Man and women have been changing their appearance by applying creams, oils and colouring from minerals for thousands of years.
There is archaeological evidence dating back 6,000 years, to suggest that ancient Egyptians used cosmetics and it seems th at nearly every civilisation known since then has used them in one form or other.
The ingredients have changed a lot, but the intention remains the same: to enhance physical appearance and to improve the air around by covering up or banishing unpleasant odours.
Cosmetics became part of daily life for the Egyptians, hygiene and health being high on the agenda as well as the spiritual element attached to wearing makeup.
Egyptian Cosmetics
The early use of cosmetics by the ancient Egyptians seems to have been associated with religious ceremony. It has been suggested that scented oil may have been used to clean and soften the skin round about 10,000 BC, perhaps by burning resins to make incense.
Egyptian believed that everything had spiritual meaning application. For example; perfumes made the body function perfectly etc.
Cedar oil was the most scared of oils and the main one used in mummification.
Kohl Black Eyes
Eye makeup is probably the most well known of the Egyptian cosmetics. Both men and women used eye makeup. Although cosmetics in ancient Egypt were certainly used for beautifying, eye makeup served other purposes as well. It had spiritual and medicinal connotations.
The popular colours were GREEN and BLACK. Green was originally made from malachite, an oxide copper. In early times it was applied from the eyebrow, to the base of the nose. Later, green eye paint was used for the brows and corners of the eyes, and eventually the green was replaced with black.
This was kohl, usually made of sulphide of lead called galena.
Putting lead on your face doesn’t really seem good idea nowadays of course, but Egyptians didn’t realize that lead was poisonous.
reference:Margaret Briggs – Natural Cosmetics
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Alenka