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Something popped into my demented little head recently.
Before the advent of safety razors, did women use straight razors to shave their legs, arms, etc? Or would true historical accuracy require us to imagine women of the Victorian age and before sporting a rather hairy Mediterannean look?
Anyone know?:confused:
Not demented at all... Some history of it here...
http://straightrazorpalace.com/ladie...-we-shave.html
Hello everybody!
The 3/8 blades were made for women.. (no sexism here;))
As an exemple of "old" blade for woman, one (in the middle) out of my collection that I need to restore (the scales are made of silver):
http://i44.servimg.com/u/f44/12/44/61/01/img_0118.jpg
Oooooooo, that is a pretty one Kara! Thanks for sharing the photos and the info.:D
ooooooo I want one!!!
Pearl
Quote:
Originally Posted by Karakoup1
Removing body hair might have ancient roots for women but I do not believe it was popular until recently. First, the women in my Grandpa's home told me they did not shave until after the War. My Grandma's first razor was a Injector from the early 50s. Second, the Mennonites in Belize maintain the traditions of their forefathers, or foremothers in this case, and do not shave. They don't bathe, either. Third, women from many ethnic groups do not have the same amount of hair that European women do, nor is it as thick. Beloved Wife, for example, has very soft hair and Whiggamore does not really notice if she shaves or not unless he makes sure to look. Why make all this fuss to remove something that nobody is making a fuss over? For those three reasons, I think this is a recent phenomenon.
Dear Whiggamore,Quote:
Originally Posted by Whiggamore
I am not an historian nor an ethonolog, but.... I do know that women from the aristocracy as well as the bourgeoisie were used to shave the hair from... their face, especially the eyebrows.
This was posted by Kees in the netherland on SRP: http://www.quikshave.com/timeline.htm
I'm sure they did. I still don't think it was popular, though. In ancient times, who knows? In India, maybe. But in Christendom, I doubt it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Karakoup1
ooooooooo I want one too. Just to have.
Hey All--
I know this is an old thread, but I thought this might be interesting to any other late-night forum browsers out there:
http://history.barnard.edu/sites/def...nsenthesis.pdf
It's an undergraduate senior thesis from a student at Barnard, entitled Hair or Bare? The History of American Women and Hair Removal, 1914-1934. It's a bit of a read, but I thought I'd put it out there--originally I found a link to it in a forum on the Badger and the Blade.
My ancestors have blonde fine hair. I vaguely remember my grandmother using some sort of a oval mitt that looked like fine sand paper, which took the hair off.
I've been thinking about this for some time now! The ancient Egyptians used various methods to remove hair, so did the Romans so I know ladies liked to be smooth way before the 1900's. As far as shaving with razors, the first ladies razor came out (Gillette Decollettee (Not the Decollete) in 1908) but Gillette didn't start their shameful marketing to women until about 1927 - here's a quick video I did. It's an excerpt from the Gillette Blade (their employee newsletter).
Let me know your thoughts!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7muikl0ZQE
I saw that video when it was posted on another place. I wonder if the was similar to what happened in Europe.