Mental_Floss has posted an interesting brief history of shaving. Julius Caesar would have his beard plucked out? Ouch!
In the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great encouraged his men to shave so enemies couldn’t grab their beards during melees. Alexander’s subjects were often shaved using a novacila, a block of iron with one edge sharpened, which sounds like a great way to shred your face.
Julius Caesar supposedly preferred to have his beard plucked out with tweezers, although other Roman men used razors or rubbed the beards from their faces using pumice stones. (Ouch!)