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Skipping that daliy shave shave in the 50's & 60's

A comment on another thread got me to wondering about something. In the era when it was unthinkable that a man appear in public with stubble, what in the world did men do who used too much pressure and ended up with severe razor burn?! On the rare occasion that I get razor burn from trying too hard to get that BBS shave, I have to skip the next day to give my face time to heal. But what did men do back in the day when you simply did not go about in public unshaven?
 
I imagine they looked a lot like this, while eating breakfast and driving to work gave them time to heal. :lol:

$shaving-cuts.jpg
 
LOL! Egads, that looks painful. All the while he is driving to work he knows he has to figure how he is going to get through shaving the next day!!
 
I'm old enough to remember "the day". Unless we were in military boot camp, we didn't attempt bbs, so shaving injuries including razor burn were rather minor. It was expected that young guys would suffer little nicks and cuts. No one though anything of it. Five o'clock shadow was considered normal. If you were going to attend a formal evening function, you shaved twice that day. At least that's how it was on Chicago's south side.
 
I'm old enough to remember "the day". Unless we were in military boot camp, we didn't attempt bbs
If you had to go out that evening, you might shave again or run over it with an electric. But, you hadn't tried taking it down to capillary level that morning, so it was no big deal. Even Ward Cleaver suffered from evening shadow by the time he went up to say goodnight to Wally and Beav. Techs were the popular razors of the day, and I don't think three and four pass shaving was even a thought.
 
A comment on another thread got me to wondering about something. In the era when it was unthinkable that a man appear in public with stubble, what in the world did men do who used too much pressure and ended up with severe razor burn?! On the rare occasion that I get razor burn from trying too hard to get that BBS shave, I have to skip the next day to give my face time to heal. But what did men do back in the day when you simply did not go about in public unshaven?


Most guys did a one-pass shave, 'maybe' two if it was a big day. The quest for BBS is a child of the internet era!
 
Most guys did a one-pass shave, 'maybe' two if it was a big day. The quest for BBS is a child of the internet era!

Hmm, my only "view" into the world of the past is through TV and movies of the past, which is probably jaded. These men in the 40's and 50's and even 60's have perfectly smooth faces without the hint of a shadow. I am sure that there must have been some make-up involved but still you can't cover up that much shadow with makeup. These can't be simple one-pass shaves these guys had. It leaves me with the distinct impression that a presentable, smooth, close shave was something that was expected of all men in public...every day.
 
These guys were being filmed for posterity. Of course the producers insisted on a very clean screen face. Apples and pomegranates!
 
I will tell you that even when I started shaving as a wee lad, I always used more than one pass, and definitely tried for BBS even though the term wouldn't be used by me until the next millenium. Of course, I never achieved it until finding Badger&Blade.
 
Cary Grant has a great line in the movie "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" (1948) when he and the wife are jockeying for position in front of a small bathroom mirror. He winces and pushes a finger up to his chin area and the wife asks, "Did you cut yourself"? His reply was, "I cut myself every morning, in fact I kind of look forward to it". Don't know if this has much to do with the discussion, but it's a great line from "back in the day". :wink2:
 
Not sure how many passed my father did, probably 1, maybe 2. I do know when he got home he had a serious shadow.
 
Cary Grant has a great line in the movie "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" (1948) when he and the wife are jockeying for position in front of a small bathroom mirror. He winces and pushes a finger up to his chin area and the wife asks, "Did you cut yourself"? His reply was, "I cut myself every morning, in fact I kind of look forward to it". Don't know if this has much to do with the discussion, but it's a great line from "back in the day". :wink2:

Wow. Thanks Guy! What a great line. Makes you wonder if he really looks forward to shaving or he is just being smarmy. I gotta see if the local video store has that one.
 
One thing to remember about days gone by relative to Movie/TV stars and how they look is this: makeup by Max Factor. He first developed film industry products in the teens and 20's and then followed-up with Pan-Cake makeup in the late 30's. More products followed over the years. Studio makeup was made to cover a wide range of skin imperfections and hiding beard shadow would not be a problem at all. This is why so many actors of the period appear to have flawless skin.
 
I'm old enough to remember "the day". Unless we were in military boot camp, we didn't attempt bbs, so shaving injuries including razor burn were rather minor. It was expected that young guys would suffer little nicks and cuts. No one though anything of it. Five o'clock shadow was considered normal. If you were going to attend a formal evening function, you shaved twice that day. At least that's how it was on Chicago's south side.
This.
It's why so many people considered electric shavers to be acceptable.
We obsess over the BBS because we've been spoiled by carts that make it easy to get a BBS.
A CCS is all that's needed to get out the door in the morning. For most people, a single WTG pass will get a man through the workday without people thinking that he looks like a bum.
 
Hmm, my only "view" into the world of the past is through TV and movies of the past, which is probably jaded. These men in the 40's and 50's and even 60's have perfectly smooth faces without the hint of a shadow. I am sure that there must have been some make-up involved but still you can't cover up that much shadow with makeup. These can't be simple one-pass shaves these guys had. It leaves me with the distinct impression that a presentable, smooth, close shave was something that was expected of all men in public...every day.
If you are referring to the people you saw on TV, they of course shaved before filming and had tons of makeup. Most men of the era did show a bit of stubble in the late afternoon. I'm old enough to remember.
 
I enlisted in the USAF in late 1968, basic then straight into OCS. We were expected to be clean shaven. Gillette Techs were popular. Shaving once a day was acceptable.

After commissioning, we were expected to be clean shaven in the morning, or at the beginning of your duty day. If I were to attend an official function, or non official even where civilian attire was appropriate after hours, or to take a date or later my wife to the O Club, I would usually shave again. The lightly tinted Mennen talc helped also.

It was just the way things were done then.

I took my wife to her 50th class reunion last year, a casual affair, and I shaved again late in the day before we left for the function.
 
Cary Grant has a great line in the movie "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" (1948) when he and the wife are jockeying for position in front of a small bathroom mirror. He winces and pushes a finger up to his chin area and the wife asks, "Did you cut yourself"? His reply was, "I cut myself every morning, in fact I kind of look forward to it". Don't know if this has much to do with the discussion, but it's a great line from "back in the day". :wink2:
LOL My wife and I just watched that movie via Netflix. It was a Schick injector he used. The lather he applied with his brush wasn't thick and fluffy, but was thinner, more like what I remember Dad using. I'm sure there wasn't a blade in his razor, as he kept shaving the same spot.
 
When I was young and DE shaving back in the late 50's and 60's, I just did a single pass (WTG) and hoped I didn't cut myself, which I usually did. It was not unusual to see other teenage boys with 1. a band aid, 2. toilet paper 3. or blood on their faces waiting for the school bus in the morning but we still shaved daily. Seems like adult males had it all figured out though, and usually laughed at us kids with shaving wounds on our faces and necks. When I later switched to injectors, things were much easier.
 
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