When in Rome.... A Look at Ancient Roman Beauty Practices

   Over the last couple of weeks I've given you a glimpse of what the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks did to keep themselves looking snappy, now it's on to Rome. Life was good in Ancient Rome, particularly if you were part of the ruling or upper class, were a good citizen, followed the rules and didn't do anything to upset the Emporer. There was plenty of food, the wine flowed freely, there was the theatre, the Colloseum, music, gambling, brothels... I guess it was a lot like Las Vegas minus the neon lights, a good time was had by all.

With all of this fun and frivolity going on all of the time, it was essential that everyone looked their best.

   Like any culture, they had a definite idea of what they perceived as being the epitomy of beauty. Men wore their hair short and were clean shaven. The look for women was a pale complexion and fair hair. Like the Greeks they had crude methods of trying to lighten their hair,most of them not being very effective,  the wealthy ladies of the day wore wigs made of human hair.Blonde hair came from the northern lands and most of the black hair came from India. Body hair was frowned upon and was plucked, shaved or pumiced away. There is evidence that some of them had discovered the benefits of waxing away their downy covering. If men were overly hairy, they "minimized" their beastly appearance by using the same methods, just not to the same extent. They didn't want to appear effeminate, just more civilized.

   Although simple methods of softening their skin such as olive oil and honey were commonly used, the Romans had many other treatments at their disposal that were as bizarre as the practices of the Egyptians. A beauty treatment was used prior to applying their make-up. One popular mask recipe called for the sweat from sheep's wool to be applied before bedtime, giving off a horrible stench that wasn't very popular with the menfolk.Other popular ingredients of the day were juices of all sorts,seeds, honey, plants, vinegars, eggs, barley, all things that wouldn't seem out of place in a modern day holistic beauty spa. They also used powdered horn, onions, bile, animal urine, feces and fat, placenta, sulfer, cinnabar and white lead, these last two ingredients being poisonus.

   After the beauty treatment it was time to put on the foundation.The native Roman women weren't naturally fair complected  so to compensate for this, they had a wide array of concoctions with wich to achieve their pale, rich palor. White lead was known to be poisonous in those times but it was effective and their quest for the the perfect, milky-white complexion wich was of such great importance to their social standings that they didn't care. They also used tin oxide, beeswax, starch, rose leaves, almond oil,eggs and a long list of other ingredients. They disliked blemishes of any kind including freckles, sun/age spots and wrinkles and went to great lengths to treat or cover up these irritating flaws. Once the complexion was smooth and milky white, it was time to add some color.

   Red ochre was the rouge of choice for the discerning woman of wealth and taste.A nice rosy glow was as important then as it is today. It was a sign of good health and considered attractive. Vermillion, red chalk, rose petals and crocodile dung were also used to blush the cheeks of these ancient debutantes.Cinnabar and red lead were in common use during these times. If you were on a budget, mulberry juice did a fine job as did wine dregs.

   The eyes are the windows of the soul and the Romans liked them large and with long lashes. It was believed in their time that the eyelashes fell out due to excessive sex, so it was important for women to keep their lashes long as proof of their purity. Kohl was used to line the eyes, a practice that came from the east. Colored eye shadows were in common use, like the Egyptians, blue and green seemed to be the preferred colors of the day.In the earlier days of the empire,they darkened their eyebrows and liked them to almost meet in the center, a slight improvement over the Greek unibrow.Sometime during the first century BCE, they started tweezing, a practice that is still popular today.

   There is no evidence that they colored their lips. Perhaps the wine flowed freely enough that they were permanently stained, sort of like a primitive kool-aide smile, or it could be they preferred a more natural look. Who knows? The wealthier members of society did like to keep their nails well groomed for hygenic purposes as well as for the purpose of a complete and finished look. This task was performed by their local barber.

