Historical beauty tricks that actually work

Olive Oil

Nowadays we’re used to adverts and beauty bloggers telling us we should be using more and more products on our skin and hair, all of which seem to do the same thing, and most of which are expensive. The ancient Greeks, however, had a different idea: olive oil. Applied to hair and left for a few hours it can act as a conditioner, and massaged into skin it can have many benefits too.

Why does it work?

Olive oil can be beneficial for skin for several reasons, the first of which is that it contains important vitamins, such as Vitamin K and Vitamin E. Vitamin E has antioxidant functions, and is soluble in fat, meaning that it can be absorbed into skin cells and prevent them from oxidative damage. Vitamin K, when ingested in foods such as kale and spinach, can help to prevent wrinkles, but it has been shown that applications of Vitamin K to skin areas can prevent acne, and reduce acne scarring.

Another reason why olive oil can be good for the skin is that is has antibacterial properties. Researchers have found that certain chemical groups (called phenolic compounds) are in abundance in olive oil, and these compounds can have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. These effects could be useful in preventing or treating spots.

Third, olive oil has emollient properties. Emollients are a chemical group (for example, oleic acid, which can be used as an emollient, is found in olive oil) which help to treat skin damage, and also promote moisture retention. These properties make it a good conditioning treatment for hair as well, as emollients are absorbed into the hair fibres, making it smoother and softer. According to some sources, it can even promote hair growth by reducing the sebum that builds up around hair follicles.

How to use it:

There are lots of different ways to apply olive oil as a beauty treatment, so here is my method:

1      Put about a tablespoon (or more/less depending on how long/thick your hair is) of extra virgin olive oil into a small container (I used a plastic shot glass, so something similar to that will do).

2     Boil some water, then pour about a centimetre depth into a larger container (e.g. a standard mug).

3   Stand the oil container in the hot water, and leave for a couple of minutes. It will heat up quickly.

4   Take the oil out carefully, and massage it into your hair (it will be warm, but not hot enough to burn or be uncomfortable).

5   Leave the oil on your hair for at least half an hour. The Greeks did this for several hours, but if you’re too busy for that, an hour is fine.

6   (This is where sources start to differ on what to do) At this point, you can either wash out the oil with shampoo and conditioner as you normally would, or just use water. I tried it just with water, and my hair was very greasy afterwards, but a lot of sources recommend not using shampoo, so I found a middle ground. I use shampoo on my roots, but not the lengths of my hair, as the lengths are where my hair tends to become dry. Then, I condition all of it, and rinse as usual.

You can decide whether to blow-dry or let your hair dry naturally, but either way, doing this makes my hair much softer (especially at the ends) than the usual shampoo/conditioner routine.

Skin-wise, I was a little nervous about using olive oil as my skin tends to be oily rather than dry, especially on my nose and chin, so I decided to add another ingredient: tea tree oil. This is a natural antiseptic, and is useful in treating spots and acne, but it can dry skin out, so I assumed that the olive oil would counteract this. Using another plastic shot glass, I mix about half a teaspoon of olive oil with 2-4 drops of tea tree oil – this doesn’t sound like a lot, but you really don’t need much to cover your face. Massage this into your face (and neck, if you like), and leave for about half an hour, then wash/moisturise as normal. Without wishing to sound like a clickbait article, this really will make your skin feel much softer and cleaner (Dermatologists are mystified by this student’s secret to perfect skin – you’ll never guess what!).

This all goes to show that, even though historical beauticians didn’t always get it right (I mean, lead makeup was never going to end well, was it?), sometimes they hit on really good ideas which we can still use today.   

Some more reading about olive oil:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/87040-benefits-olive-oil-hair/

http://blog.perriconemd.com/what-are-emollients/

https://www.healthambition.com/vitamin-k-benefits-best-sources/

http://www.oliveoilsource.com/page/beauty-and-olive-oil

http://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-health-news/olive-oil-and-infection/51057

Colourful Clothing- The Use of Green

This is set to be my final post on the use of colour in clothing, though as I have enjoyed the research for these posts so much- I suspect it won’t be long before I revisit the topic. This week, I am looking at green- a colour I found surprisingly difficult to research, as unlike white and purple, very few people have expressly studied green clothing.

