Shaving in the 1950 and 1960,s

[Roy]

I remember my dad shaving in the 1950,s until he bought an electric razor mid 60,s. I can't remember what soap or razor, brush he used but they would have been quite cheap, and bought from a local store.
Anyone know what was around then?
I don't recall any guy having bumps or irritation from shaving.

 

[rbscebu]

I have a memory of watching my maternal grandfather stropping and shave with a straight razor. He died when I was about 6yo.

I also remember one of my uncles, Col Wilson in Bingara, NSW. He shaved every morning with a straight razor and I was fascinated by watching him. He died after my father when I was in my mid teens.

My father shaved with a three-piece DE and 7 o'clock blades.

 

[CANES]

Soap wise you're looking at Williams or Colgate for sure. Probably Ivory bath soap for many folks, too.

There were a bunch of brushes back then from various makers. Razors were pretty plentiful, too, depending on what floated your boat.

I never saw my dad shave with a razor. He loved the electronic technology of the day. He's 86 now and I'm pushing 50. He still shaves every single day with an electric.

 

[lasta]

Wasn't around then, but I'd guess Tech/Super Speeds and canned foam. Canned foam made a splash in the 50's, and probably took over by the 60's.

For blades, I think stainless gained ground in the 60's, but carbon steel Gillette Blues should still be mainstream.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Gillette TTO razors and Schick injectors, cans of shaving cream like Barbasol, Gillette Foamy, Noxzema, etc. Shave as quickly as possible so other folks can use the bathroom.

Older folks might still use a brush with mug soap or even bath soap like Ivory.

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

In 1948, my mom gave my dad a Gillette Super Speed razor and a Rubberset horsehair brush. Before that he used a Pre War Tech. Which I got for my first razor in 1976.

So, that's what he used in the 50s. A Super Speed. And Yardley soap. And Gillette blades.

In the 60's he bought a Pre War Tech. Used that and the same brush until he passed in 1995. I have all three razors and that Rubberset brush. In the late 70s, Yardley went away and then Old Spice was what we used. He'd buy Schick blades as often as he bought Gillette, 10 at a time in a dispenser from the grocery or drug store.

Stan

 

[Lockback]

I have very vague memories of my maternal grandfather, who was the very definition of the Grumpy Old Man, with a TTO razor, undoubtedly a Gillette. I don't recall any soap bowls or brushes, so I'm guessing he used Foamy or Barbasol or one of the other aerosol shaving creams.

 

[sarimento1]

Sir Roy, who knows exactly what your Dad used!
But, cudos to you for thinking about him!
Here are some possibilities!

 

[emwolf]

My dad sold Fuller brushes when he was in high school in the early 40s. Shaving brushes were popular.

 

[Tirvine]

My father used a straight when he was young (Henckels), but in the fifties he shifted to a Schick injector. He used a badger brush and tube shave cream, usually Palmolive or Colgate. His standard scent was Yardley lavender, but in the sixties he branched out to Yardley Black Label, Seaforth sandalwood, Nine Flags, and a few others. He also shifted away from cream to a puck. He was fond of Yardley in its wooden bowl (as was I). In the seventies he shifted to 4711.

 

[Lane101]

I remember my dad shaving in the 1950,s until he bought an electric razor mid 60,s. I can't remember what soap or razor, brush he used but they would have been quite cheap, and bought from a local store.
Anyone know what was around then?
I don't recall any guy having bumps or irritation from shaving.

I only recall my dad using an electric razor. From other historical documents and posts the main options in the 50's and 60's were straight, DE and electric razors. Believe this time period, aided by mass marketing via what was the new medium of TV, was when many shifted from shaving soaps/creams in a tube to aerosol cans of shaving cream. Popular soap options included, as noted above, Williams, Colgate and Old Spice. Interestingly at that time Burma Shave was a brushless shaving cream. Its shaving soaps came from a 1997 nostalgic reintroduction of the brand that lasted until the mid-2000's.

