Celebrity barbers and bogus beards

Items of Egyptian royalties personal care items found during archeological tomb excavations have thrown up such items as razors, manicure tools and other cosmetic implements made of jewel encrusted gold.

Excavations have uncovered works of Egyptian art that show in detail that only peasants, slaves, mercenaries, criminals, plunderers and barbarians were hairy faced.

Ever wonder why we started shaving our faces and heads?

Egyptian men thought that wearing facial hair was a sign of personal neglect. Egyptians who could afford to normally kept a barber on their household staff.

In Mesopotamia barbers were held in the highest regard by society like a doctor or dignitary.

Each town had a street or an area where a number of barber shops could be found. These barbers took great care of the general public by shaving their clients daily with razors and pumice stones then massaging perfumed oils and lotions into their skin.

The evidence we see on ancient wall murals proves that some Egyptians did have hair on their faces. Even with their obsession for personal cleanliness they also thought though that a beard was the sign of a real man, of masculinity and dignity since the beginning of time and that it could give a man status.

On certain occasions therefore the heads of Egypt wore artificial beards which they strapped on with string that fastened beneath their chins.