In the celtic times they used to paint there faces when they went into battle. The paint they used was blue and they made it with extracts from the Isatis tinctoria plant (also known as woad) although the woad plant is acually yellow it gives off a very dark blue dye and also quite a strong smell,so strong that in medieval times woaders were send to work outside the town because of the smell.
The native indians used charcoal and ocher (a redish clay) ,bird excrement, plants, fruits mixed with animal fat and hot water to make their war paints. Branches and animal bones were used as brushes, they painted shapes such as stripes, triangles, circle and dots on their bodys. Usually a tribe would have a "trade mark painting of colour or design".
Tatooing is another form of body art ,tatoo derived from the polynesian word "tatu" which means to mark something. In many cultures tatoos symbolise something, either Gods they worshiped or religious journeys, decoration. In the pazyryk culture the tatoos symbolised your social status, but for example in India tatoos on the arms and legs showed strength. Tatoos were a part of many other cultures such as the Celts, Greeks and the New Zealands.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Cosmetics in ancient Egypt
The egyptians where the first civilisation known to first use make up. They used alot of make up on the eyes, but what did they use as make up?
Well, for a blue colour on the eye lids they used a paste made from azurite (hydrate copper carbonate). Azurite is a mineral popularly used in dying fabrics. It is a fairly soft mineral and is also used for decoration and jewlery. The name azurite is derived from the greek word kuanos meaning deep blue.
Not only did the men and women wear it but also the statues of their Gods, the make up did help protect them from sun damage and the higher the status of the person, the more make up, jewlery and clothing they wore.
Egyptians used Kohl for a black colour, the kohl came from Galena, a natural mineral form of lead sufide. Galena is a grey/blue colour.
The Kohl wasnt just used for fashion but also to reflect the suns rays from the eye area and to repel flys which carried many diseases.
Green which was also a popular colour used usually on the eyes came from a stone called Malachite. The stone was crushed and mixed to form a green paste. Malachite was mined in the eastern deserts of egypt and also the sinai desert which is between the mediterranian sea and the Red sea, acting as a land bridge between south west Asia and Africa.
For a red colour used on their lips and cheeks they used red ochre which was made from naturally tinted clay. The clay was mined and then washed to separate the sand from the ochre, it was then dried in the sun and sometimes burned to enhance the colour.
Egyptians used henna to dye their hair and nails, the condition and colour of the nails was and indication of their status. Henna comes from the leaves and roots of the henna tree. It is a native plant to tropical and subtropical places including Africa, south Asia and Australia.
The Egyptians dried and ground the leaves and roots and mixed with water to form a paste and applied it to their hair and nails.
Egyptians not only liked to look good but also to smell good too! They made perfumes and creams made of animal fats and caster oil. They used cinnamon and frankensense to scent their perfumes and creams. They also made soap from vegetable oils and alkaline salts.
Well, for a blue colour on the eye lids they used a paste made from azurite (hydrate copper carbonate). Azurite is a mineral popularly used in dying fabrics. It is a fairly soft mineral and is also used for decoration and jewlery. The name azurite is derived from the greek word kuanos meaning deep blue.
Not only did the men and women wear it but also the statues of their Gods, the make up did help protect them from sun damage and the higher the status of the person, the more make up, jewlery and clothing they wore.
Egyptians used Kohl for a black colour, the kohl came from Galena, a natural mineral form of lead sufide. Galena is a grey/blue colour.
The Kohl wasnt just used for fashion but also to reflect the suns rays from the eye area and to repel flys which carried many diseases.
Green which was also a popular colour used usually on the eyes came from a stone called Malachite. The stone was crushed and mixed to form a green paste. Malachite was mined in the eastern deserts of egypt and also the sinai desert which is between the mediterranian sea and the Red sea, acting as a land bridge between south west Asia and Africa.
For a red colour used on their lips and cheeks they used red ochre which was made from naturally tinted clay. The clay was mined and then washed to separate the sand from the ochre, it was then dried in the sun and sometimes burned to enhance the colour.
Egyptians used henna to dye their hair and nails, the condition and colour of the nails was and indication of their status. Henna comes from the leaves and roots of the henna tree. It is a native plant to tropical and subtropical places including Africa, south Asia and Australia.
The Egyptians dried and ground the leaves and roots and mixed with water to form a paste and applied it to their hair and nails.
Egyptians not only liked to look good but also to smell good too! They made perfumes and creams made of animal fats and caster oil. They used cinnamon and frankensense to scent their perfumes and creams. They also made soap from vegetable oils and alkaline salts.
Soap
The first making of soap was known to date back as far as 2800BC. They were made by boiling fats and ashes and then let to set to make a bar of soap also used as hair styling aids. The egyptians used vegetable oils and alkaline salts as soap used for washing them selves and treating skin diseases.
The early greeks used blocks of clay, pumice, sand, salt and ashes and smothered themselves in oil, they used a metal instrument called a stragil to scrape off the oil and dirt resedue.
According to an ancient roman legend, soap got its name from mount sapo where many animals where sacrificed. The rain mixed with animal fat and wood ashes down into clay soil and the women found this cleaned with much less effort.
After the fall of the Roman empire in 467AD cleanliness declined and contributed greatly to the plagues and diseases in the midle ages, bathing and the use of soap started to come back into fashion.
In the 17th century soap making was considered a trade and fragrence was added. More varietys became available and there where soaps with different purposes such as shampoo soap or laundry soap.
France, Italy and Spain became large producers of soap as they had all the needed resources such as olive oil from the olive trees. The high tax on soap was removed and ordinary and poor people could afford it, the standards of cleanliness improved.
Soap continued to improved firstly with the introduction of soda ash (sodium carbonate) and then the ammonia process.
Nowadays soaps are made differently depending on its use, dishwasher powders are made with salts, chemicals and minerals where as soap bars used for cleaning the body are made sodium hydroxide, oil and glycerin.
The early greeks used blocks of clay, pumice, sand, salt and ashes and smothered themselves in oil, they used a metal instrument called a stragil to scrape off the oil and dirt resedue.
According to an ancient roman legend, soap got its name from mount sapo where many animals where sacrificed. The rain mixed with animal fat and wood ashes down into clay soil and the women found this cleaned with much less effort.
After the fall of the Roman empire in 467AD cleanliness declined and contributed greatly to the plagues and diseases in the midle ages, bathing and the use of soap started to come back into fashion.
In the 17th century soap making was considered a trade and fragrence was added. More varietys became available and there where soaps with different purposes such as shampoo soap or laundry soap.
France, Italy and Spain became large producers of soap as they had all the needed resources such as olive oil from the olive trees. The high tax on soap was removed and ordinary and poor people could afford it, the standards of cleanliness improved.
Soap continued to improved firstly with the introduction of soda ash (sodium carbonate) and then the ammonia process.
Nowadays soaps are made differently depending on its use, dishwasher powders are made with salts, chemicals and minerals where as soap bars used for cleaning the body are made sodium hydroxide, oil and glycerin.
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