had to keep the razor sharp constantly and he still kept cutting himself up (even with practice I bet it was a time consuming process). Nowadays, you can get your cheap disposable ultra sharp Gillette, your soft gel shaving cream, and shave yourself with some on demand running adjustable temperature warm water in about two or three minutes. Beards kinda suck and are easy to get rid of now (when I go camping, I usually don’t shave- too much trouble!)
I have facial hair, but a clean-shaven head 
A classic line from the past - a nagging mother bawling out her bearded son: “No son of mine is going to run around looking like he can’t afford to shave!”
But this beard thing is something else I blame on the World War II generation. “Clean shaven” is the way to go in the military. The US was so high on itself after the end of WWII that when all those soldiers came home and remained clean shaven, the rest of the country wanted to imitate them. A few years went by and the WWII generation took over the country and became “The Establishment”, against which the hippies rebelled. See, twenty years after the war was over, the old soldiers were still running around with crew cuts and fresh shaves. And since the WWII generation was also the first generation of Americans to start enjoying longer lifespans, they stayed in power longer than previous generations, and imposed their grooming standards for many many years. Why else did long hair continue to be a sign of “rebellion” well into the 1980s, forty years after WWII?
Now that the WWII generation has mostly passed on and the Baby Boomer generation is in power, a young man with long hair and a beard can finally get a job again. It won’t be too much longer before nobody will give him a second glance. It won’t be an issue any longer.
About that “can’t afford to shave” thing. That probably came out of The Great Depression. During those years of poverty, shaving would probably have been considered a sign that you had money. After all, if you’re flat broke, buying a razor or visiting the barber isn’t going to be high on your list of priorities.
So wearing a beard was a sign of poverty. Which is why your mother, after the Depression was over, would be embarrassed to have her son seen wearing a beard.
I am clean shaven, only because I dislike the feel of facial hair. Just recently on a trekking trip, I grew a 4 day old beard/mustache, on the fifth day, I got sick of it and cut it off.
I would like to have a ponytail, but my hair is very curly and thick, and does not grow long. It more or less grows like an afro. So, I wear my hair like a square (no sideburns either, what’s the sideburns purpose anyway?).
I do respect those who wear their hair long, with a beard, and maybe a ponytail. It is a sign of freedom. No job to restrain them.
God bless the damned dirty hippee.
Now do you see the stereotyping of Businessmen as always clean shaven ? How many executives sport beards ?
Gooates… sideburns and other stuff are youth/“cool” related. They arent uncommon in Brazil either… but again only younger men.
I think it started in WW1. Gas masks are to blame on this one.
If a soldier were wearing a gas mask over a beard, the gas could collect in his beard. And then when he took off the mask, it would all sploof out, thus leaving him dead.
Gas masks are much more effective when they cover your entire face, wouldn’t you say?
But all in all, after the war, I suppose it became the standard. Just my WAG, of course.
ForumBot is probably close to right at least concerning ‘When’, although pre-WWI (i.e. pre-gas mask) photos do show clean shaven men. As to ‘Why’, well consider chigger’s axiom #1: If it increases the chances of getting sex, men will do it. The clean shaven Dog-faced Doughboys came home to open arms (and legs). Even today, many women (anecdotal - at least all my female relatives and past sugar babes) looooovvve a smooth clean shaven face.
This axiom also applies to the GD-ed rebellious hippy. At the time, a clean-shaven sot risked being “square” and banished from a flower girl’s garden.
Anymore complex theories ?
I was wondering if maybe a beard is too masculine… and in these modern times men want to be less/seem less aggressive.
Razor technology of course helps…
I remember an interesting report on Spec Forces in Afghanistan right after 9/11 … they naturally let their beards grow since all men there have beards. In the beggining when they were clean shaven the locals would find it pretty wierd to see grown up men without any facial hair. Having beards helped “communicate” better with the locals. Which I think shows how spec forces think and correctly so.
Apparently some general didnt like seeing his elite troops with bushy beards and they were ordered to shave 'em… talk about behind the lines command. Pretty silly actually.
Does show that in other parts of the world its not normal the clean shaven... only teens have baby faces.Remember that in other parts of the world, beards are grown for religious reasons. I read (sorry - no cite handy) that when Mohammed was forming Islam, the people he was preaching to were comprised of numerous small, nomadic tribes. These people were in conflict with both the Roman Empire and the Jewish people. Mohammed unified them under Islam, and suggested that the men grow beards in order to look different from the clean-shaven Romans, but to keep those beards trimmed short so as not to be confused with long-bearded Jews.
The Romans were in fact clean shaved ? I know they are in movies…
How did the Romans shave ? Any reason they valued a clean face besides the Italian heat ?
Because no one can grab hold of your beard during a battle if you don’t have one?
none of the founding fathers had beards nor mustaches, eg, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, etc
When I read the thread title, before opening the thread, I thought of all the old-time cowboys, Bat Masterson, etc., who in the actual Old West went around with beards and handle-bar moustachios, as was normal in the late 19th century. They were a fierce-looking bunch. But this reality was obscured by all the Hollywood westerns with actors like clean-shaven, clean-cut Gary Cooper.
Old Abe Lincoln grew a beard early in 1861, just after winning the election, while on his way to Washington for the inauguration. How did he decide to do this? A girl wrote him a letter and told him she thought he’d look better with a beard. There you have it. Men care about what the females think. The Woman generally is the one who rules. After Lincoln made it acceptable, being the president and all, we had a run of bearded men for the next 40 years or so. It was that McKinley fella who put an end to the trend. We haven’t had a bearded president since then. After Taft, mustaches disappeared from the White House too.
Me, I have long hair and a full beard. I go for the Jesus look. Nothing can beat that!