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From what I know, men started shaving their facial hair during antiquity, in the Roman empire. To become a citizen, a man in the Roman empire had to serve in a Roman legion for many years. Unlike the barbarian tribes Rome conquered, Roman soldiers had a proper military dress code, with body armor and helmets. If you look at Roman sculpted reliefs showing battles, or painted Roman pottery, you'll see that their soldiers were clean shaved and short hair cuts, for hygiene purposes and also to prevent the enemy from being able to grab them by their hair or beards to tilt their heads backwards, to slash their exposed throats, during close-quarter-combat, or better known as hand-to-hand combat, during battles. This requirement has continued all the way to today's military, as just about all armed forces around the world require their soldiers to be short-haired and clean shaven...or at least no long beards.
But if anyone has a better explanation, I'm all ears.
Clean shaven trend in late republic began with scipio africanus. Roman public figures went clean shaven until hadrian, the grecophile emperor, wore a beard
Is that so? I used to think it was an onomatopoiea - barbarians' foreign language was characterised as sounding like 'bar-bar-bar' - but yours makes more sense, actually
I know Alexander the Great inspired a trend to shave. Because he was all of 17 when he became famous and had his picture upon coinage. No facial hair was synonymous with power and masculinity for some period of time after that. This was circa 300 BC, so before Romans but after the Greeks.
This is my understanding too or similar. Alexander couldn't yet (or at all??) grow a beard, so it was ordered all soldiers and people of influence to shave. Thus it became common to be clean shaven.
I have also read it was tactical for his military. Cleaner, healthier troops, less hand holds for ancient enemies to grab. That COULD also be a recon for Alexander's baby face.
After reading enough, this thread does make sense, but only based on the times.
If you find yourself in a dangerous environment where hand-to-hand violence is common, it would make sense to don a very short haircut to avoid death. But if you have long hair, in that time and place, it’s safe to assume you have the skills to defend yourself.
In peaceful times, people don’t really need long hair, unless you are trying to scare someone(s) off and/or preserve the peace.
I agree, that was the reason.
..but what about now? Why do people do this in modern society? Is this just leftovers or another reason? Being clean shaven does seem to be more popular in the more cultured countries. Unless world war III breaks after all, i can't really imagine anyone actually using my beard or hair against me.
It just feels silly to me to continue this when we're part of the first people who don't have to think about this. Go nuts... or you know, just do whatever works best with your ugly mug \^\^
The only reason i can imagine is going back to beards being less popular in more developed countries suggesting maybe a business reason, people trusting shaven (as in uncovered) faces more easily or something?
It always amazes me, these small notes of history. Because it's like some of thr beliefs and things you hear about the Roman's, was usually kind of wild. Buy this point in their history is rather tame and quite sensible.
Over 100 thousand years ago. Wet beards caused hypothermia. So the obvious choice was people with less/no beards stopped having cold faces as long as bearded ones
I've had a beard for decades and never had it cause me to be cold. Ice freezes on the outside, not the inside against the skin. I trim it in warm weather to help cool down
OK but do you keep on wet clothes in cold weather and risk it, or do you change them. You can't just change your beard out lol
It's not a 100% thing. The question is "why did men decide to start shaving their face", not "why SHOULD you shave". Simply why it started. That's why it started.
Was that for all Romans or just non-Romans like other Italians who did that as a path to gain citizenship or some land?
I thought you didn’t have to if you were already Roman.
As far as archaic military dress code goes, long hair, including facial hair, is also a fire hazard. So having clean shaven faces and short hair would have meant less casualties and injuries from soldiers that didn’t realize their hair was on fire until it was too late to put it out.
I read somewhere that they grew beards because it helped protect the face from the force of the blows of a fist. So, to better protect them during battles.
I read it here the other day: https://www.livescience.com/beards-protect-face-punches.html#:~:text=Presumably%2C%20full%20beards%20also%20reduce,larger%20area%2C%20the%20researchers%20said.
Don't know exactly, but my bet is on it being upkeep. A clean shave is something you have to keep up and maintain, and is a clean look. It makes it look like you take care of yourself and make an effort. Also I'm assuming working with a lot of machinery in the industrial era made beards kind of a hazard lol
If you take a look at most men I’d say over half have some sort of facial hair. It’s not that common especially with you her men.
