A History Of Beauty

Beauty products have an interesting and fascinating history much of which dates back to ancient times but makeup and hygiene specifically have played big roles in the last few centuries. While make-up, for a long time, was only considered to be used by women with suspect morals and ill-formed intentions it wasn’t always that way and to a certain degree makeup was worn in certain circles. Most of the time makeup was used to achieve a whitened complexion which up until the 1920’s was viewed as a sign of wealth and nobility as well as refinement. This led to the development of many powders, creams, and lotions which were used to whiten the skin along with makeups that gave a sheer pale effect to the face.

Similar styles were used in Asia and it was popular all throughout Europe as well. Prior to this more natural techniques were used such as the crushing of various forms of berries and herbs to create pigments and dyes to be used as eyeshadow and blush as well as for the lips. Women also used naturally found ingredients like sulfur to keep their skin looking youthful and blemish free. Egyptians had mastered the art of using varieties of herbs and natural resources to create the black eyeliner look we commonly associate with that time and also used things like sulfur and sea salt to make themselves look beautiful. After this time period though it was all about the white skin and staying out of the sun to be as pale as possible. What was dangerous about these cosmetics and lotions was that many of them, although effective at making your skin whiter, also contained dangerous amounts of lead which caused many health problems for the women of that time. Eventually these kinds of mixtures were traded for safer ones but many of that time suffered complications of their extended use - some even including paralysis.

Once the 1920s came in women decided to have more freedom and began wearing more modern forms of makeup like mascara and eyeliner and with the growing popularity of movies this became more common and acceptable. Those early decades were spent telling women that they could use diet, exercise, and cosmetics to make themselves look more beautiful and many of them spent a great deal of time and their newly earned purchasing power doing just that. This was the time when the cosmetics and hygiene industries had the most growth of any time. New ideas about beauty came out which sponsored ideas for new products like tanning cream (now that white skin was no longer fashionable) and leg makeup which became popular during the war when stockings were more rare. New types of soaps, deodorants, “natural” products and many other types of developments sprang up much to the pleasure of women in the fifties and now, today, the beauty and skin industry pulls in more than twenty billion dollars a year.

The history of makeup and beauty is an interesting one and it’s certain to only get more fascinating as the years progress.