Pogonotomia is the art of

shaving Shaving is the removal of hair, by using a razor or any other kind of bladed implement, to slice it down—to the level of the skin or otherwise. Shaving is most commonly practiced by men to remove their facial hair and by women to remove the ...

, from the Greek words πώγων ''pogon'' "beard" and τέμνω ''témno'', to cut. In 1772 French barber Jean-Jacques Perret (1730–1784) published a treatise called ''Pogonotomy, or The Art of Learning to Shave Oneself'', a booklet detailing his observations on shaving. La pogonotomie, ou L'art d'apprendre à se raser soi-même
Jean-Jacques Perret, 1772. It also proposed the first

safety razor A safety razor is a shaving implement with a protective device positioned between the edge of the blade and the skin. The initial purpose of these protective devices was to reduce the level of skill needed for injury-free shaving, thereby reduc ...

. In 1762 he developed an extremely sharp razor meant to cut as much hair as would be possible. Perret's razor was later called the

cut-throat razor A straight razor is a razor with a blade that can fold into its handle. They are also called open razors and cut-throat razors. The predecessors of the modern straight razors include bronze razors, with cutting edges and fixed handles, produced b ...

References

Hair removal {{fashion-stub