The civilization of beauty. In Ancient Greece it was a duty to look impeccable at all times. The right hairstyle, an athletic figure, and neat makeup that would accentuate the person’s best features. Being emphatic in the worship of perfection and harmony, The Greeks considered that the physical appearance spoke a lot about each individual, therefore, the various aesthetic rituals that were customary in their time are recognized.
As for makeup, it is recognized that the Greeks had great influence from the Egyptians, developing the use of cosmetics and natural dyes beyond the religious aspect. In fact, sages like Hippocrates, focused their scientific studies on the cosmetic benefit of certain preparations. They waxed, curled their hair, changed its color, and very importantly, outlined on a whitish face, the best aspects of his physiognomybased on developed make-up techniques.
For evenly whitened skin, the women of Ancient Greece, adapted cumin to their dietbeing the external complement, apply a combination of waxes with lead carbonate on the complexion. They also had artisans dedicated to the manufacture of thin rods of charcoal or wood ashwith the objective of outline the contour of the eyes, while, saffron was used to frame the face, being very rigorous in terms of the natural birth of the eyebrows.
about color, from the Egyptians they learned the manufacture of the ‘Khol’, which turned out to be a paste to give life to the lips, cheeks, and even, it was used as nail polish. In addition to its aesthetic use, the ‘Khol’, also had a version in black, blue and graysince in this way served as sunscreen, and to prevent eye diseases.
In addition to showing off an incomparable face, Greek women paid special attention to hair care. According to class, or marital status, females they could wear it short, or long, in case they were slaves or not; while single women could wear loose hair, those who had married went to pick it upto show off beautiful jewelry instead.
As for the color, blonde was the ideal shade to fit the cult profile during Ancient Greeceso they devised the dyeing technique based on pollen, flour and gold dust to clarify it, since most of itThe Greeks were naturally dark-haired.
The trade of different materials was just as popular in Ancient Greece. Known as the merchants of beauty, these vendors had creams, perfumes, oils, and other cosmeticsreaching the point that this branch was considered as an important financial benefit for the Greek civilization, becoming support through export and sale to other places in Europe and the West, especially during the seventh and eighth centuries before Christ.