From the wily Figaro to the murderous Sweeny Todd, barbers and the politics of shaving cast an interesting light on the history of 18th and 19th century Britain. Historian and expert on the Victorian Body, Kathryn Hughes and Alun Withey from the University of Exeter, who is studying hair and health over the centuries consider why clean-shaven Georgians gave way to the hairy wonders of bearded Victorians and why soldiers returning from Empire were the fore-runners of increasingly hirsute fashions and tell Shahidah Bari about muscular Christianity, bearded ladies and a range of products no man would be without.
