Learn About Razors Used in Hair Removal Discover Facts About Razors For Hair Removal Hair Removal Facts – Learn About Razors Facts You Might Like to Know About Shaving Razors Do You Know The History of the Razor?

Most Western men have spent a good part of their lives on the end of a shaver. But the humble shaver has come a long way since the caveman first practiced hair removal. So here follows a short history of the humble razor.

Archaeologists agree that our caveman ancestors removed hair from their faces. They base that on cave paintings and utensils found in archaeological digs. What they are not sure of is whether they did it for hygiene or just for show. In the beginning the razor was a sea-shell or a sharp flint – not the best guarantee of a smooth shave.

The first real razors, as we know them, were found in India and Egypt. These were copper and the year was 3000 BC. The wild Scandinavians were being buried with their razors. The items found in burial mounds were often ornately carved.

From then until the eighteenth century razor were just variations on this sharp blade theme. At times the practice of hair removal lost favor, but it always came back.

In the 18th century the Perret Razor was the first recognized attempt at a safety razor. It was still a fairly crude design but the L shaped wooden handle would encase the blade. The safety aspect of this was to prevent the blade going to deep into the skin. In England steel blades from Sheffield came to prominence. These were much sharper but had the disadvantage that went dull reasonably quickly.

In 1895 a Baltimore salesman called King Gillette developed the idea of a disposable razor blade. He then joined with an engineering expert to perfect the double edged blade. The blade was able to be cut from a template rather than needing to be forged. This allowed mass production to happen. Sales in a year went from almost zero to 90, 000 shaver and 123, 000 blades.

The next big invention had it roots in the First World War. Here an army Colonel, Schick, thought the principle of the repeating rifle could be applied to the razor. From this he invented the repeating razor with its blades stored in the handle. While the idea was good he thought he could do better and so sold the rights to this so he could fund the electric shaver.

From then on the developments have been refinements to the disposable razor or the electric razor to the improve hair removal experience. New blade combinations, multiple heads etc – all for a clean shave.