One of my postage stamp albums is about personalities. Quite like a ‘Guess-who‘ game, you can never miss the flowing beards of many famous personalities, especially those who lived more than a 100 years ago. Probably a flowing beard was a sign of intellect, before it was trimmed, shortened and eventually disappeared. It seems to be making a comeback in the young. However, in medical community being clean-shaven is more of a virtue. In ancient Greece, beards meant virility and wisdom. So much so, that shaving of one’s beard was a punishment.
Often rulers and elite would have long beards, and some of them did not allow others to keep them. All wisdom did not flow from beards. For instance, most catholic clergy was clean-shaven, so as to indicate purity and celibacy. On the other hand, priests in more orthodox churches, rabbis, and islamic preachers often had elaborate beards. This was quite different in India, where hermits and more enlightened sages wore a beard. Court priests, engaged in transactional rituals, are often portrayed without one.
A gallery of beard-wearing medics
Gallery of beard-wearing medics is huge, and a postal gallery follows. We will first see full-beards, which is unmodified growth on all available areas of the face and neck, including the moustache, chin, sideburns, and cheeks.
Postage stamps from Poland (1957)
Modified full Beards that got trimmed (Short-full beards)
Slowly in the 20th century, beards began to disappear. Beard became rugged and raw, and being clean-shaven as more polite. The ‘man of letters’ was clean-shaven; the beard was seen as hiding the face, whereas shaving it left it clean and smooth and, therefore, more aesthetically pleasing.
In 1895, Gillette invented a safety razor. Slowly, it became easier to shave by oneself. Trips to a Barber reduced. Daily shave became a ritual, and also a norm in many countries. World changed, monarchy became outdated. After 1920, all American Presidents are clean-shaven, and so are many other heads of nations. Beards evolved in design, and an unmodified full-grown beard was more of a rarity !!!!. In last decade, Virat Kohli beard is back in India. Social codes may be in for a change.
With safety razors, we had more beard styles, and often elaborate stand alone moustaches. Something upcoming in the next blog !!!
I am intrigued by how and when cleanshaves come into the realm of Medicine . I still remember how, on our very first day of medical school, we were asked to shave whether or not we had a beard. Its my request for future blog . Thanks a lot for this blog .
Shaving must have been seriously started when infection control started in Operation Theatres by surgeons wearing masks.
Nice Article sir
Very nice information related to beards the trend vanished but by and by some students has started the treand of beards not of Medical but in others institutions and now no one tell them to keep clean shave it’s sign of success supremacy and they feel proud of keeping the same Thanks Sir for sharing such interesting information