The Role of Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt: A Historical Perspective

This essay delves into the fascinating world of ancient Egyptian cosmetics, exploring their multifaceted roles in society. It begins by tracing the evolution of makeup from its origins in skincare and protection to its significance in enhancing beauty and differentiating social classes. The essay examines the composition of ancient Egyptian cosmetics, including natural ingredients like flowers and fruits, as well as chemical components such as galena and malachite. It highlights the diverse applications of makeup, from elaborate eye cosmetics and face paints to nail and hair care, and the use of oils and perfumes. Furthermore, the essay discusses the varying uses of makeup across different social classes, the specific makeup practices of men and women, and the importance of hygiene and preservation of youthful appearances. The essay also touches upon the chemistry involved in creating these cosmetics and their perceived magical and medicinal properties. Overall, the essay provides a comprehensive overview of the history, materials, and social impact of cosmetics in ancient Egypt, showcasing their central role in daily life, religious ceremonies, and expressions of beauty and status.

Running head: ANCIENT EGYPT
Ancient Egyptian Make up
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1ANCIENT EGYPT
"A woman without paint is like food without salt."- Roman philosopher, Plautus.
This essay identifies the various aspects and uses of cosmetics in ancient Egypt. Ancient
civilizations of the world have used forms of cosmetics unrecognizable in today’s cosmetics
world. For thousands of years both men and women were using cosmetics in religious
ceremonies, beatification and maintaining good health. The usage of cosmetics reveals practical
concerns of health, social issues and conventions of enhancing beauty1. In 10000 BCE, the
people of ancient Egypt were mainly concerned with the skin care and protection from the
sunburns and rough winds. They used ointments, oils and creams obtained from the natural
extraction from flowers and fruits like olive and almond. In 4000 BCE, the concern skin
protection and hygiene maintenances shifted to apply color on faces to enhance beauty2. This
includes colorful eye makeup, rough as well as the perfumes to prevent body odor.
1 Torrence, Robin, and Huw Barton, eds. Ancient starch research. Routledge, 2016
2 White, JE Manchip. Ancient Egypt: Its culture and history. Courier Corporation, 2013

2ANCIENT EGYPT
Ancient Egyptian women busy doing make ups
(Source: Cosmetics Used By Anciemt Egyptians - Google Search)
Natural and chemical cosmetics:
The cosmetics used by the Egyptians included both natural and chemical ingredients. The
galena was made from lead and copper ore and malachite was a green paste made of copper
minerals3. The natural ingredients included lily, rose, lavender, cedar, olive and almond extracts.
The famous eye makeup named ‘kohl’ was a mixture of oxidized copper and copper ores, burnt
almonds, ash, ochre and lead.
Natural cosmetics
("Cosmetics Used By Anciemt Egyptians - Google Search")
3 Rosenow, Daniela, and Th Rehren. "Herding cats–Roman to Late Antique glass groups from
Bubastis, northern Egypt." Journal of Archaeological Science 49 (2014): 170-184.

3ANCIENT EGYPT
Cosmetics in differentiating social classes:
The usage and variations of makeup were different in different social class4. As the
history says the ancient Egypt had class divisions in society, where the upper class of people
used more makeup and the lower class could afford less. Although there were not much variation
in cosmetics and styles but the usage varied according to skin type and color. The high-class
noble women used to use power and colors for making their skin fairer and paler5. It was because
pale skin defined nobility and less exposure into sun and darker skin was the sign of lower class.
As they did menial tasks under the sun therefore, were tanned.
Different makeup for male:
The history says that during the rule of Ramses III, the Egyptian men used massage oils
and greasy balm. The labors soothed their aching muscles with these oils. The noble men before
attending court, banquet and celebration used to adore their eyes with eye makeup6. The kings
like Tutankhamen were fashion icon of that time. The sarcophagus of this young pharaoh proves
that he used kohl liner extending beyond the eyelids. Later the black kohl was replaced by green.
The green eye shadow on the upper leaf was used to highlight and give definition.
4 Wilson, John A. The culture of ancient Egypt. University of Chicago Press, 2013.
5 Roberts, John Morris, and Odd Arne Westad. The history of the world. Oxford University
Press, USA, 2013.
6 Reich, Michael. Racial inequality: A political-economic analysis. Princeton University Press,
2017.

