Early Hair Removal Methods and their Effectiveness

Hair Removal is no modern phenomenon, differing hair removal techniques have been practiced for thousands of years. Here is a potted history of the most common methods of defuzzing.

Shaving: This is one of the earliest methods of hair removal, dating back to 30,000 B.C. when a sharpened flint was first used to scrape off a Neanderthal's beard. It's equally astounding that this could be accomplished in the absence of a bathroom mirror and a first aid kit. It took thousands of years before the use of metals became the norm, when in 3,000 B.C., copper became the first metal to be fashioned into a blade.

Between then and 1895, when King Camp Gilette invented the first disposable razor, there were several different versions of the razor, including the straight razor, which was popular among tonsors, demon barbers and crazed madmen.

Tweezing: Fans of the popular cartoon, The Flintstones, will probably remember Fred holding two clam shells together and snagging a bumble bee inside to use as an 'electric' shaver. That may not be too far off the mark. Anthropologists speculate that cavemen may have used clam shells in the same manner as our popular tweezers, sans insect.

A very crude version of the tweezers, called the 'volsellae' (a forceps-like instrument, which looked more appropriate in a birthing room than a barber shop) was used around 50 B.C. by Roman men to pluck out stray facial hairs.

Greek women were also using the volsellae to depilate their legs and bodies, to achieve the clean, hairless look that was prevalent at the time. Centuries later, European women were tweezing all of their exposed facial hair, perhaps in the hope that in so doing, they would draw greater attention to their 'beautifying' powdered wigs.

Depilating: From about 100 B.C., men and women have been concocting depilatories. Early attempts may have done more harm than good, since they used materials that we would now commonly call poisons and corrosives, such as quicklime, arsenic and lye. Totally bizarre and ultimately ineffective ingredients included dried cat dung, bat's blood, she-goat's gall and powered viper, to offer a small sampling.

Waxing and Sugaring: You may have thought that waxing and sugaring was a relatively new concept in hair removal. You'd be wrong. Early Egyptians used hot wax and gauze, whilst Persians (now Iranians) used a compound made primarily with heated sugar for the same purpose. Resin and pitch, substances derived from tree bark, were also commonly used. Given how difficult it is to get Christmas tree sap off your hands, there's little doubt that this was not a simple undertaking.

Epilating/Threading: Epilating is a technique whereby several hairs are plucked out at the same time. Threading or 'fatlah', as it's also known, is one of the earliest forms of epilation, having been around for centuries in Middle Eastern countries, but now enjoying a revival in popularity. Threading involves wrapping cotton thread around your fingers and then rubbing your hands over your skin, which encircles and pulls several hairs out at a time.

Other Hair Removal Methods Desperate times call for desperate measures. Singeing the hair off of a woman's legs (or anywhere else) was popular for a (hopefully short) period, and a lamp or candle was often the perpetrator of the crime. Also commonly used were abrasive mitts, sandpaper, pumice stones and volcanic glass which used friction to remove the hair. Ouch!