Professional cosmetics – history and modernity

The history of cosmetics is as old as 5,000 years, according to archaeologists. However, it can be presumed to be much longer, probably going back to the dawn of time. But when did cosmetics become professional cosmetics? A specific date is unlikely to exist, but it is possible to trace the various trends emerging in professional cosmetics at the end of the 19th century. 

 

Beginnings of beauty care in Ancient Egypt

However, let’s go back to the cosmetic primordial origins. Well, cosmetics were already very popular in Ancient Egypt. Milk baths, masks made of honey, egg yolks, diatomaceous earth and herbs were the order of the day there. Make-up was done very carefully, every day, exactly as we do it today. Coal-black galenite was used for eyebrows and eyelashes, cinnabar pastes for lips and cheeks. The skin of the face was covered with gold paint or lead white, depending on the current fashion and beauty. Henna and indigo were used to dye hair, also depending on trends. Mixtures of wax, oil and cypress were used to smooth out wrinkles. Archaeologists have collected a wealth of artefacts testifying to the popularity of cosmetics in antiquity, both material art – bas-reliefs depicting scenes of hair and face beautification, as well as objects related to beauty care – combs, containers for cosmetics and shadow, and even razors.

 

The cult of the body in ancient Greece and Rome

Greeks by contrast focused mainly on achieving beautiful, harmonious figures immortalised in majestic statues. Greek women took care of their beauty in a similar way to Egyptian women, also having slaves trained for this purpose. In Rome a highly developed bathing culture was cultivated. Everyone went to the Roman baths, regardless of gender or social status. Wealthier ladies ordered baths in milk – donkey’s or goat’s milk, and scented oils were used for body care, which can be considered the forerunners of aromatherapy. In Rome, it was fashionable to have fair hair, so various methods were tried to emulate the beauty of Germans – chamomile hair rinses, rubbing in powdered herbs, hen yolks. Many beauty props also date from the Roman period, including the first ladies’ dressing table with mirror known to history.

 

Medieval cosmetic rituals

The Medieval period was a retreat from cosmetics and body care, and even facial care. Water was considered the chief enemy of a healthy body, or rather mainly of the spirit. Herbalism, used at the time primarily for herbal medicine, was taken up. Cultivation of various herbs on a relatively large scale was also frequently practised, but with the aim of being used for meals, as the Middle Ages was the kingdom of the palate and more often than not food was eaten than outdoor exercise was practised.

 

Beauty tricks in Europe, Africa and Asia

Later cosmetic practices in Europe are far from resembling the sublime beauty treatments of antiquity, but rather a dubious class of barbarism.English ladies of the 16th century used to poultice their faces with raw beef for a flawless complexion, German beauties used horse manure for this purpose. At the same time, Arab and Jewish women were refining their knowledge, away from the superstitions of European women. Arab precursor chemists developed a method of distillation by which they produced perfumed oils and alcohol-based concoctions, making them famous as the first perfume specialists. The Arabs also created a medical textbook that carefully separated beauty and medical treatments. The Baroque and Enlightenment eras did not bring mankind new ways of taking care of hygiene, the focus was on coloured make-up, mainly highly visible blushes and lipsticks, tacked-on freckles and whitened wigs. It was also in fashion at the time to bleach the skin of the face, in the fashion of Japanese geisha. Such a beauty pattern applied to both women and (horror of horrors!) men.

 

The 19th century with ready-made cosmetics

In the 19th century ready-to-use, relatively stable concoctions began to appear for sale, distributed mainly by itinerant traders and colonial shops. Then the first department stores opened in Paris and London, which initially had few professional cosmetics to offer. In time, refined ladies, encouraged by the new trends, themselves required the department stores to introduce products suitable for their refined toilets. However, professional cosmetics were still not. Healing baths and compresses returned to favour thanks to Father Sebastian Kneipp, who illuminated anew the positive effects of baths on the body.

 

Precursors of cosmetology

The precursors of professional beauty salons were two predatory businesswomen – Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, who opened their first professional salons in 1908 and 1910. At that time, the idea of comprehensive cosmetological care also emerged. The patient who went to the salon was simultaneously subjected to cosmetic treatments and diet, and also had gymnastics classes. In addition to professional cosmetics according to their own formulas, both ladies used cosmetic apparatus such as vibrating machines, steam capsules and rollers in their salons. Electro-therapy played a major role already in the inter-war period and was very widespread in Germany, France and England. In the field of professional cosmetics, cleansing products in the form of scrubs, emulsion masks, compresses, ointments and creams were already being used at that time. The 1970s saw the emergence of mesotherapy and the mass production of professional cosmetics.

 

Modern cosmetology

In the 1980s quartz and ultraviolet lamps were added to the range. Solariums became fashionable in the 1990s, along with spa capsules, and other specialised slimming and exercise equipment. Professional cosmetics have achieved in the last decade, more than in all previous periods.

Today professional cosmetics are mass-produced, according to standardised recipes, in accordance with the results of dermatological tests. Production is supervised by technologists, chemists and quality controllers. Cosmetics not only beautifies, but also increasingly supports treatment and is complementary to aesthetic medicine. Will cosmetics remain an independent field or will it become closely linked to medicine? We will probably only be able to answer the question of what the future of professional beauty care cosmetics will be like in the next decade.