As I have a few posts on here on makeup through history I thought it would be interesting to go through some of the skincare tricks and rituals that were used by our ancestors. A lot of the products used were beneficial to the skin and the ingredients are still used in modern skincare but some recipes used by women proved dangerous or downright disgusting in their quest for beauty.
Medieval
Women in the medieval period had a tough time on their hands when it came to keeping their complexion flawless. Not only was make-up frowned upon, they didn’t have the luxury of covering up any blemish in a time a clear complexion and youthful skin was the beauty ideal and not easily achieved in this period when diseases and skin afflictions were so prevalent. Luckily women had access to a medieval beauty guide called the Trotula which featured many herbal remedies for skin ailments and botanical recipes for skin and hair treatments.
Flowers were a popular ingredient as well as natural plant roots and ground up nuts such as almonds and walnuts. Roses ( rose water was used frequently), rosemary and lavender were helpful for achieving a radiant complexion and easily available especially if a woman had her own herb garden.
Cruelty free products you could use today. If you don’t fancy making your own rose water and pulling up your garden there’s skincare products that feature some of those ingredients.
Lush-Angels on bare skin
This cleanser actually claims to be a inspired by a medieval recipe and contains lavender, almonds and rose.
Many cruelty free companies make organic rose water such as Melvita’s damask rose floral water
What you wouldn’t want to use today. Many recipes from the Trotula advise using animal fat for numerous skin purposes. This varied from goose to bear fat. A definite no go.
Ancient Egyptian
Cleopatra’s beauty regime seems to be the most famous historical beauty secrets. Her worst kept secret perhaps being that she’d often bathe in milk but Cleopatra also used a lot of other products to keep her face remaining youthful. Honey was a favourite of Cleopatra’s for keeping her skin smooth and hydrated.She was also a big fan of oils such as almond and loved to use frankincense and myrrh. She also used to rinse her face in apple cider vinegar.
Cruelty free products you could use today.
Honey, almond oil and apple cider vinegar is often available in health food stores and for Cleopatra s frankincense I recommend Balm Balm light frankincense oil.
One of the reasons Cleopatra’s milk bath was so effective on the skin was due to the AHAs ( alpha hydrox acids) present in the milk. Many cruelty free skincare brands offer skincare treatments rich in AHAs such as Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel 30ml
What you wouldn’t want to use today.
Cleopatra is also said to have used crocodile dung as part of her beauty ritual ( Ancient Egyptians also used this as a contraceptive) not only is smothering yourself in crocodile poo disgusting to us today but good luck finding it!
Greek
The Ancient Greek’s held olives with great importance and often used olive oil for the hair and skin as well as grinding up the stones to use as a facial and exfoliating mask. They also shared the Ancient Egyptians love for honey. The Ancient Greek’s made use of flowers and herbs obtained naturally around them and realised the benefits of using sea salt for exfoliation and seaweed for medicinal purposes and also to keep the skin soft and subtle.
Cruelty free products you could use today.
The Bodyshop does a seaweed range ranging from masks to toners.
Dr organic also does an olive oil face scrub using olive stone pumice, mirroring the Ancient Greek exfoliation method.
What you wouldn’t want to use today
As the Ancient Greeks desired a pale complexion they would mix white lead with olive oil to lighten their skin. A deadly beauty trick best left in the past.
Really interesting post! Loved the way you recommended modern beauty products that use the same ingredients or ideas!
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Thank you 🙂 x
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beautiful vintage photos & love how you picked current similar products 🙂
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Thank you 🙂 x
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