#1

Posting Freak
I shaved today with Wholly Kaw Washington's Blend. If you haven't tried it, its just a very nice, sophisticated scent and (obviously) the scent that I imagine George Washington would have enjoyed whether he was shaving in the field on campaign or in the White House.

This got me to thinking about such questions as why was George Washington clean shaven? He's always depicted as such, although its possible that the artists drawing and painting his portraits just showed him in that "ideal" manner. The photoshop of the day. Was it generally the style of the day to be clean shaven? The style in Europe at the time tended towards whiskers on men I believe (I could be wrong here). Was it a political statement? Did it have roots in religious traditions? Puritans and Quakers and other religious groups often would distinguish themselves from other through dress and grooming.

While I am Canadian and therefore not as informed on American history as my neighbours to the south would be, the mere fact of proximity and the obvious mouse - elephant relationship ensured that growing up, I was more informed on the workings of American government and history than Canadian. A common response to the question of why we didn't study Canadian history when I was in school was "We have history?" I'm not kidding, but thats another story. Here I'm thinking about George Washington - would he have shaved his own face as a General in the field or would the barber/surgeon have done it for him? What did his own hair look like under that wig? Did he shave his head with a straight razor? It would certainly be more comfortable under that wig or did they only wear the wig for special occasions?

Any members who are knowledgeable in 18th century American grooming practices, particularly shaving, please feel free to weigh in. I really am curious if Washington let his beard grow a little at Valley Forge or whether he remained clean shaven. Were there military regulations on beards and shaving at the time?

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#2
He probably shaved every few days due to his public exposure.

This is a link to buy his preferred cologne, still made by the same company since 1780.

https://www.caswellmassey.com/collection...gKb5_D_BwE

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#3
Popular history would have Mankind hirsute from cave to hippie. In practice many ( not all) military societies shaved because a beard offers a convenient grappling target in hand to hand fighting and in the field hair is a hygiene nightmare. Many cultures feel facial hair conceals facial expressions and a symbol of dishonesty. The Voyageurs and Mountain Men were Hardly Grizzly Adams. English soldiery was clean shaven until the Irish wars. The old Pan Celtic culture of Europe held the wild boar as the most fierce forest animal and warriors would get into deadly fights over 'the hero's portion' they grew fierce moustaches and fixed elaborate topknots or other territorial designs fixed in a lime mixture to mimic the boar and look even taller. Irishmen continued to wear moustaches and the style caught on ( to the horror of English society)with the English army and plantations leading down to the classic handlebars of Victorian figures like Sir Richard Burton and later R.A.F. pilots. ( trivial pursuit; why did fighter pilots leave their top buttons undone?) and the army and Anglo Irish politics got hairier and hairier. But a GENTLEMAN OFFICER in his white wig ( mimicking the white hair of wisdom and surviving in British Commonwealth courts and Mozart Operas) mostly held to a clean shaven face.

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#4
Um no.
Todays military is clean shaven for a good seal to the chemical mask. Also for standardization and uniformity. If every man was allowed to express their personality through beard growth, the US military would not be very uniform.
I do not know the grooming standards and regulations from 240 yrs ago, but cant attest to those over the last 25 yrs. "Lead by example" is an adage, maybe not in those words, were used in that time. Being an elder statesman and not a farrier or blacksmith, I tend to believe he did his weekly shaves on Sat or Sun before worship services. He also had attendants that served him in his quarters. I dont know for sure but I wager it was a trusted attendant that administered the shave on the weekly schedule.

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#5
USCG and while beards were allowed during the Zumwalt period of the USN aircrews using oxygen and anybody on ship who actually practiced with an OBA ( kept me alive in a capsized vessel) were clean shaven. Sikhes are allowed to serve with their prohibition on cutting hair and Col Old's sported a huge moustache over Mig Alley in Hanoi. It's always been a mixed bag. I was in arctic survival school and this Chief had a handlebar he would tuck inside his mouth during monthly inspections. We're sitting around our Siberian log fire and it was pretty frosted. Fool Airdale reached over and tapped it, snapping half off, ruining a promising career after the Chief had to shave.

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#6

Member
Metro Detroit
I found this:
http://theshaveden.com/forums/index.php?threads/33204/

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

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#7

Posting Freak
(07-18-2017, 11:35 PM)olschoolsteel Wrote: Um no.
Todays military is clean shaven for a good seal to the chemical mask. Also for standardization and uniformity. If every man was allowed to express their personality through beard growth, the US military would not be very uniform.
I do not know the grooming standards and regulations from 240 yrs ago, but cant attest to those over the last 25 yrs. "Lead by example" is an adage, maybe not in those words, were used in that time. Being an elder statesman and not a farrier or blacksmith, I tend to believe he did his weekly shaves on Sat or Sun before worship services. He also had attendants that served him in his quarters. I dont know for sure but I wager it was a trusted attendant that administered the shave on the weekly schedule.

This is what I'm talking about - the Canadian Navy can wear beards - there's regs but they're permitted. No cracks about the number of seaworthy ships the Canadians might have.....

No doubt the individual putting a razor to Washington's throat on a regular basis was a trustworthy individual. And they knew where his family livedBig Grin
#8

Posting Freak
(07-19-2017, 02:17 AM)tdmsu Wrote: I found this:
http://theshaveden.com/forums/index.php?threads/33204/

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I knew something like this had to be out there. Thank you.

tdmsu likes this post
#9
A shortcut to help those who who want to see what is in GW collection. Read the descriptions. I like how, whoever wrote some of them, seemed knowledgeable on straight razor terminology. Impressive.
http://www.mountvernon.org/search/?q=bru...r&gsc.sort=

tdmsu likes this post
#10
I imagine George did not relish shaving as his face was deeply pockmarked as a survivor of smallpox.
Secretary Ramsey put his foot into it yesterday . . . in the course of his remarks he said that California “needs water and better society.”  “So does h-ll,” yelled someone in the crowd.  


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