The Dawn of Beard Destruction

As I have stated before, somewhere along the line someone decided, “The face is meant to be shaven”. Who? When? Where? WHY!? Well, unfortunately it is impossible to answer these questions with any level of certainty. However, there are some educated speculations on the subject.

There are some that believe shaving started back in the Stone Age, with razors made of flint. We are talking 20,000 – 30,000 B.C. here! Flint dulls very quickly, talk about man’s first disposable razor. Maybe there was a “Dollar Cave Club”. But, I digress.

The next theory starts with the great Egyptians back in ancient times. Now, the Egyptians didn’t just have a vendetta against the face fuzz, it was ALL fuzz. They preferred a completely shaven body. Either way, Egyptian men are said to be the originators of the daily shaving routine. Egyptians felt that any facial hair whatsoever was an indication of poor hygiene. So why is King Tutankhamun (King Tut) depicted with a long braided goatee?

Let’s flash forward to about 300 B.C. Yes, Ancient Greece. Alexander the Great is thought to be a significant contributor to shaving. He felt as though a beard put him at a disadvantage in battle because a beard was easy to grab onto. Some will argue that Spartans sported beards and long hair and they are notoriously known for being great warriors.

All of this may or may not be true, but I will leave you with one question. If the Greeks were so against beards, why are so many Greek Gods bearded?