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In the "X-Men : Days of Future Past" movie, Magneto is kept in a plastic prison with no metal objects allowed to be brought close to him, yet he is clean shaven.

Is this a mistake in the movie or is there a way Magneto could have a shave without using a metal object?

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    Plastic shaver? – 11.01.11 Jun 1 '14 at 2:21
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    Ceramic. Obsidian. Glass. Plenty of other materials that can hold a razor sharp edge. – Xantec Jun 1 '14 at 2:30
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    Chemical hair remover (ouch) – Dan Pichelman Jun 1 '14 at 2:31
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    @Xantec - Raven from Snow Crash can certainly attest to that :P – Wingman4l7 Jun 1 '14 at 4:39
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    The more obvious temptation is to ask where he poops given that there's no toilet in his cell... – Valorum Jun 1 '14 at 7:06
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In-Universe, given the lack of basic toiletry facilities in his "plastic prison" (such as a sink with running water and a toilet) I think we can be reasonably certain that we're not seeing the whole thing. Either the staff periodically bring him a potty and a bowl of water or there's some kind of secondary room that isn't shown.

As to how he keeps clean-shaven, there are several options. When we see him in his prison, he's quite stubbly, suggesting that he hasn't shaved in quite a few days. This would tend to rule out his having daily access to a ceramic or obsidian razor. My personal guess would be that every week or so they give him a plastic tube of immac/veet or some other depilatory cream. Neither of these options would provide him with access to metal so either would be acceptable.

Out of universe, the decision to have him clean-shaven was taken after filming had started (you can see some early shots of him filmed with the beard in the video below). It seems likely that the Producers wanted to prevent any linkage between Gandalf and Magneto. Sir Ian speaks to this point in an online interview at mckellen.com

Interviewer : What do you think are the differences and similarities in Magneto and Gandalf?

McKellan : Gandalf has a beard/Magneto has a helmet.

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    Maybe Magneto takes out the metal out of his body, shapes them into a blade, shaves and puts the metal back in the body. – GuruGulabKhatri Jan 27 '15 at 9:25
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    @GuruGulabKhatri If he could do that he would have broken out long ago. – ApproachingDarknessFish Feb 18 '15 at 18:42
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Nair or a similar product.

"The brand is mainly known for its depilatories that work by breaking the disulfide bonds of the keratin molecules in hair. This reduces the tensile strength of the keratin so greatly that the hair can be wiped away."

"Drop the blade, babe!" - Nair advertisment

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  • Does not look like that was available back then. – KyloRen May 22 '16 at 23:23
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    "or some other depilatory cream" has already been mentioned. – Mazura May 22 '16 at 23:37
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    @KyloRen - "Trusted since its introduction in 1940, Nair™" – Mazura May 22 '16 at 23:41
  • I was confused with the 2001 buy-out as the companies start. Cheers – KyloRen May 23 '16 at 1:11

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