22. The Popularity of Victorian Beards
Beards have recently become fashionable, thanks in no small part to hipsters, after generations of being out of fashion. It is not the first time they went out of style then made a comeback. In ancient Greece, beards were in fashion for centuries, then went out of style in the Hellenistic era. Early Roman Republic leaders were bearded, but within a few generations, their descendants went clean-shaven, a style that lasted for centuries before Emperor Hadrian made facial hair fashionable once again.
Beards were in and out of fashion throughout the Middle Ages, but in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, physicians misreported that facial hair was bodily waste. Shaving would thus rid the body of a potentially harmful substance. In the eighteenth century Enlightenment, men were clean shaven. An enlightened gentleman’s face was smooth, youthful, with a clear countenance that suggested a clear and open mind. Then came the nineteenth century, when beards roared back into style. As seen below, the renewed popularity was helped by medical opinions that facial hair was good for men’s health.
