Quote Originally Posted by hoglahoo View Post
They made do with what they had, grew beards, and/or went to barbers
Note that the coincidence of:

1. Romans being especailly marked by an unprecedented degree of clean shaveness, and the extraordinarily advanced skill they had in steel. After the Empire fell, it took 500 or so years for Europe to claw it's way back to the skill necessary to produce sheet steel in any quantity, for example.

2. The pre-industrial Japanese penchant for hairstyles requiring shaving, and their eminence in steel.

The tech has enabled the fashion....