4ANCIENT EGYPT
Cosmetics used by the Pharaohs
("Cosmetics Used By Anciemt Egyptians - Google Search")
Usage of different makeup
Eye makeup:
The men and women did not only use eye makeup, but they adorned gods and goddesses
with similar cosmetics7. Ancient Egypt‘s eye cosmetics were extremely elaborate to create the
eye look like almonds8. Eye makeup had a long past in Ancient world and both everyone used
eye makeup since 4000BC. These were applied on eyebrows, eyelashes and eyelids9. The
favorite colors of eye makeup were green and black. The colored powders were mixed with
water to form the liner paste. They used galena; a blue-grey mineral obtained from lead sulfide
7 Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern texts relating to the Old Testament with supplement. Princeton
University Press, 2016
8 Oppenheim, A. Leo. Ancient Mesopotamia: portrait of a dead civilization. University of
Chicago Press, 2013.
9 Paynter, Sarah, and Michael Tite. "The evolution of glazing technologies in the ancient Near
East and Egypt." The Social Context of Technological Change: Egypt and the Near East, 1650-
1150 BC (2016).

5ANCIENT EGYPT
and mixed it with soot to form kohl. The green colored eyeliner came from malachite, a copper
ore that they imported from Sinai desert. The use of eye makeup had various positive impacts on
their health and hygiene10. They used the green eye makeup to induce the sun God Horus. Unlike
Indians, the Egyptian mothers used to apply black kohl to their newborn infant’s eyes, as they
believed that this application would prevent them from evil eyes and strengthen their eyesight.
Egyptian face makeup:
Egyptians used rouge to color their cheeks and lips. They preferred red color and the
color was formed by the use of red ochre. This red ochre was a pigment made of hydrated iron
oxide. The process of making rouge needed chemical mastery11. It was first mined then washed
to extract the ochre from sand. It was dried under the sunrays or burnt to enhance the natural
pigment.
Special make ups
("Cosmetics Used By Anciemt Egyptians - Google Search")
Nail and hair care:
10 McManus, Paulette M., ed. Archaeological displays and the public: museology and interpretation. Routledge,
2016
11 Montserrat, Dominic. Akhenaten: history, fantasy and ancient Egypt. Routledge, 2014

6ANCIENT EGYPT
The Egyptians used henna to color their nails as well as hair. The condition and health of
hair and nails used to indicate the social status. The Henna leaves were used to make their hair
healthy and give nourishment. Henna also provided the color to the nails and hair. Henna dye
was made from the leaves and stems of henna plants, which he imported from tropical regions of
Africa. They dried, grounded and sifted the leaves and mixed it with water to make the henna
paste. Not only beautification but also henna was used for its cooling effect12.
12 McClellan III, James E., and Harold Dorn. Science and technology in world history: an introduction. JHU Press,
2015

7ANCIENT EGYPT
Hair care accessories
Source: Cosmetics Used By Anciemt Egyptians - Google Search
Oils and perfumes:

