Beauty Culture is the art of improving the physical appearance. The practice of painting the face, of dressing the hair, and of using lotions and perfumes to enhance natural beauty dates back to ancient times. Unguent jars, still fragrant with musk, were found in the 4,000-year old tomb of King Tutankhamen. Cosmetics, oils for the skin, perfumes, and aromatic baths were known to the Egyptians. Henna, which is still used as a hair dye and by the Arabs for painting the hands, was used in the time of Cleopatra to colour the finger and toe nails.
The Greeks used perfumes, many of which were imported from Egypt, and also experimented with hair dyes and bleaches. They introduced cosmetics into the Roman Empire, and by the time of Nero it was common for Romans of both sexes to use perfumes, and to indulge in luxurious baths. Kohl (still used by the Arabs) was used for painting the eyes, pumice powder for whitening the teeth, and fucus as a rouge for the lips and cheeks.
Cosmetics were first used in Britain at the time of the Roman occupation, but they were uncommon until many centuries later. During the 11th and 12th centuries the Crusaders brought all kinds of perfumes and cosmetics from the east. In Elizabethan times powders, rouges, and eyecosmetics were popular; ladies-in-waiting took milk baths; Mary, Queen of Scots, bathed in wine. These practices were suppressed during the Commonwealth, but were revived under Charles II.
Small-pox scars and the ravages of other diseases were concealed by means of heavy make-up. Herbal lotions and packs were later sold to improve the complexion, but it was not until the 20th century that make-up became generally accepted by women of all classes.
The manufacture of cosmetics has now developed into a major industry, and many women pay regular visits to beauty salons, not only for treatment for their hair (the first permanent 'wave', created in 1905 by Charles Nessler, was a painful nine hour operation), but for massage, skin conditioning, facial treatment and manicure. Since the Second World War toilet preparations for men have become increasingly popular, and modern fashions with their revealing lines and emphasis on active leisure clothes have dictated greater attention to the body as well as the face for both sexes. Salons specialising not merely in getting rid of excess fat, but in developing perfect proportions and fitness by exercises and other means, have multiplied to become common place in the west today. Research Beauty Culture
Manicure is the cosmetic treatment and care of the hands and fingernails. It involves shaping the nails, removing cuticles and generally beautifying the hands. Research Manicure
Abbreviations
Research Beauty Culture
