Cosmetics and Cleopatra

Cosmetic Chemistry Dates Back to Cleopatra

I'm cross-posting here from my Cosmetic Chemistry Blog on Medium to provide a historical perspective about cosmetics and the chemicals they contain.

Cosmetics have existed since ancient times as a means to adorn and decorate the human face and nourish and enhance human skin and hair.

Alfred Lucas, a noted chemist who was also an archeologist and Egyptologist, studied the chemical composition of make-up in ancient Egypt.

Lucas determined that most eye-paint was made of two materials found in Egypt: malachite and galena. Malachite is green ore of copper, and galena is a dark-grey ore of lead.

Malachite is found in Sinai and the eastern desert, and galena is found near Aswan and on the Red Sea coast. In its prepared state, the make-up made from these is known as “kohl,” which is a term still used today for dark eye-liners.

In terms of “face-paint,” the ancient Egyptians used a red powder for rouge or blush. This was made from a naturally occurring red oxide of iron that is called haematite, or red ochre.

Check out Lucas article and the story behind my Medium blog here, and let me know what you think about ancient make-up practices. I's fascinating that kohl eyeliner goes so far back!