Some years ago, i was taught by my mother how the moon influences in hair. It was by the time I started to have a complete beard and soon I started to use it on my benefit. As shaving seemed to be too aggressive to my upper lip, instead I started plucking it off. If done on the correct time it lasts about two weeks and the hair becomes weaker every time. I had to stop it some times due to job requirements (having to be well shaved every day) but still can feel the difference.
I read somewhere that a similar method was used by the Mohican people (don’t remember well) using some shells.
Now I try to do it in my full beard, since we have a lot of ticks in the area and the less hair, the better you can check yourself. Anybody knows a better reason to do it?
Sometimes I let it grow a bit so I can pluck it off by hand, sometimes somebody can help me with wax. Right now I’m close to the 30s and my beard looks like the one of a teen.
About the use of fire, i find it quite tricky, but effective. Although I never used it on my head, but wouldn’t hesitate with some help. I think if the mountain or frontier men had this beards was maybe for the cold or for saving time, because when you can not use wax, it really takes looooong.
There are other several primitive methods for removing the hair… There is one using a thread, I think it comes from India… just google “threading”. I saw something in a film that might be not very close to reality, but i would like to find out more. There is a martial arts movie called “Beautiful Boxer”. In some part of the movie, the protagonist (as child) becomes monk in a buddhist temple, and as a starting ritual one of the old monks shaves the heads of all the kids with the leave of some plant.
I hope I am remembering it well and its not mixed up in my head (i didn’t sleep tonight).
Maybe somebody knows this plant, i think it could be quite useful.