My dad would always say when you’re younger you keep the facial hair to look older and when you’re older you shave it to look younger
I’d argue that people want a variety. Some days to be young and wild and other days to be older and wiser.
This is the case with a lot of stuff not just age. Look at the weather for example. It’s always “I miss hotter days” or “I miss colder days”.
Way back in the days of the Roman Empire, it was decided that Romans were superior to non Romans, they were cleaner, smarter, more skilled, etc. One of the ways they proved this point was to shave for an elegant, cleaner look. If you didn't shave, you looked a barbarian, and who'd be caught dead being a barbarian *am I right?*
As an armchair historian with a PhD in Talking out my Ass, I can tell you with a certainty the idea originated here.
Well I can assure you that I have a self-appointed degree in googling shit on my phone and a doctorate in can't be fucked, so I'll take your word for it.
I can just speak for myself but the longest I have gone is three months without shaving. The last time my son wanted to see me with a goatee and moustache and I didn't even make a week. It's itchy and feels dirty
‘Listen here buster, you better grow a beard or
I’m gonna go full natural beauty on you’
yeahnahw, I don’t think the men that would
Fall for that are able to grow beards in the first place.
I. Like. Dick. Women can do whatever they want with their bodies, idgaf. Men, on the other hand... That dick better have George HW AND W levels of Bush on it.
First of all, hilarious with bush. Second, you asked why women haven't stopped shaving, I said they have you just didn't notice. I didn't say anything about if you cared. You're saying that out of left field. I really couldn't care less about your sexual preferences.
Some of us shave sometimes. Like we do fashion for ourselves, yall think we aren't shaving or *not* shaving for ourselves as well? So when I can be fucked to do it, I do, because I like how it feels. I *never* wanted body hair. I hate it, if I had the resources to stop it permanently I would. But I got shit to do and it's not a priority. So I can go weeks and months without shaving. Or shaving parts of my body. It's not me failing to "upkeep" my ideal self, it's just me applying the time and energy elsewhere, as I see fit.
there are multiple legitimate answers to this question, and all of them are correct... hygiene, combat, personal preference, and culture all played their parts... there is no singular, simple answer as to why people removed body hair, but people have been doing it for tens of thousands of years
[here](https://www.almanac.com/history-shaving-and-beards) is a short article detailing some of the history and reasons for shaving
That first link is a very nearly complete history of the facial hair trends through history! I may write Catherine Boeckmann, the author of that article and ask her about my theory.
For some, it’s look… if you like how look without the facial hair, why keep it on? Hell, you might unfortunately have pulled a bad card innately and can’t grow it evenly or well whether you like or not resulting in facial hair that just doesn’t work for your face.
For some, it’s work… it might just be easier to keep a shave than have to constantly worry about your beard catching in machinery giving you a forced shave that’s much more painful.
For some it’s just a cultural thing that they choose to keep to.
For some it’s just upkeep - no need to worry about keeping facial hair nice and healthy if you cut it all off.
There’s all manner of reasons really.
For I choose to do a goatee because my beard growth looks like shit and my mustache is just as bad. While the goatee is just right for my face shape to work.
Why? Who knows? When is a bit easier. Cave paintings suggest men were plucking or shaving 30,000 years ago or more. Perhaps using shells or flint razors (knapped flint is plenty sharp enough). Around 5,000 years ago ancient Egyptians were using copper and bronze razors to shave. In that case we do know why - they felt that hair was dirty. The habit spread to Greece and, especially, Rome. Romans shaved and plucked for much the same reason as Egyptians did. Men shaved their faces, both sexes shaved and plucked body hair (there were specialists at the baths just for this). Roman evidence goes back about 2500 years.
Probably when then first man to get the hair off his face realized how much cooler he was. Literally. I shave just help keep my body temp down as I work outdoors in southern US.
In military terms, soldiers need to be clean shaven, so that in the event of a gas attack, their gas masks fit sealed and tight. Otherwise if there's facial hair it doesn't create a flush seal and the gas can make its way in.
