The Science of Ancient Beauty Practices

Since time immemorial, humans have been making ourselves beautiful for each other.

Before our modern age of hyaluronic acid moisturizers, waterproof mascara and hair masks, we used a variety of other methods to improve our appearances, ranging in effectiveness from harmless natural remedies to inadvertent poisoning.

So how well did ancient beauty practices really work?

Bathing

Ancient Egypt was one of the earliest civilizations to use cosmetics. As early as 10,000 BC, men and women used scented oils to clean their skin and conceal body odors, according to a 2009 paper published in the Asian Journal of Pharmaceutics.

Oils can indeed help to clean the skin, as they will bond with the natural oils produced by the skin and help to lift the dirt. Oils also help to replenish the natural oil in the skin, keeping the skin moisturized.

Rose oil, which was popular in the Middle East, contains a number of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and also acts as an anti-inflammatory, helping to treat irritation from conditions including eczema and rosacea, according to Medical News Today.

In the 1963 film Cleopatra, Elizabeth Taylor's eponymous character is seen bathing in milk baths filled with saffron oil, as the real Cleopatra is also reported to have regularly done. Both of these elements would have had some real benefit, with the milk's lactic acid helping to exfoliate the skin, sloughing off dead skin cells, and the saffron oil containing antioxidants that some research has shown may be healthy for your brain and nervous system.

"Regarding chemicals used [in ancient beauty], many are necessary and safe," Pierfrancesco Morganti, a professor of skin pharmacology and cosmetic dermatology at the Second University of Naples, told Newsweek. "It is useful and safe to use natural ingredients [as many people do], but they have to be well studied and controlled to avoid allergic and sensitizing reactions."

Makeup

Ancient Egyptians were also among the earliest wearers of makeup. They would apply kohl, a dark eyeliner, on their upper and lower eyelids, which they believed would reduce the glare of the sun and even restore poor eyesight.

Kohl was made of crushed antimony, burnt almonds, lead, oxidized copper, ochre, ash, malachite, and a blue-green copper ore named chrysocolla, the Asian Journal of Pharmaceutics paper states, as well as powdered galena (lead sulfide), according to a 2019 study in the Journal of Dermatology & Cosmetology.

The Journal of Dermatology & Cosmetology paper also describes how ancient Romans and Greeks used antimony as eyeshadow.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that antimony can be harmful to the eyes and skin, causing irritation after even small levels of exposure. It can also be absorbed through the skin, and lead to nausea and vomiting, and even damage to the liver and kidneys.

The application of lead to the skin can cause lead to enter the body, leading to poisoning and subsequent damage to the brain, nerves and digestive organs. Lead poisoning is especially dangerous to children, as it affects their development. According to Cleveland Clinic, symptoms in children include developmental delays, learning difficulties and seizures, while adult symptoms include difficulties with memory or concentration, mood disorders and fertility issues.

Lead sulfide is also harmful: while it can also cause lead poisoning after repeated exposure, it is also considered a carcinogen.

For a nascent lipstick, ancient people in Japan used crushed safflower petals to color eyebrows and edges of the eyes and the lips. Safflower petals contain yellow and red dyes due to the pigments carthamidin and carthamin, which have also been used as colorants in ice cream.

Japanese people also used rice powder to color their faces and back, the Asian Journal of Pharmaceutics paper describes.

Skin

This practice of whitening the skin has been idealized in beauty for centuries across many cultures, with people applying a number of different substances to their faces to either temporarily whiten the skin, or permanently stain the skin paler.

"'Cardamomo' (cardamom) was used to ameliorate [lighten] the skin's natural color," Morganti said.

Japanese people used nightingale droppings to whiten their skin, while Ancient Greek women utilized harmful lead carbonate, according to the Journal of Dermatology & Cosmetology paper.

Lead carbonate is now considered a toxic carcinogen, while the feces of nightingale birds contains high concentrations of urea and guanine. It's unclear if these chemicals could whiten the skin, but the urea may help lock in moisture, and the guanine may make the skin appear shimmery and iridescent.

"The reason this product may work is the high concentration of urea in the fecal-urine combination in bird feces. Urine has a lot of urea in it and it has long been used as a skin-softening agent," Brian Keller, a dermatopharmacologist and executive vice president of San Francisco-based BioZone Laboratories, told CNN in 2008.

During the middle ages in Europe, members of the upper classes whitened their skin using white lead paint, which also contained arsenic. Lead, again, can cause lead poisoning, while arsenic is a highly toxic chemical that is associated with skin, lung, bladder, kidney and liver cancer, according to the World Health Organization.

Skin whitening is still a huge industry in many parts of the world, with the market for whitening ointments and pills skin being worth an estimated $8 billion as of 2020.

Hair

The Journal of Dermatology & Cosmetology paper describes how red hair became all the rage in England during the reign of Elizabeth I, who was known for her shock of ginger hair. To mimic her, many women would dye their hair a deep red using saffron and sulfur.

People from all over the world have used plant oils as hair softeners, something that many people still do today. Berber women in Morocco used argan oil, BBC Culture reported, while in ancient Polynesia, the indigenous Maohi people used monoi oil, a concoction of coconut oil with petals of Tahitian gardenias soaked into it, as a hair softener.

Argan oil contains fatty acids like oleic acid and linoleic acid, which lubricate the hair shaft and help the hair stay moisturized. Coconut oils contain the medium-chain fatty acid lauric acid and have much the same moisturizing effect on the hair.

Beauty treatments

Some beauty treatments attempted to change the shape and appearance of the face more permanently. According to the Journal of Dermatology & Cosmetology paper, belladonna was used in eye drops to increase the size of women's pupils during the Renaissance period to make them appear more alluring. Belladonna, also known as atropine, is a poisonous substance produced by the plant Atropa belladonna, or deadly nightshade. Today, atropine is used as a paralyzing agent to dilate the pupils in optometry, as well as in the treatment of some heart issues.

The traditional Chinese practice of gua sha used a jade or crystal stone to massage the face in long, sweeping strokes, meant to sculpt the face and improve circulation. This is still done by many people today and is lauded for its relaxing results and proven effects on circulation.

Other more spa-like treatments performed by ancient humans included an early form of sauna. The Aztecs enjoyed steam baths in volcanic sweat lodges known as temazcales. Indeed, steam has been found to help clear the sinuses and lungs of mucus. Today, saunas continue to reap similar benefits, although steaming certain body parts can lead to burns.

One more bizarre beauty treatment involves the application of fish to the breasts to make them smaller. The practice is described in a book called Pratica de' Speziali, written by Father Domenico Auda Capo Speziale dell'Archiospitale di S.Spirito di Roma, Morganti said. The book was published in 1736 in Venice, Italy.

"The prescription was: 'Per dimenuire le zinne o poppe alle donne che pareranno vergini' (To diminish the size of women's breasts so that they appear virginal)," Morganti said.

"Prescription: That fish called 'squatina,' which in Rome is called 'squared fish': cut it in half across the middle, remove the viscera and apply each part over each breast two or three times daily and you see the effect."

Unsurprisingly, there are no topical ways proven by science to reduce breast size.

Whether they helped or harmed us, humans have seemingly always used whatever we could find to make ourselves fit whatever was considered beautiful at the time.

Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about ancient beauty practices? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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