The desire to look good is deeply ingrained in every human being, women and men alike. For centuries, both women and men have been wearing cosmetics made of different ingredients to create certain kind of looks they believed was befitting for their status. Makeup can be traced back to ancient Egypt where many Egyptian tombs contained makeup canisters. Some of the ingredients were dangerous and even lethal while some had beneficial factors. As civilization began to change, so did make-up, the cosmetics that were used way back then has been greatly refined and repackaged in almost every century.
Ancient Egypt
China
In ancient china, common people were executed if they were caught wearing nail polish in public (that was only the privilege of the rich), and in Japan, noble women were forbidden to walk in public without full body cosmetic treatment. Around 3000 BC Chinese people began to stain their fingernails with gum Arabic, gelatin, beeswax and egg. Different nail colors signified certain social status. Colors such as gold, silver, black and red were used by the high and noble. Rice powder was used in eastern parts of Asia to lighten their skin but this trend has long gone.
Japan
In ancient Japan, geisha wore lipstick made of crushed safflower to paint the eyebrow and edges of the eyes and lips. They also used rice powder but sometimes they would use bird droppings to compile a lighter color. How on earth could anyone put that on her face? Grose!
India
Make-up is an integral part of India culture. Henna, which was locally known as Mehndi is used for dyeing skin, hair, fingernails, leather, silk and wool. It was first introduced between the fourth and fifth centuries. It became very known for painting complex designs on hands and feet especially for Hindu and Muslim weddings. I have seen the art works done with the hands and feet painting and there are quite beautiful.
Rome
Kohl was not only used by Egyptian women, it was widely used by the romans to darken their eyelashes and eyelids. Chalk was used for whitening their complexion and rouge was worn on the cheek. Pale skin was the in thing in ancient Rome because they preferred to have their makeup look as natural as possible.
Greece
In ancient Greece, women with paled skin were seen as wealthy and prestigious but not all of them had this natural skin tone. For those that didn’t, they went to great length to create this look by smearing lead not just around their eyes, but all over their face neck and arms. Red iron oxide was used as rouge and lip coloring, as well as crushed mulberries. For their eyes, they used ground charcoal or soot mixed with olive oil. Olive oil and honey were used for facial masks and lotions to give their skin a natural, healthy glow.
The Dangers of Cosmetics
Of all the substances that were used for cosmetics in ancient times, the most dangerous was white lead and mercury. These did not only eventually ruin the skin but it also caused hair loss, stomach problems, paralysis, and could even cause death. Although these dangers became known, the majority of women continued to use these deadly substances. The incidents of failing health and death prompted members of the medical community and the press to warn people about the dangers of certain cosmetics. As the dangers of lead and mercury in cosmetics became more acute and deadly, different safety measures were put in place, such as the FDA’s 1977 requirement that U.S. cosmetic manufacturers list ingredients on the label.
Recent times
Over the last couple of decades, makeup or cosmetics (whichever one you would like to call it), has grown to become a multi-billion dollar industry with all forms of sophistication. Now, they are produced in compact cases that are so handy and easy to carry around. They are sold in almost every store and malls all around the world. You can walk into a store or mall and get lost in between choices of different shades of lipsticks and eye shadow. There is almost a makeup item in every single household, not just in the United States but all over the world. The industry has grown to the extent that many people have become successful entrepreneurs as makeup artist. Almost every woman who is planning to have her wedding would have a budget for makeup, not only for herself but her bridal train as well. Making up has become a daily routine or ritual for many women such that some can’t even step out of the house without putting on a lipstick or lip gloss. Although many people are now aware of the dangers of the deadly metals such as lead and mercury used as ingredients for makeup, they are not completely eliminated.
In 2008, the state of Minnesota placed an official ban on the use of mercury in mascara, eye liners and skin-lightening creams. Carl Herbrandson, a toxicologist with the Minnesota state health department stated that, “Using eye makeup with mercury is unlikely to cause immediate health problems, but mercury accumulates in the body, so consumers should avoid exposure whenever possible. Mercury can retard brain development in children and fetuses, who are most vulnerable to the metal's toxic effects. But it can also cause neurological symptoms in adults. Mercury fumes can collect inside a jar of skin cream or a tube of mascara, and a person could inhale them when the container is opened. However, skin products with mercury are more dangerous than mercury-containing eye makeup because people apply larger quantities to their bodies. Overall, mercury is bad in all forms that get into the body.”
One ingredient that is not usually listed on cosmetic products is Lead because the amounts are usually small. Nonetheless, the presence of lead in lipstick, which is ingested and absorbed through the skin, raises concerns. In 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics conducted a study that detected lead in 61% of the 33 lipsticks tested. The FDA in response said it doesn't consider the lead levels found in lipsticks to be a safety issue.
Urged on by both consumers and the cosmetics industry, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted its own testing in 2010 and their results were even more astonishing. The agency detected lead in all 400 lipsticks tested, four times higher than the levels observed in the study done by Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. They came to the conclusion that lipstick, as a product intended for topical use with limited absorption, is ingested only in very small quantities, so they did not consider the lead levels found in the lipsticks to be a safety concern." A single lipstick application may not necessarily cause any harm but when it is applied multiple times a day, the result is that it is ingested and absorbed through the lips in quantities that could be very harmful. Women who do not apply their lipsticks several times a day are still applying in the span of a lifetime, which means that exposure to these heavy metals adds up and can potentially affect their health.
The desire to look beautiful has cost many women their lives all through the centuries. There are also sad cases of women going through surgery just to achieve certain kinds of look but they lost their lives in the process. The word of God says “We are wonderfully and fearfully made and we are created in the image of God.” This is the truth; the word of God is the truth. I believe that our looks shouldn’t be defined by what we wear or the kind of makeup we use. I am not saying that women shouldn’t use makeup anymore; in fact, I do think that a little touch-up here and there is necessary but moderation is key. More importantly, avoidance of what is dangerous to our health should be one of the things that dictate what we use on our body because it is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
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