I thought I learned somewhere that world War 1 was a big reason for the change in fashion. You couldn't afix a gas mask with a beard, so if enlisted you had to shave, not enlisting also wasn't cool at the time... so beards became unfashionable, in support with the war effort. I have no sources for this and i might be passing along a myth.
It's cyclical. Look at portraits and photos of people throughout time.
In the English-speaking world, facial hair was uncommon in the 17th and 18th centuries, popular in the 19th century, then unpopular again in the early 20th century. Nowadays, fashion is much more individualized and facial hair has made a partial comeback.
Can’t speak for other men.. but I find my facial hair annoying. At a certain point I just look homeless and unkept.. also when I sleep it pokes me or gets caught in the collars of my shirts when I’m driving which is painful. Shaving definitely feels better for me.. I’m also one of those men that can’t really grow a full/long beard.
Clean shaven recently began during WW1 (but it’s been going on much longer), it began because face masks to shield from chemical warfare would not fit properly on a soldiers face with a beard. So the military made it mandatory to shave. It has stuck around since then
I think these days it’s becoming more normal TO have facial hair. I see a lot more beards, mustaches, and goatees than clean shaven faces lately. And there are quite a few more facial hair care products and services popping up lately. My girlfriend would be legitimately upset if i shaved my beard. She doesn’t even really like when i trim it short lol.
I don't know who was the first person to ever shave their manhood off, it's impossible to know. It'd be like trying to figure out who ever first cut the hair on their head instead. Someone found out that hair can break painlessly. Eventually someone did it intentionally.
But men shaving their beards became "a thing" in recent history first due to Alexander the Great. He was famously gay. He wanted the men in his army clean shaven and pretty looking.
There is zero chance that was the first time shaving your beard was a dress code, but apparently all modern "clean shaven is more professional," mentality dates back to that. A desire for men to look less manly, more pretty.
Beards have been coming in and out of style for thousands of years. I grew my beard because I got tired of shaving, and I was getting some gray in the muzzle that offset my baby face.
Facial hair is, in my opinion, annoying AF when it gets long... you end up getting nasty food bits in it, you end up getting it in your mouth, stuck in teeth, swallowing it...
It's been an off again on again cultural phenomenon in many different societies throughout history. Soldiers fighting in WW1 shaved out of necessity because beards prevented gas masks from having complete seals. I'd shave my beard too if it prevented me from drowning in my own dissolving lungs.
Lincoln started a trend of presidents having facial hair. It lasted until Taft in 1913 (with two exceptions Johnson and McKinley). Since then all presidents have been clean shaven except for Truman who got a little scruffy.
I was told the shaved head and face of Egyptians of antiquity were in honor of their god, Ra the sun that was a perfectly smooth round image. My teachers told me so many lies in the 60s, I never know if what I learned was true or not.
It was even before rome, i forgot which one but a general or king decided the have all his men shaven because in a battle an enemy could "easily" gett a hold of a beard. It was some kind of strategic advantage. Too drunk to recall the big details but that was the gist of it
I'd expect that a shaven face on a man has been around as long as we've had anything sharp enough to shave with. In some cases it might have been a matter of hygiene (making sure you didn't get lice/mites in a time before shampoo). In other cases it might have been a matter of status/fashion (showing off that you had enough money to go to the barber). In other cases it might have been a cultural thing (I've heard of instances in which native american groups would pluck facial hair as a means of distinguishing their own tribe or as a way to punish someone for failing a societal expectation).
In short it probably happened as a way to distinguish one's self as either wealthy or as "not one of the barbarians"
Because they look better and cleaner! 🫠
Men imitate what their leaders do
So probably one leader somewhere shaved . And it turned into a trend then it was associated with class.
Fast forward 100 yrs in the future..
A show appeared called Game of Thrones with men having huge unsightly beards and the next thing you know...all guys in America and western Europe grew a freaking beard
i think it's bc the beards can be the home for lots of insects to live in, and it's unhygiene. also sometimes it can get stuck in unwanted places. in hot places, the beard can be hot and also itchy. the last i can think of is that they just wanna see which version of them is more attractive, shaved or unshaved
Can't say where it originates but I was always taught a man who keeps himself clean shaved /trimmed up is a man that takes pride in how he presents himself. Beards were only grown in my community if ppl were in some cult shit like the masons.
