British historian Alun Withey has been researching the history of facial hair
The craze for huge whiskers was even taken up by women — who drew them on
Like modern hipsters, these trendsetters were prepared to suffer public abuse
Dr Withey also found that dandies of the 18th Century were rarely clean shaven
In fact, despite the popular image, they typically only shaved 1–2 times a week
He also reveals that facial hair was once thought to be a form a bodily excrement