   They did like to smell good, to them it was a sign of good health. Perfume was as big of a business as it is now. Costly, tho it was, it's use was generally confined to the rich. They also added perfume to many of their cosmetics and beauty treatments, the smell of many of these concoctions being terrible at best. Scents were created by the maceration process using flowers, herbs and oils.The best fragrances were imported from the East. Gladiator sweat was highly prized by the upper class women as an aphrodisiac and commanded a very high price.Different scents were considered appropriate for different occasions and were quite gender specific.They were also rubbed upon the body to help with various ailments. Deodorants made from alum were in common use at the time and were scented with rose, iris and other flower and/or herbal fragrances.

   I hope you've enjoyed my little glimpse into the past. I know some of their practices seem gross and bizarre by our modern standards but they were trying to achieve the same result as we do in our modern times, without the convienience of the pre-packaged products that we use and take for granted.You've got to give them credit for their ingenuity. If nothing else, maybe it will give you a new appreciation for the cosmetic and beauty industry that we enjoy today.

  

  

Ancient Greek Beauty Secrets Revealed

   Last week I shared with you some of the beauty secrets of the Ancient Egyptians. This week it is on to Greece, the cradle of Western Civilization. At first glance it would seem that they didn't pay much attention to their appearance. Their dress was more simple and rustic than the Egyptians and their hair styles and cosmetic use were minimalistic. It was as if they were too busy politicking, philosophising and building the foundations of western civilization to pay much attention to the way they looked. But how wrong we are in our assumptions, they were as vain as any civilization, before or since.

   The Greeks prefered a more natural look as far as beauty was concerned. The human form in all of it's glorious perfection was highly regarded. You can clearly see this in their art as well as the images of the gods and goddesses that they worshipped. For the most part,their gods had a much more human appearance than the gods of previous civilizations.

   Short hair and beards were fashionable amongst the men. Women grew their hair long and wore it piled up on top of their heads, secured with pins.Female slaves were forced to wear their hair short as a mark of distinction between them and the people they served. Light hair was all the rage of the day and they tried to achieve this by applying a vinegar solution to the hair and exposing it to the warm Mediterranean sun. Lemon juice was also used. A fair complexion was in style, it showed that you were a person of liesure. They used white lead to make their complexions appear lighter.  Although toxic,this practice was followed up thru the 19th century. They, like the Egyptians, colored their lips with a mixture of red ochre mixed with oil or fat and beeswaw, wine dregs were also used to give them a sensual and alluring appearance. A primitive form of rouge was also popular, imparting a healthy, rosy glow to the cheeks. The eyes were lined with kohl and the upper lids were shaded lightly with earthy, natural pigments. They were also big fans of the uni-brow, it was held in high regard and looked upon as a sign of beauty and intelligence, so the area between the brows was shaded to give the much desired appearance.

   Beauty treatments were simple but an important part of the lives of the upper class.Olive oil was used on the skin as well as the hair to soften and improve its condition. Honey was an important part of their beauty regimens and vinagers were infused with herbs and flowers for all sorts of cosmetic purposes. They are credited with the invention of cold cream, a mixture of oil, beeswax, rose petals and water.It gets its name for the cooling effect of the water, held in suspension, evaporating on the skin.
   Perfume was Prized by the upper classes but they were more intrigued by their aphrodisiac properties than esthetics. That is one of the reasons the Egyptians didn't like them very much. They looked down upon the greeks as being rustic, crude and uncivilized. The Greeks thought of the Egyptians as being intelectually inferior and unenlightened. I guess some things never change when societies clash with one another but one thing is for sure, vanity shall always remain as an integral part of the human condition.

Ancient Egyptian Beauty Secrets Revealed!

