As long as man has been able to grow facial hair, man has also had the desire to remove it. Before the advent of the sharpened blade this had always posed a problem for our intrepid ancestors who attempted to remove facial hair using seashells. However it was the introduction of copper that made such a great difference, this was thinned and sharpened to make incrediably sharp weapons, and also razor blades.

Over the next couple of thousand years things stayed pretty still in the world of shaving. True; the metal to make the blade might have changed over the years, but the general idea remained untouched, with gentleman of the renaiisance preferring a manly wild beard over a clear cultivated chin. Part of this is attributed to the actual danger of shaving. There's a good reason why traditional razors are known as cut throat razors. When used inappropriately - eg. run against the skin at the wrong angle, these razors had the same affect as a good scalpel, and would slice men to pieces without a second thought.  If you have ever wondered why barber shops have a red and white pole, this is representative of the blood and bandages that would be associated with a good old shave.

Then, with the industrial revolution, things started to change. While some inventors were busy making steam engines fly, and others were attempting making mechanical computers the first safety razor was invented by the Kampfe Brothers. Shaped like a 'T' you might say it was a revolution, but due to an irreplacable blade it was quite expensive. King C. Gillette, is widely reputed to have been the inventor of the safety razor, though this is not exactly true. What Gillette actually pioneered was only the second ever disposable product mass produced - the razor blade. At last shaving was accessable to the masses!

Many shaving inovations came over the next 100 years, including the WWI machine gun inspired Schick cartridge razor. You might say the era between 1880 - 1980 was one of a shaving revolution!