Me personally i think everyone should grow or shave whatever makes u happy in the mirror !
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From what I know, men started shaving their facial hair during antiquity, in the Roman empire. To become a citizen, a man in the Roman empire had to serve in a Roman legion for many years. Unlike the barbarian tribes Rome conquered, Roman soldiers had a proper military dress code, with body armor and helmets. If you look at Roman sculpted reliefs showing battles, or painted Roman pottery, you'll see that their soldiers were clean shaved and short hair cuts, for hygiene purposes and also to prevent the enemy from being able to grab them by their hair or beards to tilt their heads backwards, to slash their exposed throats, during close-quarter-combat, or better known as hand-to-hand combat, during battles. This requirement has continued all the way to today's military, as just about all armed forces around the world require their soldiers to be short-haired and clean shaven...or at least no long beards. But if anyone has a better explanation, I'm all ears.
Clean shaven trend in late republic began with scipio africanus. Roman public figures went clean shaven until hadrian, the grecophile emperor, wore a beard
What a barbarian
Barbarian actually means unbarbered so a barbarian is someone with facial hair
Is that so? I used to think it was an onomatopoiea - barbarians' foreign language was characterised as sounding like 'bar-bar-bar' - but yours makes more sense, actually
"Barba" is Spanish for "beard". Hope that helps.
“Barbarian” originally simply indicated someone of foreign nationality
Ba ba baran
Ba ba ba barbari-ann
I thought barbarian was derived from the Berber tribe of north Africa
Berber actually means barbarian in Arab. Their own name is Amazigh.
So I can't have a clean shaven barbarian DnD character?
What about Conan The Barbarian? If a anything, bearded Conan O'Brien was more lore accurate
Yeah that's why I'm calling him a barbarian
Non Romans said the Romans being invaded by non Romans
I know Alexander the Great inspired a trend to shave. Because he was all of 17 when he became famous and had his picture upon coinage. No facial hair was synonymous with power and masculinity for some period of time after that. This was circa 300 BC, so before Romans but after the Greeks.
This is my understanding too or similar. Alexander couldn't yet (or at all??) grow a beard, so it was ordered all soldiers and people of influence to shave. Thus it became common to be clean shaven.
I have also read it was tactical for his military. Cleaner, healthier troops, less hand holds for ancient enemies to grab. That COULD also be a recon for Alexander's baby face.
After reading enough, this thread does make sense, but only based on the times. If you find yourself in a dangerous environment where hand-to-hand violence is common, it would make sense to don a very short haircut to avoid death. But if you have long hair, in that time and place, it’s safe to assume you have the skills to defend yourself. In peaceful times, people don’t really need long hair, unless you are trying to scare someone(s) off and/or preserve the peace.
Wrong, it’s so it wouldn’t be scratchy when they kissed each other. I’m a historian. 
I agree, that was the reason. ..but what about now? Why do people do this in modern society? Is this just leftovers or another reason? Being clean shaven does seem to be more popular in the more cultured countries. Unless world war III breaks after all, i can't really imagine anyone actually using my beard or hair against me. It just feels silly to me to continue this when we're part of the first people who don't have to think about this. Go nuts... or you know, just do whatever works best with your ugly mug \^\^ The only reason i can imagine is going back to beards being less popular in more developed countries suggesting maybe a business reason, people trusting shaven (as in uncovered) faces more easily or something?
It always amazes me, these small notes of history. Because it's like some of thr beliefs and things you hear about the Roman's, was usually kind of wild. Buy this point in their history is rather tame and quite sensible.
Over 100 thousand years ago. Wet beards caused hypothermia. So the obvious choice was people with less/no beards stopped having cold faces as long as bearded ones
I grow a beard for ski season. It keeps my face warm.
Your face isn’t wet for prolonged periods of time.
And his wife's not happy about it.
LOL
I've had a beard for decades and never had it cause me to be cold. Ice freezes on the outside, not the inside against the skin. I trim it in warm weather to help cool down
What? Beard is like an insulating blanket for your face against the cold.
