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Posted on March 31, 2007 by Michael Usry | Posted under Skin Care
Skin Products Across History
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The Egyptians were the first to use cosmetics. That was over four millenia ago. Cleanliness and appearance were extremely meaningful to the people of Egypt. They had faith that the appearance had a direct link with the health of the spirit. They strived to constantly look and smell good. And with a civilization who values their appearance, you are assuredly going to have members who are going to make themselves stand out. But the Egyptians, being the inventive people they were, had cosmetics for reasons that were even more intelligent than just trying to look good. Mesdemet was the earliest kind of eye shadow- a mixture of copper and lead ore. The dark colors they believed would ward off evil eyes from their own. It was also an effective sterilizer and insect repellent. Kohl was a dark combination that was also applied around the eyes in an oval shape. The substance was a mixture of lead, ash, ochre, copper, and burnt almonds. To further boost their appearance, Egyptians would put a mixture of water and red clay to the cheek area. They would also paint their fingernails shades of orange and yellow with a substance known as henna. As different groups of people began to interact with each other more often, the practice of cosmetics was adapted by the Greeks from the Egyptians. Greek women would color themselves a pale color with a foundation that had lead inside. On more than one occasion this ended up being lethal. As the Romans started to pick up the make-up practice, the effort to achieve beauty became less about practicality and turned into much more unusual routes. The Romans would adorn their nails with a combination of sheeps blood and cooked body fat. An ancient Roman citizen once stated, A woman without paint is like food without salt. Long after the Egyptian empire disappeared, the fashion standard around the world was a light complexion. A dark, rough face was associated with being a plebeian who labored outdoors all day along with her husband. The upper society women of course did not have to do manual labor like that so they were able to stay inside and had white skin. A light, pale complexion was also a symbol of money. If families had enough wealth, then you did not have to work. So it was extremely important for some people to have a light complexion. To get this appearance, women (and men as well) would use a mixture of hydroxide, lead oxide, and carbonate in a powder form to apply to their faces and bodies. Unfortunately, this caused a sometimes deadly side effect, lead poisoning.To cure this problem, chemists in the nineteenth century at last discovered a mixture of zinc oxide that did not block the skin from being able to breathe and kept people out of that aggravating lead poisoning death. It worked so well that it is still used today by cosmetics producers. Exttravagant and exotic parties were thrown by city women with throw away wealth in the King Edward era of London. It was extremely important for a woman to be the most attractive lady there, especially if they were the hostess of the party. City and exotic lifestyles with factors like smoggy air produced by the cities at that time, poor diets, and little or no exercise aged the women quickly. Women would rely on products like anti-aging creams and face creams to help hide their imperfections. They would also go to the beauty salon. It was a little different in the past than it is today. Ladies would sneak into the back entrance of the salons and hide their faces as they entered. One of the most famous of these discreet beauty parlors was the House of Cyclax, that would sell creams and blushes to ladies. Mrs. Henning, who was the owner, sold and created multiple products for her desperate customers who did not want everybody to know that they were getting older. The modern day woman is the benefactor of all these years of mistakes with a virtually unlimited choice of products for any look they want to get. There are thousands of cosmetics producers who produce products in this now billion dollar per year industry. Beauty products sell all year and even in times of financial hardship. So ladies, give thanks to your ancestors and their concern for their personal looks for yours that you have today. There were probably mornings when they woke up and didn't really feel like going through the trouble of applying their face either. About The Author: Michael Usry is the author of the online instructional articles "Beauty and Health in Plain English" and a top affiliate of skin care one of the premier women's health websites. |
Tags: MAKE-UP, BEAUTY, SKIN CARE, COSMETICS, PROACTIVE, PROACTIV, PROACTIV ACNE TREATMENT