The thread below may provide some additional insight on earlier shaving habits specific to DE and SE shaving.

How Did the Three Pass Shave Originate? One or Two Passes Were Standard Historically.

Curious as to the origination of today's recommended three pass DE shave with, across and against the grain? Is anyone familiar with the basis for this? My attempt to research the topic hasn't found any historical basis for this beyond the more recent posts and videos from DE shavers who...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[BigJ]

My dad used an electric.

But my uncles used adjustable Gillette razors (one was a Slim that I inherited), blue blades and Foamy cream.
I enjoyed watching them!!

 

[dmshaver]

My dad used an electric as far back as I can remember. I remember the neighborhood barbershop with the strop hanging off the side of the barber chairs & the barbers being able to casually strop a straight razor while talking with the customers.

 

[dotKomo]

I remember that my dad had a Gillette Superspeed - probably the flare end TV special. I cannot say the soap he used, although it was probably either Old Spice or Colgate. Sadly, the razor is gone.

In the 70s, he switched to a Trac II and Gillette Foamy. He didn't use an AS that I can recall, but my mom bought him Chanel No. 5 Por Homme cologne which he used frequently. As stated earlier, shaving was just a chore and he shaved quickly, as there was only one bathroom in our house.

 

[Raven Koenes]

My dad shaved quickly, one pass. He worked 9-5. I remember he had considerable beard stubble by the time he got home, so he only shaved close enough to be presentable at work. The five o'clock shadow was really a thing. He had a Gillette TTO of some kind. I remember tubes of brushless Colgate shaving cream. He was an Aqua Velva man.

 

[gpjoe]

I'm guessing one razor, one blade, one soap, one brush.

Gillette and Schick razors were plentiful, and cost a few bucks back then. It was a general hygiene chore, not a luxury or hobby.

 

[Cumberland Sausage]

I had little to no interest in the father's shaving gear at the time, but looking back I'm pretty sure that up to the 1980s he used a Gillette Flare Tip with Wilkinson Sword blades, then produced here i the UK. Soap would be Floris, which he got for Christmas and lasted a long time, and he'd lather up with a Kent brush. My brother-in-law still has the last Kent brush my father was given as a present, and I'm pretty certain it's still in use.

 

[BobbyB]

During my early years I remember my dad shaving with a DE razor (I think Gillette) and Gillette Blue blades. Used blades went through the 'portal' hole in the medicine chest to the 'vast' used blade universe. I believe he used either Colgate or Noxzema cream, with an Eveready shaving brush, using an old plastic bowl. He continued DE shaving into his late 70s, until failing health and dexterity issues forced him to use an electric razor.

 

[sm29]

If memory serves, my dad used a Schick injector mostly. There may have been a Superspeed around as well. Blades were probably whatever my mother picked up at the supermarket. He used Noxema shaving cream in a tube squeezed onto a brush with a handle that was not unlike the looks of a Semogue 620. I know it was a badger because years later he commented about using a badger brush.

He switched to a Trac 2 shortly after the sample in a can arrived probably in the 70s and also began using canned Barbasol likely because the Noxema cream was discontinued.

We didn’t discuss shaving again for many years and by then he had switched to a Braun which he never really liked. Based on my encouragement around 2015 or 16 he began using a brush again and tried one of my DE razors before settling on a Fusion. In 2019, I bought an RV Manchurian for him for Father‘s Day and unfortunately it came back to me in 2021.

 

[CDinVT]

My grand father was gifted a Gillette Aristocrat Slim for Christmas in 1961 by grand mother he used that until he had a stroke in the mid 90's .I used to watch him shave when I was toddler(late 80's).His soap was Williams menthol (green and white square box). His after shave and as I discovered earlier last year by smell when got into more after shaves and vintage razors, when I cracked to top of Pinaud clubman and it took me back. I have no idea what he used for blades or brush, my uncle has that razor still with its original case.