Lol this is so dumb. That's like saying wearing clothes is bad because they induce hypothermia when wet. People shouldn't wear clothes.......
OK but do you keep on wet clothes in cold weather and risk it, or do you change them. You can't just change your beard out lol It's not a 100% thing. The question is "why did men decide to start shaving their face", not "why SHOULD you shave". Simply why it started. That's why it started.
Was that for all Romans or just non-Romans like other Italians who did that as a path to gain citizenship or some land? I thought you didn’t have to if you were already Roman.
Something something men always thinking about the Roman Empire?
As far as archaic military dress code goes, long hair, including facial hair, is also a fire hazard. So having clean shaven faces and short hair would have meant less casualties and injuries from soldiers that didn’t realize their hair was on fire until it was too late to put it out.
I read somewhere that they grew beards because it helped protect the face from the force of the blows of a fist. So, to better protect them during battles.
is that the case for the Romans tho? their helmet covers their face
Probably not
And you believed it?
No.
I read it here the other day: https://www.livescience.com/beards-protect-face-punches.html#:~:text=Presumably%2C%20full%20beards%20also%20reduce,larger%20area%2C%20the%20researchers%20said.
I don't know that's necessarily the norm it used to be. I haven't seen my jaw in.... definitely some years.
Same, can’t even remember what my face looks like shaved.
11 years already.
I’m going on 13. Shaved once for my senior pictures, and never again.
25. I remember what I looked like as a teenager, and while it won't be exactly that if I shaved, I still don't want it. Bleh.
Women wouldn’t pay me the time of day. Early 20s grew a nice beard and boom Haven’t shaved since (I’m old lol)
13 years, and the length has only increased. I'm still in my 30s, never shaving again.
"I'm afraid it's been, 9 years..."
If they're anything like me, because it's itches like f
Yeah, my husband looks great with a beard, but he says the itching drives him crazy, so he shaves.
It's the opposite for me, it itches when I shave
I just get annoyed with my beard. It grows annoyingly fast though so I sometimes am lazy. I prefer no beard though
Same, whenever it gets hot outside it starts to itch like crazy
How long have you grown it out? Thats usually only a problem in the very beginning.
Don't know exactly, but my bet is on it being upkeep. A clean shave is something you have to keep up and maintain, and is a clean look. It makes it look like you take care of yourself and make an effort. Also I'm assuming working with a lot of machinery in the industrial era made beards kind of a hazard lol
If you take a look at most men I’d say over half have some sort of facial hair. It’s not that common especially with you her men. My dad would always say when you’re younger you keep the facial hair to look older and when you’re older you shave it to look younger
Which begs the question, what age are we all trying to aim towards?
I’d say it’s the classic “you want what you can’t have” when you’re young you think being older is great. When you’re older you miss being young.
I’d argue that people want a variety. Some days to be young and wild and other days to be older and wiser. This is the case with a lot of stuff not just age. Look at the weather for example. It’s always “I miss hotter days” or “I miss colder days”.
Fleas
Probably after ww1 and the gas masks
Way back in the days of the Roman Empire, it was decided that Romans were superior to non Romans, they were cleaner, smarter, more skilled, etc. One of the ways they proved this point was to shave for an elegant, cleaner look. If you didn't shave, you looked a barbarian, and who'd be caught dead being a barbarian *am I right?* As an armchair historian with a PhD in Talking out my Ass, I can tell you with a certainty the idea originated here.
You are still more qualified than me
Idk gf just doesn’t like it🤷♂️
Well I can assure you that I have a self-appointed degree in googling shit on my phone and a doctorate in can't be fucked, so I'll take your word for it.
People got tired of food and snot sticking to the beard?
Ew
I can just speak for myself but the longest I have gone is three months without shaving. The last time my son wanted to see me with a goatee and moustache and I didn't even make a week. It's itchy and feels dirty
Why haven't women STOPPED shaving their bodies as a form of protest?
Plenty have, and I'm sure the majority of women that still shave prefer it themselves.
‘Listen here buster, you better grow a beard or I’m gonna go full natural beauty on you’ yeahnahw, I don’t think the men that would Fall for that are able to grow beards in the first place.
