Retro find- Barbasol
Posted by: kate / Category: General Information, Homefront Reenacting, Retro FindBarbasol (yes, the shaving cream!) was invented by MIT professor Frank Shields in 1919, looking for a product that would produce a less irritating effect from shaving. Yesterday’s product is not the same you’d see on the shelves today, but Barbasol still produces a similar product today. Try Barbasol Moisturizing Therapeutic Shave Lotion. Barbasol is formed from two words- the Latin word for ‘beard’, and an abbreviation of ‘solution’.
The Barbasol Company was founded in 1920, and was producing 30-40 dozen tubes of shave lotion per day in no time at all! The product didn’t change from the lotion in the tube, to the fluffy shave cream we know today, until the mid 1950′s.
A product similar to the original product was reintroduced in 2003, but then was reformulated into what is now sold as the Moisturizing Therapeutic Shave Lotion.
According to Wikipedia:
“Barbasol became a very popular shaving cream. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, many print advertisements were used to support its growth. Many of the print ads featured men and women in situations that would be considered risqué for their time.
The company also used several famous spokesmen throughout the years, notably star baseball players Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby as well as football legend Knute Rockne”
Check it out, and happy shaving!
