How did the ancient Romans shave?

My previous post was about my favorite Gallo-Roman museum, and while writing it, it reminded me of a newspaper article about roman shaving habits I read a while ago. It was an answer to the reader’s question: ‘how did the romans shave?’. What is actually an interesting question. And that’s why I wanted to share the answer in this post about why romans shave themselves.

Did Romans shave?

Let’s first answer the basic question: did Romans shave? The answer is simple: yes! In Roman times, men already shaved themselves.

A first clue to this answer are of course the white marble statues and busts. Emperors, higher class men…most of the time they have a nicely shaved face and body. Which brings us to the next question:

Did Romans shave their bodies?

Did Romans their bodies and did the ancient Romans shave their body hair? The answer to this question is also yes.

The men, and women, in the ancient times also shaved their bodies. They actually did a lot of grooming. Remember the famous Roman baths that you find in every major ancient city? They are also proof of the Romans (male and female) taking care of themselves.

Did Romans shave their heads?

Did Romans, next to their beard and body hair, also shave their heads? Well, again, yes is the answer.

It probably didn’t just stop with shaving their body hair. Trimmed nails and even wigs were part of everyday life. Shaving in ancient times couldbe a full wellness experience if you wanted, and if you had the money for it.

Why did Romans shave?

So, we know that ancient Romans shaved their body. But why did they actually do that? How did they shave in Roman times?

Well, like us (and maybe even more so) they were very busy with:

• Hygiene
• Comfort
• Fashion

I’m speaking mostly of the upper class Romans in the cities of course, not that much of the farmers far away from the city. 

Like influencers now, it were the emperors that could start a trend. Some shaved their beards everyday (like Augustus) but others didn’t shave. 

That is also why Roman soldiers shaved: fashion trends but comfort. I think that every man knows the discomfort of going onto a military march and battlefields with a bad maintained beard.

How did the ancient Romans shave?

The last important question to ask ourselves is: how did the Romans shave? And with what did the Romans shave? Well, we have several archaeological artefacts that show us the material they used.

There were razor blades in ancient times. They were mostly made of iron or bronze. And don’t think they were not as sharp as our common razor blades. Because scientists also found leather protection for these blades. 

The blades themselves were small, so people could hold them in their hand, or stick their fingers through some holes or a grip at the end of the blade.

How did Roman soldiers shave?

 I already mentioned the military marches and battlefield and the fact that also the Roman soldiers shaved their beards. But how did they do that?

Well, at the back of the Roman armies, a lot of merchants, like barbers but also wine or food sellers, followed the soldiers to sell them their services. So it was always possible to visit a barber.

Were the Romans the first to shave?

Were the Romans the first of mankind to shave themselves? Probably not. Because we see older statues and drawings of men without beards. And drawing beards is not that difficult, so the lack of it must mean people shaved them.

Conclusion: Roman shaving habits

So, it’s clear that ancient Romans shaved. Not only that, they were actually a lot into grooming. They shaved their bodies, like body hair and heads, but also paid a lot of attention for cutting toe- and fingernails, fashion, bathing …

By the way, if you are visiting Belgium and are looking for a true Roman city with a great archaeological museum: Tongeren is your place to be!

Source:
Kent Blogs
News article (print): De Standaard 5/10/2015
Picture:
Pexels