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History of Makeup
Makeup is not new for men. Makeup has been used throughout history for men to hide, identify their tribes and even worship. Men found makeup ideal for hunting, as it helped them blend into their surroundings. Hiding from human enemies worked better with makeup. Tribal identification involved specific markings on the face and body. Religious worship has often involved the use of makeup in order to dress for the worship service.
Encyclopedia.com explains the history of makeup as follows:
cosmeticspreparations externally applied to change or enhance the beauty of skin, hair, nails, lips, and eyes. The use of body paint for ornamental and religious purposes has been common among primitive peoples from prehistoric times (see body-marking ). Ointments, balms, powders, and hair dyes have also been used from ancient times. Many cosmetics originated in Asia, but their ingredients and use are first recorded in Egypt; ancient tombs have yielded cosmetic jars (called kohl pots) and applicators (called cosmetic spoons). The Egyptians used kohl to darken their eyes; a crude paint was used on the face, and fingers were often dyed with henna. Greek women used charcoal pencils and rouge sticks of alkanet and coated their faces with powder, which often contained dangerous lead compounds. Beauty aids reached a peak in imperial Rome—especially chalk for the face and a rouge called fucus—and ladies required the services of slaves adept in their use. Many cosmetics survived the Middle Ages, and Crusaders brought back rare Eastern oils and perfumes. In the Renaissance, cosmetics, usually white-lead powder and vermilion, were used extravagantly. From the 17th cent. recipes and books on the toilette abounded. Professional cosmetologists began to appear, and luxurious prescriptions often included a bath in wine or milk. Reaching its height in 1760, the use of cosmetics virtually disappeared with the advent of the French Revolution.
The year 1900 saw a revival of their use, accompanied by the manufacture of beauty aids on a scientific basis in France. Since then the industry has grown to tremendous proportions with products manufactured for every conceivable use. In the United States, cosmetics intended for interstate commerce are controlled under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. Spearheaded by companies founded by Helena Rubinstein, Elizabeth Arden, Estée Lauder, and other women and by their male counterparts, e.g., Charles Revson, the cosmetics business flourished throughout the later 20th cent. By the beginning of the 21st cent. the cosmetics industry was mostly run by large corporations and had become a multibillion dollar enterprise.
Bibliography: See L. Woodhead, War Paint (2004).
Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright (c) 2005.
Body-marking as used in the definition of cosmetics is also defined by Encyclopedia.com as follows.
body-markingpainting, tattooing, or scarification (cutting or burning) of the body for ritual, esthetic, medicinal, magic, or religious purposes. Evidence from prehistoric burials, rock carvings, and paintings indicates that body-marking existed in ancient times; ethnographic studies show that it is still practiced today. Markings may indicate religious dedication or alliance with a particular god; they may also serve as protection against some evil such as a disease, as identification with a certain group, such as the tribe, or as evidence of personal rank or status within the group. Among examples of the widespread custom of painting the body are the red ocher found in prehistoric burial sites, the blue woad of the ancient Britons, kohl used in Asia to enhance the beauty of the eyes, the use of henna on the fingernails in the Middle East, and the war paint of some Native Americans. The tattoo is an extension of the practice. Scarification was used in ancient times as a property mark for slaves and more recently in Europe and elsewhere, until the latter part of the 19th cent., for the identification of criminals. Besides being employed for magical or ritual purposes, scarification has also been used for its supposed curative powers. The forms used in Africa include stretched lips and earlobes, filed teeth, and flattened skulls.
Bibliography: See W. D. Hambly, The History of Tattooing and its Significance (1925); H. Field, Body-Marking in Southwestern Asia (1958); W. C. Handy, Forever the Land of Men (1965).
Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright (c) 2005.
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