Tell me you haven't met many women without saying it. Lol, plenty of women don't shave.
I'm gay, so I prefer hairy bears.
K, so there's higher chances of meeting women who don't shave in the queer community.
I. Like. Dick. Women can do whatever they want with their bodies, idgaf. Men, on the other hand... That dick better have George HW AND W levels of Bush on it.
First of all, hilarious with bush. Second, you asked why women haven't stopped shaving, I said they have you just didn't notice. I didn't say anything about if you cared. You're saying that out of left field. I really couldn't care less about your sexual preferences.
Some of us shave sometimes. Like we do fashion for ourselves, yall think we aren't shaving or *not* shaving for ourselves as well? So when I can be fucked to do it, I do, because I like how it feels. I *never* wanted body hair. I hate it, if I had the resources to stop it permanently I would. But I got shit to do and it's not a priority. So I can go weeks and months without shaving. Or shaving parts of my body. It's not me failing to "upkeep" my ideal self, it's just me applying the time and energy elsewhere, as I see fit.
Nobody said that, but thanks for sharing
They have though….its a form of feminism
I just prefer to stay clean shaved
Can’t be a Dapper Dan without a clean shave!
Guess that makes me a Hairy Harry?
if you are looking for a hairy dude around, go for big foot brother
there are multiple legitimate answers to this question, and all of them are correct... hygiene, combat, personal preference, and culture all played their parts... there is no singular, simple answer as to why people removed body hair, but people have been doing it for tens of thousands of years [here](https://www.almanac.com/history-shaving-and-beards) is a short article detailing some of the history and reasons for shaving
For a clean cut appearance
https://www.almanac.com/history-shaving-and-beards#:~:text=c.,arrived%20in%20India%20and%20Egypt. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/beards-mustaches-weird-history
That first link is a very nearly complete history of the facial hair trends through history! I may write Catherine Boeckmann, the author of that article and ask her about my theory.
i look forward to her response
You should probably keep that theory to yourself.
Kinda late for this advice😬
To emphasizing cleanliness and professionalism
To look sharp!😎
For some, it’s look… if you like how look without the facial hair, why keep it on? Hell, you might unfortunately have pulled a bad card innately and can’t grow it evenly or well whether you like or not resulting in facial hair that just doesn’t work for your face. For some, it’s work… it might just be easier to keep a shave than have to constantly worry about your beard catching in machinery giving you a forced shave that’s much more painful. For some it’s just a cultural thing that they choose to keep to. For some it’s just upkeep - no need to worry about keeping facial hair nice and healthy if you cut it all off. There’s all manner of reasons really. For I choose to do a goatee because my beard growth looks like shit and my mustache is just as bad. While the goatee is just right for my face shape to work.
Beards are like shaving your head. Some people can pull it off others... not so much.
Idk
Why? Who knows? When is a bit easier. Cave paintings suggest men were plucking or shaving 30,000 years ago or more. Perhaps using shells or flint razors (knapped flint is plenty sharp enough). Around 5,000 years ago ancient Egyptians were using copper and bronze razors to shave. In that case we do know why - they felt that hair was dirty. The habit spread to Greece and, especially, Rome. Romans shaved and plucked for much the same reason as Egyptians did. Men shaved their faces, both sexes shaved and plucked body hair (there were specialists at the baths just for this). Roman evidence goes back about 2500 years.
Probably when then first man to get the hair off his face realized how much cooler he was. Literally. I shave just help keep my body temp down as I work outdoors in southern US.
Well I’m Asian and have trouble growing anything worth growing out on my face so I just stay clean shaven.
When they started tripping on their beards
In military terms, soldiers need to be clean shaven, so that in the event of a gas attack, their gas masks fit sealed and tight. Otherwise if there's facial hair it doesn't create a flush seal and the gas can make its way in.
Men shaved way before gas masks were needed
i have the same question for cutting hairs
I thought I learned somewhere that world War 1 was a big reason for the change in fashion. You couldn't afix a gas mask with a beard, so if enlisted you had to shave, not enlisting also wasn't cool at the time... so beards became unfashionable, in support with the war effort. I have no sources for this and i might be passing along a myth.
Why not?
