Ancient Egypt Skin Care History

The psychology of beauty is complex not just because the concept of beauty is as yet undefined, but also because it is largely true that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder or how individuals perceive other people or things. The importance of beauty has been taught since the first civilizations. It is known that the cave people of the Mesolithic period (around 10,000 B.C.) softened their skin with castor oil and grease, and also used plant dyes to tattoo their skin. Lipsticks first appeared in the ancient city off Ur, near Babylon, 5000 years ago. Ancient Greek women painted their cheeks with herbal pastes made from crushed berries and seeds. A dangerous development of beauty

The Egyptians are thought to be the first civilization to wear makeup. Egyptian makeup was used for various reasons, including to denote social status and simply to improve the appearance. A substance called unguent was applied to the skin as a moisturizer to protect it from the elements and discourage wrinkles. Sometimes the unguent was scented. Various oils were also used to improve the skin. Both men and women used cosmetics in ancient Egypt, with the most common look being a white face with rimmed eyes and red lips.

The smells were blended with cream make from animal fats and oils. Such as expensive balanos oil or common castor oil. The Egyptians also used myrrh, frankincense, cardamom, and cinnamon to mix the perfumes. There were different reasons that Egyptians used and wore makeup. The cosmetic reason was to define the eye.

It is interesting to note that natural skincare is actually not new. People have been using natural substances to care for the skin for thousands of years. It only seems new to us because we have not paid attention to it for so long. Things are changing, though, according to CRUDE Personal Care's Denise Cartwright.

The women were banned from wearing makeup since they were known to have superior beauty. In ancient China women had pale skin and white teeth as trade mark makeup. Native Americans used makeup on the human sacrifices so the gods would be able to see the features clearer.” (“A Brief History of Cosmetology) Cosmetology has evolved over the course of time, but does not differ much from then. Some techniques we do today have been taken from ideas of the past.

Egyptian women apply pigments made from stibnite and/or galena, and green copper paste from minerals, to their faces for colour and definition, and kohl as a type of eyeliner. They made lip and cheek stain from ground Carmine beetles.

She would be expected to wear her hair in a chignon for hotter days. Married women covered their hair with barbettes, veils, hairnets and hats, as female hair was thought to be erotic and owned by their

A lot of attention was put into keeping the skin supple and smooth. A number of plant oils were used as moisturizers to keep the skin nourished and refreshed. While healthy soft skin was important to all Egyptians, it was especially relevant to those who worked in the sun all day. Workers would often be paid with tubes of oil to help keep their skin protected.

Their makeup was similar to ours today. Egyptians used perfume oils to clean, protect, and scent their skin. A makeup called Kohl was made by grounding a substance into a paste on a palette, it was worn by both men and women. It was applied around the eye, and protected the eye from the glare of the sun. Kohl was the color of black, and is a common sighting in Ancient Egyptian art.

The idea of cosmetology and beauty was commenced by ancient tribal hunters. It is believed that they would smear ash under their eyes and use animal urine to alter their smell. This is where the idea of eyeliner and perfume originated (Schurman). Around the world cosmetology is being introduced like Egypt is suggested to be one of the most ancient culture that associates with cosmetics. Make up to them was really significant especially to the royal egyptians. Their idea of eyeliner was made up of lead, ash and mercury. The use of this eyeliner helped reduce glare, prevent any type of infection, and mostly to make their eyes beautiful (Schurman). Now the Chinese ancient culture had mixtures of natural ingredients to produce stimulating nail polish. The nail polish to these people were sign of wealth (Murphy). In ancient Rome and Greece those who could afford it would receive baths in lotions. They wore perfume, face powder, blush, eyeliner, and lipstick. During this period it was discovered that oils, lotions, and animal fat have beautification properties (Schurman).

Ever since the finding of pigments and color in plants, plants have been used to alter the colour of people’s hair. It has been vocalized that Cleopatra colored her hair with “henna before bathing in the Nile” (Adams 1). Contrasting types of plant specimens, such as wood ash and oak, were being used to colour the different hues of hair. During the time of the Roman Empire, both men and women began to give up their customs and traditions of simplicity and frugality. Many of these men and women wanted to find ways to ornament themselves.

Cosmetics, first used in Ancient Rome for ritual purposes, were part of daily life for women, especially prostitutes and the wealthy. Cosmetics were applied in private, usually in a small room where men did not enter. Cosmetae, female slaves that adorned their mistresses, were especially praised for their skills. They would beautify their mistresses with cultus, the Latin word encompassing makeup, perfume and jewelry.

Ever wondered why Egyptians wore makeup? Most people don’t know why they did wear makeup, most people would assume to look gorgeous or handsome. That isn't true, they wore makeup because they thought it was protection of the gods Horus and Ra. It was also protection from the sun or so they thought, they also believed it gave them healing powers.

Body make-up has an exceptionally long history; it evolved from painted masks to painted faces within shows and theatres to tribes from thousand of years to current tribes of today such as African Zulu tribes and New Zealand Mawi tribes. In ancient times stage actors would wear masks and body painting to portray their characters and they were used in the same way makeup and costumes is now used today to transform actors in various ways such as different genders, characters or age. (Fig 1) One of the first times body painting makeup was used was arguably by the Greek actor Thespis, he painted his face with white lead, and then shaded his body with lees of wine so that he could stand out from the chorus of actors. Yet as time went on, stage lighting made make-up a necessity; they were gasoline lights and these lights tended to blur the actors' features, so over exaggerating the actors face and body with deep colours, shading and painted lines would solve this problem. During the Renaissance, characters were known to use lamb’s wool to fashion false beards and powder their faces and body.

Cosmetics are substances that are applied onto the body and/or face to enhance a person’s looks or scent. Cosmetics can be make-up which is mostly used by women and it is to enhance a female’s appearance. It is normally applied to face, hair, and body. Cosmetics has been used throughout society since Ancient times. In Ancient Egypt, cosmetic chemistry was being used before anyone knew it related to chemistry. Cosmetics was being used for many reasons in Ancient times. It is said that Cleopatra bathed in donkey milk to keep skin smooth, this is an example to show that chemistry is being used for the benefit of skin care. Skin care is another example of cosmetic chemistry being used. Skin care has been an important factor in society. Skin care has been around since 3000 BC in Ancient Egypt. This was prepared by natural materials.