Beauty secrets from the past

Ancient India

Traditional Indian medicine is known as ayurveda and dates back over 5000 years, but even today so many of its beauty techniques and potions are still practiced today.

'Ayurveda is becoming ever more popular today,' says Bharti Vyas, a top holistic health practitioner, based in central London.

Bharti Vyas recommends two homemade remedies popular in her own family: the first a gram flour face mask, which is good for acne and toning the skin on the face, breasts or bottom – and second, a spot cream made with turmeric.

To make the gram flour face mask, mix a tablespoon of gram flour, half a teaspoon of honey and quarter a teaspoon of salt into a paste. Apply with fingers and leave on for 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse off using a wet flannel or muslin cloth.

For the turmeric spot cream, mix a quarter teaspoon of turmeric, a quarter teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of runny honey. Dab onto spots using an ear bud. When applied before the spots form properly, the spot cream stops them developing and prevents scarring.

Be careful only to place the potion onto the spot because turmeric is a pigment and will discolour skin.

Egyptians

The Egyptians were dedicated to making the most of themselves, and men and women from all social classes would wear make-up and indulge in beauty regimes.

Eyes would be accentuated by kohl that was made from galena (lead sulphide), which is black or very dark grey, and other substances such as ash.

Kohl was thought to ward off the 'evil eye' – a superstition that could cause injury or bad luck – and to protect the eyes from the sun and eye diseases. While lead and its salts are now banned under the European Cosmetics Directive, modern – and perfectly safe – kohl pencils are easily available from make-up counters and chemists and can be used to enhance the eyes. Egyptians also used honey to soften skin – Cleopatra in particular was thought to maintain her beauty by taking milk and honey baths.

Honey contains antibacterial and inflammatory properties, which may be good for treating skin conditions such as acne.

It's also a humectant (which means it traps water molecules) and has been used to moisturise skin and give hair a glossy shine over the centuries.

In fact, Catherine Zeta Jones has confessed to rubbing honey and salt on her skin as part of her beauty regime.

Romans

Olive oil was used by the Romans as a cleanser and massage oil, which was rubbed into the skin at Roman baths and then scraped off with a spatula.

It could also be used for softening skin, nail cuticles and to give hair a glossy shine.

Known for being high in antioxidants and vitamins, including vitamin E, it's easy to see why it can act as such a potent beauty aid.

Sophia Loren has attributed her ever youthful looks to the odd bath in olive oil.

Try a little olive oil therapy yourself by adding a generous couple of splashes to a bath, rubbing it directly into dry areas of your body, such as the heels of your feet, or use it as a hot hair treatment by warming a couple of tablespoons and massage it into your hair.

Renaissance Italy

'Pale skin, rosy cheeks and lips, sparkling eyes and long, blonde, flowing hair were the poetic ideal of beauty during this time,' explains Jackie Spicer, a History of Art PhD student at Edinburgh University, who has been studying Italian Renaissance beauty recipes.

'Women would use egg white over a whitening ingredient to varnish their skin and give it a slightly shiny, lustrous look.

'They would also bleach hair blonde by applying lemon juice and wearing a crownless wide brimmed hat – the hat was to protect your skin – and then sit out in the sun with the hair flowing out of the cut out crown.'

Some of their techniques still work. Jackie Spicer – along with Jill Burke, senior lecturer in Italian Renaissance art at the University of Edinburgh – held a workshop at the National Gallery of Scotland, and put some traditional Italian recipes to the test.

One recipe, which they found made the skin surprisingly soft, involved mixing bread crumbs and egg white together and putting them in vinegar for two whole days.

Victorian times

The Victorian era was dominated by strict morality and religious codes, which meant cosmetics were seen as instruments of the devil, worn only by actresses and prostitutes.

But there was also an increasing emphasis on skincare, and many women wanted a pale, fashionable complexion – often achieved by shielding their skin from the sun with parasols and gloves.

'I see women in their 80s with hardly a line. We used to think lines came just as part of the ageing process, but most are caused by the sun,' says Dr Rita Rakus, renowned beauty specialist with a clinic based in Knightsbridge.

The Victorian era was also when many creams and lotions recognisable today first started to appear on the market.

In 1846 a pharmacist from New York created a Pond's cream, which was later to become Pond's Cold Cream and Vanishing Cream in 1914.

Many of these 'retro' products have been enjoying something of a revival today.

World War II

After an abundance of make-up during the 1930s, the outbreak of World War II meant many of the ingredients used in cosmetics were simply not available.

'Make-up wasn't rationed, but make-up companies were only making a quarter of pre-war amounts,' says Madeleine Marsh, author of 'The history of compacts and cosmetics: beauty from Victorian times to the present day'.

This lead to women making many of their own, with articles at the time telling women how to make powder puffs out of rabbit skin, to put beetroot juice on their lips for lipstick, or use cucumber to cleanse their face.

Wearing red lipstick was also seen as a patriotic sign of femininity. 'There were lipsticks called 'patriot red' or 'grenadier red' and posters such as Rosie the Riveter, a factory worker in dungarees, with muscles like a wrestler, but still with fantastic red lipstick and nails,' adds Madeleine Marsh.

Five not to try

1. White lead was used by women across Europe during the Renaissance to give skin a ghostly, upper class pallor. It also corroded skin and lead to headaches, sickness, insanity and death.
2. Mercury has been used in cosmetics for hundreds of years, and more recently has been found in some mascaras and skin lightening creams in the US. It is toxic, and exposure can lead to brain, lung and kidney damage.
3. Lye, known today as caustic soda, was commonly used for hair removal, but can cause burning and scarring.
4. Animal fat was used to stick wigs to balding heads, which also had the unfortunate effect of attracting insects and lice.
5. Belladonna or deadly nightshade has been used to enhance eyes because it dilates pupils. It can also cause visual problems, a racing heartbeat and, in extreme cases, blindness

Read more: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/beauty/beauty-secrets-from-the-past.htm#ixzz2WDGUiZdb 
Follow us: @NetDoctor on Twitter | NetDoctorUK on Facebook