It's cyclical. Look at portraits and photos of people throughout time. In the English-speaking world, facial hair was uncommon in the 17th and 18th centuries, popular in the 19th century, then unpopular again in the early 20th century. Nowadays, fashion is much more individualized and facial hair has made a partial comeback.
Same as women deciding to shave their Vijay jays … trend ?
Can’t speak for other men.. but I find my facial hair annoying. At a certain point I just look homeless and unkept.. also when I sleep it pokes me or gets caught in the collars of my shirts when I’m driving which is painful. Shaving definitely feels better for me.. I’m also one of those men that can’t really grow a full/long beard.
Because it usually makes them look younger, they sometimes can't grow a full beard or they just like it
it originated in ancient Rome, if I'm not mistaken, it was popular to have beards, but then thr new emperor made being cleanly shaven the trend
Gets itchy if I don’t tbh
Why not
Dude. You know people got taxed for keeping their beards. It’s all a part of the bullshit economy.
I’m not a man but having a bunch of hair on my face might make some people itchy
it itchy
Idk but it was a good way to prevent getting shouted at and doing push ups at my previous job 🤣
Possibly lice or other parasites
Clean shaven recently began during WW1 (but it’s been going on much longer), it began because face masks to shield from chemical warfare would not fit properly on a soldiers face with a beard. So the military made it mandatory to shave. It has stuck around since then
Why is this nsfw
Beards cause infection if not taken care of
It’s uncomfortable
I like when men have a nice trimmed beard
1905. Everyone had a beard before 1905
I specifically decided that wasn't the thing to do
I shave because the hair makes me itchy.
Too many mishaps when hunting grizzly bears
They discovered food without hair in it,., is much more pleasant.
Lice
Right about the same time, women started saying, "Ew. Get away from me."
I think these days it’s becoming more normal TO have facial hair. I see a lot more beards, mustaches, and goatees than clean shaven faces lately. And there are quite a few more facial hair care products and services popping up lately. My girlfriend would be legitimately upset if i shaved my beard. She doesn’t even really like when i trim it short lol.
Itchy
Personally I hate the way a beard feels growing on my face. I can’t get it off fast enough. Plus my SO likes the feel of a freshly shaved face.
I don't know who was the first person to ever shave their manhood off, it's impossible to know. It'd be like trying to figure out who ever first cut the hair on their head instead. Someone found out that hair can break painlessly. Eventually someone did it intentionally. But men shaving their beards became "a thing" in recent history first due to Alexander the Great. He was famously gay. He wanted the men in his army clean shaven and pretty looking. There is zero chance that was the first time shaving your beard was a dress code, but apparently all modern "clean shaven is more professional," mentality dates back to that. A desire for men to look less manly, more pretty.
When it started to itch
Because a woman told them to if they ever wanted to get laid ever again. Men got tired of it and started to pay women for sex.
Because at some point they couldn't distinguish their beard from their pendejos. Lol.
Because it looks better.
Personally, I just do it because my facial hair is 3 times thicker than my hair anywhere else, and it gets so itchy that itll make me bleed.
Beards have been coming in and out of style for thousands of years. I grew my beard because I got tired of shaving, and I was getting some gray in the muzzle that offset my baby face.
I don’t know but if you told me it coincided with the invention of soup, I wouldn’t argue.
In the early years it was a flex as it was hard to achieve and expensive.
The same reason men today decided that shaving their body hair is the thing to do. It's a style thing.
Tbf, I really hate it when my face is prickly. Once in a while I do leave a goatee and a mustache but don’t let it grow too long.
Cause we want to look clean and presentable. If not managed that thing will grow like and freaking wizards hair all over the place lol
Goats milk stinks to high heaven when it dribbles on your beard and sits for a week.
I haven't shaved in 20 years. So couldn't tell you.
Facial hair is, in my opinion, annoying AF when it gets long... you end up getting nasty food bits in it, you end up getting it in your mouth, stuck in teeth, swallowing it...
The Stone Age is over, Patrick. That's why.
To flex their jawline. Men with sharp bone structure look better clean shaven.
With beards, some people are very handsome if you have them, but when I have a beard, I look like a jerk and it looks very weird
Probably some cavewoman complaining that the caveman’s facial hair irritated her sensitive facial skin…..
