I am not a fan of beards and mustaches, especially the “hipster beard” which first became popular in the 2010s. I do accept that some men look handsome and rugged with facial hair, but I just prefer the clean-shaven look especially in the case of my husband.
Over the years he has occasionally tried to grow a beard or mustache, but I complain loudly and he kindly shaves to please me – eventually. I just think he is much better looking clean-shaven and honestly, I don’t like the feel of hair on my face when we kiss!
One of the things I always liked about my husband is his regimented morning routine of cleaning teeth, shaving and showering. I am big on personal hygiene and fortunately I think most American and British men of his generation share this disciplined, highly standardized morning choreography. I understand that for beard wearers a complex washing and beard oil regime is part of the routine instead of the shaving part.
Although there are certain things that Brits and Americans have historically approached rather differently, ablutions are not one of them. Yes, we drive on opposite sides of the road, disagree about the correct temperature of beer, and say the words tomato and aluminum in completely different ways. However, when it comes to male grooming, Britain and America have more in common than we might think.
Surprisingly, much of it can be traced back to two World Wars.
For most of history, male grooming was dictated by a combination of fashion, social class and practicality. Britain under Queen Victoria, in the late 1800s, positively celebrated facial hair. Magnificent whiskers, extravagant sideburns and enormous moustaches (spelled here the British way) were badges of masculinity. British soldiers were particularly associated with the moustache and, remarkably, until 1916 Army regulations theoretically required soldiers to leave their upper lip unshaven.
On this side of the Atlantic, 19th century American men were also fond of facial hair. Look at old photographs of politicians, businessmen and soldiers in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and you will see an impressive collection of beards and mustaches.
King Camp Gillette, a flamboyant American businessman from Chicago, revolutionized shaving with the disposable-blade safety razor in the early 1900s. Before this, shaving usually involved the intimidating straight razor, which required considerable skill and regular sharpening.
Many respectable gentlemen therefore visited a barber for a shave. Safety razors had been invented before, but Gillette figured out how to use a stamped blade made from carbon sheet steel, which was much less expensive to produce.
Gillette’s invention made shaving at home quicker, safer and much more convenient.
But it was the First World War that really helped turn shaving into a daily male ritual, and chemical warfare changed everything.
Following the introduction of poison gas in 1915, soldiers needed respirators and gas masks that fitted tightly against their faces. Facial hair interfered with the seal around the mouth and nose.
Suddenly shaving wasn’t simply about looking smart; it could be about staying alive.
For the average British ‘Tommy’ (a word for soldier similar to the American ‘doughboy’ or ‘GI’), this represented quite a cultural change. The famous compulsory mustache rule was finally abolished in October 1916, and British soldiers came back to civilian life with a clean-shaven appearance that would dominate men’s fashion for decades.
The Americans took things even further. When America entered the war in 1917, Gillette supplied millions of razors and blades to American servicemen. In 1918 the US military began issuing standardized Gillette shaving kits to GIs, ultimately putting a modern safety razor – plus the habit of shaving daily - into the hands of millions of young American men.
By the time the USA joined the Second World War in December 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor, personal grooming had become an established part of military discipline on both sides of the Atlantic. A soldier was expected, whenever circumstances allowed, to be washed, shaved and presentable.
Grooming wasn’t just about vanity and hygiene; it was part of being properly turned out.
The Americans also helped popularize another item familiar to almost every travelling man today: the Dopp kit.
This small shaving bag takes its name from Charles Doppelt, a German-born American leatherworker credited with developing the design around the end of the First World War. During the Second World War, the US armed forces issued millions of these compact toiletry kits to servicemen. Military grooming supplies included such everyday necessities as safety razors and blades, shaving soap or cream, toothbrushes, tooth powder or toothpaste, combs and soap. After 1945, those military habits followed men home.
In other words, Uncle Sam was teaching millions of young American men something their wives and mothers might have previously struggled to persuade them to do: to establish a standardized morning grooming and bathroom routine.
The principle on both sides of the Atlantic was the same. A man’s toiletries increasingly became “his” toiletries. Razor, shaving soap, toothbrush, comb and perhaps a bottle of aftershave became standard possessions in daily use rather than occasional luxuries.
Two World Wars helped establish the clean-shaven man as the modern ideal by the mid-20th century. British Tommies and American GIs learned that shaving and personal hygiene were part of discipline, readiness and self-respect. Millions brought those routines home, helping create the enormous men’s grooming industry we know today.
I will say goodbye this week with a famous quote by the great Albert Einstein. “Why is it I get my best ideas while shaving?”
God bless America! Lesley grew up in London, England and made Georgia her home in 2009. She can be contacted at lesley@lesleyfrancispr. com or via her PR and marketing agency at www. lesleyfrancispr.com.