Problems researching green clothing start in Antiquity. The Egyptians associated the colour with fertility, possibly as it was the colour of plants growing alongside the Nile, and some goddesses are depicted wearing green. Nevertheless, it was certainly less popular, and less symbolic, than white or blue. There is also a distinct lack of green clothing in Ancient Greek writings,  namely because the Ancient Greeks did not have a word that clearly translates as green, often associating the colour with shades of blue, black or yellow. This trend continues into Ancient Rome. White and Red were the official colours worn by citizens, though it is worn noting that the Latins at least had a word which referred to the colour! When we do hear about green clothes in Rome, it tends to be a negative context. Green dyes often came to Rome from the East, and was therefore associated with extravagance. The infamous Emperor Nero is recorded as wearing green too often, and in Natural History Pliny the Elder is critical of those who wear the colour.

Late Egyptian Wall Art Depicting a Goddess in Green

Despite the negative connotations of green in the Roman Empire, the colour became quite popular in the early medieval era. Green dyes, along with grey and brown ones, were often cheap, and it was a colour generally worn by the lower classes. Nevertheless, jewel bright greens do appear in Late Antique and medieval art representing the wealthy. At Ravenna, a medieval mosaic depicts one of the three Magi visiting Christ in a green cloak. Perhaps the most important innovation in green clothing in this era was the ruling of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) regarding clerical clothing. Pope Innocent followed a theory of colour initially promoted by Aristotle, where green was a ‘middle-colour’ between dark and light. Therefore, it was adopted as a ‘middle—colour’ of priest’s robes, the first time green was ever officially included in a cleric’s wardrobe. Pope Innocent said it should be worn for any festival where the more traditional colours of red and white were not already being used. Therefore green robes became one of the more common types of religious Garment in the late medieval period.

The Three Magi at Ravenna, one of whom wears a Green Cloak

It is also possible to trace green in renaissance clothing. At the end of the 15^th Century, Isabella and Beatrice D’Este, two aristocratic sisters in Italy, dressed their maids in green for May celebrations. The colour was still worn by all social classes. One Noblemen from 1480 is recorded as offering his maids one green, and one brown dress as part of their dowries. Perhaps an even stronger testament to equality of the colours use, is that while purple and gold are both listed in the Elizabethan sumptuary laws, green is not, indicating that it could be worn by any social class.

There is also plenty of evidence for the use of green in Clothing in the 18^th and 19^th Centuries. The V&A contains many examples of expensive male and female clothing in bright emerald green, or with a green print. Furthermore, the Ladies Home Magazine from 1857 lists several different examples of Green bonnets, ribbons and other forms of clothing. However, again green was worn by people regardless of social class. In 1867, the author James Greenwood described the colourful hats worn by labourers on the railways, and perhaps unsurprisingly at this point, green was one of them.

Male and Female Clothing from the V&A, both of which Feature Green!

Green is certainly not my favourite colour, so I was unsure what to expect when I started researching it, or if I would even find it that interesting. As I said at the start of this post- I found it difficult to research. The colour has been used so often, and is so common, few people write about it. However, I think this is what I find interesting about green. Unlike other colours, it’s simple and ‘middling’ nature, means it has been worn by almost everyone for the last 1500 years.

-Rachael

Pastoureau, M. 2014. Green: The History of a Colour

Condra, J. 2008. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through World History, Vol. 2

Perrot, P. 1994. Fashioning the Bourgeoisie: A History of Clothing in the 19^th Century

Gage, J. 1999. Colour and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction

Ladies Home Magazine. 1857. Vol 10.

Richmond, V. 2013. Clothing the Poor in 19^th Century England.