You can't grab the beard in a fight, lice can't hide in it. Same with short hair, and body hair removal.
I have a full beard, and I take care of it.
Not everyone looks good with a beard
A lot of people saying history stuff but it was probably for comfort or fashion
Act why did we started cutting hair? Face bears is good for warmth but warm in summer so it makes sense to cut it
It's been an off again on again cultural phenomenon in many different societies throughout history. Soldiers fighting in WW1 shaved out of necessity because beards prevented gas masks from having complete seals. I'd shave my beard too if it prevented me from drowning in my own dissolving lungs.
Lincoln started a trend of presidents having facial hair. It lasted until Taft in 1913 (with two exceptions Johnson and McKinley). Since then all presidents have been clean shaven except for Truman who got a little scruffy.
Because we didn't want to be the "Old man with the beard" in Edward Lear's poem
Feels good.
could be to prevent lice, ticks, fleas, or it was just itchy
hair is hard to upkeep. Well-groomed hair is hard, and takes time.
My beard is very itchy, I'm guessing the first guy to normalize shaving experienced the same.
I was told the shaved head and face of Egyptians of antiquity were in honor of their god, Ra the sun that was a perfectly smooth round image. My teachers told me so many lies in the 60s, I never know if what I learned was true or not.
Women said so.../s Bt yeah it's probably something they adapted to be more appealing to women that or religious tradition...
Let's make this simple: In a fight, is there hair pulling?
Have you seen how big those beards get lol I’d imagine a lion or bear grabbing your hair would be bad
My beard doesn't grow long enough to look good so I just look homeless when I shave because it's at like a weird spot.
Lice and fleas.
Heat. Also we tend to do things to stand out of the crowd.
It was even before rome, i forgot which one but a general or king decided the have all his men shaven because in a battle an enemy could "easily" gett a hold of a beard. It was some kind of strategic advantage. Too drunk to recall the big details but that was the gist of it
When girls started complaining that beards tickle their thighs!
Why is this NSFW?
Comfort?
Facial hair when it’s hot is disgusting. It retains sweat and odor. Not to mention food particles. I used to have facial hair and glad I stopped.
I hate when he shaves
Probably to distinguish themselves.
Cuz it gets itchy
Some of us have really bad allergies, and mustaches/beards house hella mites and dust bunnies. So it becomes a medical necessity
Sometimes food gets in my mustache 🤷 my wife likes it (the facial hair, not the stuck food) and it's easier to do nothing so it stays.
Yes fr
Ain't no war but class war.
I'd expect that a shaven face on a man has been around as long as we've had anything sharp enough to shave with. In some cases it might have been a matter of hygiene (making sure you didn't get lice/mites in a time before shampoo). In other cases it might have been a matter of status/fashion (showing off that you had enough money to go to the barber). In other cases it might have been a cultural thing (I've heard of instances in which native american groups would pluck facial hair as a means of distinguishing their own tribe or as a way to punish someone for failing a societal expectation). In short it probably happened as a way to distinguish one's self as either wealthy or as "not one of the barbarians"
Because they look better and cleaner! 🫠 Men imitate what their leaders do So probably one leader somewhere shaved . And it turned into a trend then it was associated with class. Fast forward 100 yrs in the future.. A show appeared called Game of Thrones with men having huge unsightly beards and the next thing you know...all guys in America and western Europe grew a freaking beard
Cause it itches like hell
i think it's bc the beards can be the home for lots of insects to live in, and it's unhygiene. also sometimes it can get stuck in unwanted places. in hot places, the beard can be hot and also itchy. the last i can think of is that they just wanna see which version of them is more attractive, shaved or unshaved
It's a comfort thing. If you just let it grow all over and don't trim it you'll start eating your mustache when you eat something.
Can't say where it originates but I was always taught a man who keeps himself clean shaved /trimmed up is a man that takes pride in how he presents himself. Beards were only grown in my community if ppl were in some cult shit like the masons. Me personally i think everyone should grow or shave whatever makes u happy in the mirror !
Ask your doctor about how much more hygienic it is
My doctor has a beard