As early as in ancient times, Egyptians are known to have given importance to various beautifying practices and cosmetic treatments. Taking special care of skin and hair, they made use of a wide range of natural ingredients and materials, both for practical and health purpose, and because they saw aesthetic value in them. Certain beauty regimens served ritualistic functions or even had symbolic meanings attached to them. Cleopatra herself apparently used to take milk and honey baths for natural exfoliation or applied Aloe Vera as an everyday essential. Other such beauty tricks and secrets – albeit mostly used by wealthier Egyptians at the time – included sea salt baths and scrubs for removing dead skin, or using various natural oils such as castor, sesame, almond and moringa oil to remove wrinkles and tighten skin, essentially with the aim of preserving youth. The same would go for hair treatment, whereby mixtures of oil and honey served as natural conditioners and would tame any unwanted frizz; or so-called ‘sugaring’ – a natural hair removal method popular up until today – was done with a natural sugar and lemon juice paste. While many…
