“You are quite handsome after all,” he remarked. “Do all the people of this fabulous world of which you have told me have hair growing on their faces?”
“Nearly all,” I replied, “but in my country the majority of men keep it shaved off.”
“I should think the women would be the ones to shave,” he commented. “A woman with hair on her face would be quite repulsive to an Amtorian.”
“But our women do not have hair on their faces,” I assured him.
“And the men do! A fabulous world indeed.”
“But if Amtorians do not grow beards, what was the need of this salve that you gave me?” I asked.
“It was perfected as an aid to surgery,” he explained. “In treating scalp wounds and in craniectomies it is necessary to remove the hair from about the wound. This unguent serves the purpose better than shaving and also retards the growth of new hair for a longer time.”
“But the hair will grow out again?” I asked.
“Yes, if you do not apply the unguent too frequently,” he replied.
“How frequently?” I demanded.