   Every generation that comes along likes to think that their idea of fashion is the height of sophistication, beauty and elegance. Since the beginning of time our species has found clever ways to make themselves more attractive to prospective mates, to gain social status and secure the admiration of their peers. With the use of mud, pigments made from vegetation, minerals and all other sorts of organic matter, our ancestors managed to paint and decorate themselves to the heights of the primitive fashion scene.Being a part of the beauty industry, I have often wondered, who was the first of our primitive ancestors to dip his finger in the primordial mud and smear it somewhere prominent on his/her body, thus marking him/herself as being distinctively different and unique amongst their peers. I would like to share with you some of the secrets that the ancients used to make themselves more appealing to one another. I hope you find it as interesting as I do. With that said, let's take a walk into the past.

  We'll start with the Egyptians, although archeological evidence shows that they weren't the first civilization to paint themselves up for a night on the town, they were the first ones that we know of that left an extensive written record of what they did. You don't think they spent all of there time building pyramids and wrapping up dead bodies for the afterlife,do you? No, they spent a great deal of their time primping, preening and improving their appearance, much as we do in our modern times. One of the great but little thought of legacies that they passed down to us was the very beginnings of the spa, beauty and cosmetic industry.

   Any artist will tell you that the cleaner and fresher a canvas is, the easier it is to paint. The Egyptians liked to start each day with a clean, fresh canvas. To them, cleanliness was next to Godliness, both being very important aspects of their culture. They spent a great deal of time bathing the sweat and desert dust from their bodies. They used natron, wich was often times scented and could be worked into a lather. There is evidence that they also mixed animal and/or vegetable oils with alkiline salts to form a crude soap that was also used to clean and disinfect wounds.Their cleansing rituals were perfomed each morning upon rising and before each meal, much like we do today.
   Hair was looked upon as unclean or at least, uncomely, and a lot of money was spent on oils and creams to soften the hair on their bodies before plucking or shaving it off. All of it! Arms, legs, chest, back, head and everywhere else that hair is known to grow. This went for men as well as women. Not only was this a very fashionable practice, it helped to keep them free from lice infestations.

   Once the body was cleansed and hair free, it was time for a beauty treatment. Firm, toned skin was held in high regard as it is today. These ancient cosmetic chemists were masters at mixing up strange sounding but surprisingly effective concoctions with wich to make the skin soft, smooth and subtle. One of the more interesting and questionable treatments that they used was a mixture of crocodile dung and warm river mud wich was smeared all over the body and left to dry. I can't help but wondering about the first person that had the idea to do this.
   " Hey Kahotep, this stuff is all over the river banks, there's got to be something we could do with it, got any ideas?"
    "Yes Menmet, we could mix it up with mud from the Sacred Nile and see if beautiful, rich women will let us rub it all over their naked flesh and pay us lots of money. We will say to them, it is good for the skin."

 " Kahotep, you are a genious!"
   And thus the concept of the Beauty Spa was formed.

  Once the treatment was rinsed off, the body was rubbed with perfumed oils to help protect them from the hot desert sun and dry air.It also left you smelling good wich was important since deodorants had not been invented yet and they got pretty smelly living in a desert with no air conditioning.If you were part of the upper class, before your rub down you might first bath in water containing Dead Sea salts or in asses milk(both being documented favorites of Cleopatra) and have honey applied to your skin. Honey was highly prized as a beauty treatment. Because of its anti-bacterial properties it was also used to treat wounds of all sorts and was pobably a tasty treat on their morning flatbread. A very versatile ingredient, indeed.

   They were remembered most for the elaborate eye make-up they wore, the evidence of wich was left to us as a legacy thru heiroplyphs, funery masks and coffins. The make-up not only made them feel much prettier, it helped to protect them from the hot sun, had anti-bacterial properties and repelled flies.It was also believed that it was a good protection against the evil eye. The predominent colors of the day were black, green and blue. (Sounds a little like the 70's disco scene to me.) The eyelids were lined,  top and bottom with kohl wich was a mixture of galena(lead oxide) and charcoal. The line was drawn well out past the corner of the eye in an effort to produce a classic almond shape. Color was applied to the upper lid all the way to the brow line. The bottom lid was painted down to the bridge of the nose.This helped to protect the delicate skin around the eye from the damaging effects of the sun.The green was derived from powdered malachite mixed with various fats and the blue was made from powdered lapis- lazuli mixed in the same manner.

