When Your Beauty Routine is Nuts

The Ancient World 

The idea of beauty and fashion has been very changeable throughout time and different cultures. The ancient Egyptians were fond of perfume, but for them, this meant mixing fragrant leaves and oils with animal fat and dumping this mixture on-top of the head. The fat would then melt and run down over the hair, face and body and release a perfumed aroma.

In ancient Rome, bird poo was a common treatment for acne, and due to the high nitrogen content, may well have been effective.

European Royalty

Past royal figures of Europe did not favour bathing. In fact, Henri IV of France believed bathing to be downright dangerous. He probably only had about 5 baths in his whole life!

Body Modifications

Lip plating goes back to about 8700 BC; however, it has occurred in various cultures over time. And what about the Kayan people of Northern Thailand who regard elongated necks as a sign of beauty? To achieve this look they wear brass coils around their necks from about the age of five. An interesting fashion!

Artificial cranial deformation is a very old practice which predates written history and it still occurs in Vanuatu. It involves elongating the head, usually a very young child, often by using two pieces of wood and a binding cloth.

Foot Binding

Bound feet used to be considered highly attractive in China. The tortuous process required the breaking of toes, the arch of the foot, and the wrapping of the toes under the feet. Supposedly, this was sexually enticing to men.

'Lilly feet'

Books To Read


The Boy Who Climbed Into the Moon, by David Almond, about a boy who climbs a ladder to the Moon and goes inside.