Concerning beards: facial hair, health and practice in England 1650-1900

"Through an exploration of the history of male facial hair in England, Alun Withey underscores its complex meanings, medical implications and socio-cultural significance from the mid-17th to the early 20th century. Withey charts the gradual shift in concepts of facial hair, and shaving - away from 'formal' medicine and practice - towards new concepts of hygiene and personal grooming"--

Introduction -- Facial hair, health and the body, c.1650-1750 -- The faces of politeness : facial hair, masculinity and culture in the long eighteenth century -- The dominion of the beard, c.1850-1900 -- The medical practices and practitioners of shaving in early modern Britain -- Economies of shaving, c.1650-1750 -- Refining the face : auto- pogonotomy and self-styling, 1750-1900 -- Hairs and graces : barbers, hairdressers and shaving, c.1750-1900 -- The bearded classes : facial hair and social status, 1700-1900 -- Cleanse, cut and control : the institutional history of facial Hair -- The commodification of shaving, 1650-1850 -- Selling shaving in the age of the beard : the market for shaving products, c.1850-1890 -- Conclusion.