8ANCIENT EGYPT
Egyptian perfumes and oils were renowned all over the world and were exported in the
other contemporary civilizations. They used numerous oils and perfumes obtained from plants,
flower even seeds. They used to make creams from animal and vegetable fats and blended the
perfumes with those creams13. Balanos was a form of castor oil that they used for skincare.
Beside these, myrrh, cardamom and frankincense were mixed with the fragrances14. Pliny
referred to a kind of perfume that lasted for eight years. They process of making fragrances were
not very simple. They collected blossoms and roots of iris, lilies bitter almonds and roses and
soaked them in oil. They even cooked sometimes to extract the fragrance and mixed the oil to
form the liquid perfumes. In making fragranced creams, they used fats and wax. Some of the
perfumes had more than a dozen ingredients. The use of wigs was also found in ancient Egyptian
society15. There the people used to carry little cones containing solid perfumes hidden under the
hair. They also wore lotus flowers on their hairs because using of perfumed cones was a little
difficult to carry.
Pleasant odors were largely associated with the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses16. They
adored their Gods with various kinds of fragrances as they believed that it would give them
pleasure and satisfaction. The kings and queens were responsible in this matter. The odors of the
Gods are made from fragrant woods, myrrh and frankincense. It is not surprising that these were
the best ingredients and most expensive as well. They were imported from Punt, Africa and Asia.
13 MacDonald, Sally, and Michael Rice, eds. Consuming Ancient Egypt. Routledge, 2016.
14 Killen, Geoffrey. Ancient Egyptian Furniture. Vol. 2. 2017
15 Jayawardena, Kumari. Feminism and nationalism in the Third World. Verso Books, 2016.
16 Zhuo, Xiaolin, Barry Wellman, and Justine Yu. "Egypt: the first Internet revolt?." Boletim do
Tempo Presente 02 (2015).

9ANCIENT EGYPT
Except gods, some rich like royal family could afford this kind of perfumes17.
Soaps and washing ingredients:
For making soaps, the Egyptians used swabu. It was a paste containing scented ash and
clay and could be turned into lather. They also mixed animal and vegetable fats with alkalized
salts. The papyrus of Ebers Medical describes this kind of soaps. The soaps were usually used to
treat skin problems and diseases as well as for washing or cleaning body.
As the Egyptians usually walked barefoot, their feet went dusty18. Their floor and the
roads outside had no difference as both were made of earth. Therefore, for the labor class it did
not matter much. The upper class people used footbaths made of wood and clay probably both at
the same time. In ancient Egypt, the presence of bathrooms and bathtubs can be seen in the
better-off person’s houses. They used stoves in bathrooms to heat water for cleaning and
washing feet19.
17 Jaspers, Karl. The Origin and Goal of History (Routledge Revivals). Routledge, 2014.
18 Goldschmidt Jr, Arthur, and Aomar Boum. A concise history of the Middle East. Hachette UK,
2015.
19 Green, Roger Lancelyn. Tales of ancient Egypt. Penguin, 2016.

10ANCIENT EGYPT
Mouthwash:
Not only the numerous fragrances used to prevent body and hair odor but the ancient
Egyptians also used the solution of natron called ‘bed’ for mouthwash20. The ancient Egyptians
chewed herbs and root sticks in order to improve breath. If soap or perfumes fail to get rid of
such odor, they used to visit and seek the advice from the physicians21.
Hair:
The ancient Egyptians used fashionable wigs. The men kept their hair short and the
women used to curl and plaited their long hair. The higher-class people used wigs more often
and dyed with henna. The priests did not use wigs and shaved their hair off. The children wore
the ‘lock of youth’. For being the habitat of head lice, they often shoved off their hair. They used
to put oil to prevent lice and diseases transmitted by the lice. The priests used to shave off all the
body hair to get rid of this kind of nuisance. The ancient Egyptians also used setting lotions by
mixing resin and bee wax. It also helped in preventing grey hair and balding22.
20 Gardiner, Alan H. The attitude of the ancient Egyptians to death and the dead. Cambridge
University Press, 2014.
21 Freud, Sigmund. Moses and monotheism. Leonardo Paolo Lovari, 2016.
22 Freeman, Charles. Egypt, Greece, and Rome: civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean.
Oxford University Press, 2014.

11ANCIENT EGYPT
Cosmetics used by the women
("Cosmetics Used By Anciemt Egyptians - Google Search")
Nails:
The manicurists of the royal palace used to look after the fingernails of the courtiers and
the royal family. They were all under supervision of the palace’s head manicurists. These
manicurists had very prestigious position in the court because they hold the responsibilities to
groom the body the kings and queens. They were assisted by the beauticians in this work and
enjoyed the power and pride23.
23 Forster, Edward Morgan. Alexandria: A History and Guide. Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2014.