ILLUSTRATES Adriel Contieri
Depending on the season, the breath was disguised with flowers, bizarre powders and even pee. An Egyptian manuscript from the 4th century BC records the use of a paste made from a mixture of iris flowers, mint leaves, pepper and salt. In ancient Greece, in the same period, the physician Diocles of Caristo recommended the use of pulverized mint. The Romans, in turn, “took risks” with a powder produced from the ashes of the bones and teeth of animals, herbs and sand. In the Middle Ages, in addition to the applications of aromatic herb pastes, such as sage, it was common to rinse the mouth with urine to “eliminate” bad breath. The first modern cream formula was invented by English chemists in the 18th century. The recipe included salt, charcoal (!), porcelain powder (!!) and brick powder (!!!).
See below for ancestors of other toiletries.
Toothbrush
The Assyrians managed with their own fingers. Other peoples used branches, leaves and even feathers. The oldest artifact found for this purpose was a branch of a plant with frayed fibers at the end, which was found in an Egyptian tomb from 3000 BC The first bristle brush appeared in 1498, in China, with pig hair. But they molded. The problem was only solved in 1938, with the creation of the brush with nylon bristles.
Shampoo
For centuries, hair was cleaned with whatever soap was used. But there were exceptions. In ancient India, the most common practice was to boil dry amla (a typical fruit of the region) and fruits of trees of the genus Sapindus (with saponific properties). In medieval Europe, the trick was to boil soap shavings with herbs. The liquid formula closest to the current one was created by the German chemist Hans Schwarzkopf in 1927
Soap
The Egyptians bathed in a mixture of alkaline salts and animal and vegetable oils. But in most other civilizations, the recipe used vegetable ash and some fat. For the Phoenicians, goat lard. For the Chinese, pork pancreas. The solid bar only emerged with the discovery of the saponification process, by the Arabs, in the 7th century. The Spaniards slapped the technique by adding olive oil to the recipe.
Deodorant
Among many peoples, the bath itself was used to combat the bad smell of armpits. The Romans innovated by creating a scented pad to stay under the armpit. Contemporary deodorant appeared in 1888 in the USA. It was a wax made with zinc oxide, but it had low antimicrobial action. The first antiperspirant deodorant appeared only in 1903, also in the USA. It was an aqueous solution of aluminum chloride
Shaver
The beginning of the Neolithic Period was marked by the technique of polishing stones and transforming them into instruments. In other words: since 10,000 BC, man was already able to shave his hair! With the manipulation of metal in the Copper Age, in 6000 BC, razors appeared, used by Egyptians, Mesopotamians and Chinese. What varied was the “shaving cream” – from olive oil to whale oil. The disposable razor was invented in 1895 by the American King Camp Gillette
Tampons
According to the US Museum of Menstruation and Women’s Health History, women have tried it all. In Rome they used pads of wool; in Greece, wooden slats with patches; in African tribes, rolls of grass; in Indonesia, vegetable fibers; and, in Egypt, papyrus bugles. And they were all intravaginal! In the Middle Ages, Europeans became accustomed to reusable washcloths. The disposable, which would lead to the pad, only became popular after the 2nd World War
Toilet paper
At times of need, man resorted to almost everything: animal skins, grass, coconut leaves, corn cobs, lettuce, sand, fruit peels, snow… The Greeks used sponges tied to sticks, washed in salt water. The first to use a type of paper were the Chinese nobles, in 1391. French royalty even used silk cloth, while commoners made do with sheep’s wool. The industrialized product appeared in 1857, in the hands of the American Joseph Gayetti
READER QUESTION Rafael Nascimento da Silva, Mamanguape, PB
SOURCES Books Clean: A History of Personal Hygiene and Purityby Virginia Smith, Getting Clean: The Bath from Ancient Rome to Todayby Katherine Ashenburg The Clean and the Dirty: A History of Body Hygiene, by Georges Vigarello; STUDENT GUIDE websites, Adventures in History, The Curious Guide It is world history