   Next it was on to the cheeks and lips. Red ochre, a clay rich in iron oxide, was used on their cheeks in the same way that we use rouge today to impart a healthy, rosy glow, giving a more complete and finished look. This same material was used, mixed with animal fat and beeswax to color the lips. Sometimes wine dregs were used  for the purpose of staining the lips, making them appear more luscious, alluring and smoochable to available young pharaohs or members of the royal court. And of course, no self-respecting  young princess would feel complete without having her nails stained yellow or orange with henna. What would her admiring public think?

   Since most of the population kept their heads shaved, it was time for their crowning glory to be attached.Wigs were elaborate affairs made by highly skilled craftsmen using human hair and/or a combination of sheeps wool and vegetable fibers that were carefully woven and braided into the latest styles and dyed in shades of purple, blue and black.Hmm, for some reason blondes weren't very popular at the time. After all of this preparation it was time for a night on the town. Sound familiar?

   I guess that's the point I'm trying to make. Oh sure, the packaging is a little different and the methods by wich we obtain the materials that we adorn our bodies with have changed, but we are essentially the same silly creature we have always been, alone, desperately seeking approval and acceptance from our peers in an effort to be revered, to be desired, to be loved. Perhaps my profession with it's venerable history is more noble than I give it credit for being. Maybe vanity is more than an indulgence.
   I hope you have found todays blog to be enlightening as well as entertaining.It is but a brief summary of what our forebearers did each day, hopefully it was enough to spark your imagination and rouse your curiosity. As always, I welcome any questions or comments that you may have. Next week, I will tell you a little bit about the ancient Greeks ideas of beauty.

History Lesson?

   Although our industry doesn't have the reputation of being the worlds oldest profession, I'm sure it would come in a close second. Since the very beginnings of civilization, humankind has gone to great lengths to improve upon their looks. Our ancient ancestors seemed to be just as vain as we are in these modern times although they didn't have the advantage of the modern cosmetic counter or the luxury of the spa experience as we know it today. Instead they relied on Mother Nature to supply them with the raw materials that they used to adorn themselves in the latest fashions. Finely ground minerals, pigments from vegetation of all sorts and colored soils were mixed with water, animal fats and the oils from plants and painted upon the body and face in patterns that I'm sure left them feeling as pretty as we feel today after a visit to the Estee Lauder counter at the local department store. ( It looks like we really haven't changed much over the years).
   As in our modern times, fashions change, styles change and different cultures have varying ideas of what constitutes the perfectly adorned human form, although without the advent of mass media and clever advertising firms, they changed a little more slowly. I'm sure they were as critical of one another as we are of our peers. I can just imagine hearing an echo from our ancient past. " Did you see Glump at the bonfire last night? He was wearing last centuries red ochre, what was he thinking? Was he trying to look like his great grandfather, or what? Geez, Nobody wears that anymore. And what gives with that worn out coyote skin he had on? Everyone knows that bear skin is in.Hmmph!"
   Sounds maybe just a little bit familiar doesn't it? I guess my point is that no matter how far we have advanced and how sophisticated we feel that we have become, we are still they same silly creature that we have always been. We are all, each and everyone of us, alone and desperately trying to fit in,to be looked up to, admired and accepted by our fellow creatures.. Loved. Perhaps my profession with its venerable history is more noble than I sometimes give it credit for being. Maybe vanity is more than an just an indulgance.
   Over the next few weeks I plan to uncover some of the ancient beauty secrets used by civilizations long since passed.I'm sure you will find some of their rituals humorous, many were hazardous to the health and some were just plain disgusting. It will give you a new appreciation for our modern day salons and cosmetic counters. I hope to see you back here and as always, I appreciate your questions and comments.