You may not believe it but do you know that beauty products have been used as early as 4000 BC in Ancient Egypt?

 

The ancient Greeks and the Romans also left tell tale signs of using beauty products. Surprisingly, there are evidences that these cultures had even used mercury and white lead in their cosmetics! The Bible also had numerous references to fragrances, like the frankincense and myrrh mentioned at the time of the birth of Jesus.

 

Beauty products were in use in the Middle East very long time ago. Although some branches of Islam that are fundamentalist in teachings do not allow the use of cosmetics, others do use them. In 936-1013 AD, Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis), a known physician, authoured a huge medical encyclopedia titled Al-Tasrif. In his writing, he wrote a chapter about cosmetics. He believes that beauty products is to be considered as a branch of medicine - what he called "Medicine of Beauty". He wrote about perfumes, incense, etc. He also wrote about things that were the precursors to our lipsticks and deodorants.

 

In India, there are evidences that they have been using henna since about the 4th or 5th century. They are applied as both a hair dye and in their art called "mehndi". This traditional art is often done before a Hindu wedding and complex designs are painted on the hands and feet. North African cultures are also known to use henna but with bolder designs than the Indians.

 

China is known to practice the art of coloring the fingernails around 3000 BC The color of the fingernails is known to determine the social class of the person. Gold and silver colors are reserved to the early royalties. Later on, the royals wore red and black. Lower social class people were not allowed to wear any bright colors on their nails.

 

The geishas of Japan spearheaded the use of beauty products. Lipsticks are used made from crushed safflower petals. The same product is also used to paint their eyebrows and the edges of their eyes. It is known that they used a wax (bintsuke wax) as a base for their makeup and rice powder to color their face and back, and rouge for their eyes and nose. The ohaguo - a black paint - is used to color the teeth for a certain ceremony when the maiko (apprentice geisha) graduate from their training and become independent geishas. The geishas are also known to make a lighter color from bird droppings.

 

In the European side of the old world, the people who are in the lower classes are known to have a darker skin as they are more exposed to the sun than their royal and rich counterparts. The lighter color of the skin is often used as a sign of a higher class because it showed one did not have to work outdoors but had leisure time inside. Therefore, it was A common practice to try to lighten the skin. Europeans are known to use a variety of beauty products, including white lead paint.

 

During the 20th century, makeup became popular in the United States of America and Europe as it was influenced by the ballet and the theater. The movie industry also had a great impact. The great and known makeup companies of Max Factor, Elizabeth Arden, and Helena Rubinstein rose up during this time. The Hair dye was invented in 1907 by the founder of L'Oreal. He also invented sunscreen. In 1888, deodorant was invented and it came in roll-on form by 1952 and aerosol form in 1965.

 

During the 1920s, makeup style was greatly influenced by the flapper era, with its red lipstick and red nail polish. Coco Chanel was able to convince women they needed a suntan, resulting in fake tanning products being marketed.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gaf_Tanady