Beauty Care Throughout History

http://www.skillsacademy.co.za/beauty-care-throughout-

history/

Beauty Care In The Neanderthal Era

Ladies of the Stone Age, believe it or not, also made an effort to be more attractive as proven by various scientific discoveries. • As far back as the beginning of time, it seemed to

be important for the fairer sex to take better care of themselves and attract the opposite sex. 

They used what they had available for example mud for makeup and feathers for adornments.

Egyptian Beauty Fit For A Pharaoh

Mysterious, ancient, strong minded and stunning, going as far back as the 1300’s BC no one can disagree that the mystery and intrigue represented by Egyptian women made them beautiful and makes us wonder how they naturally had the glowing skin and the hourglass figure that made them very desirable to the opposite sex.

What was considered as beautiful in this mystical era? • Dramatic eye makeup, eyeliner, jewelry, adornments and

of course a creative headdress.

Classical Roman Beauty The Roman Empire which started from 753 BC

to 27 BC brought the beautiful age of curves as voluptuousness was key. • Creatures of poetry, marvelous and natural women. • Makeup was scarce, skin was soft and cheeks were rosy.

In this era, women were always portrayed in art partially or fully nude and their form was greatly celebrated. • With flowing curls, soft pastel colored robes and

beautiful wreaths, an almost virginal look. • In this time child bearing hips and soft curves were

considered stunning.

Regal Renaissance Beauty From the 1300’s to the 1600’s the ladies of the

Renaissance with voluptuous figures, elegant looks and uncomfortable dresses represented all that was beautiful. • That which would be considered absolutely ridiculous to

the ladies of the 21st century was considered beautiful in this era.

Hair played an incredibly important part. • Buxom bosoms were the epitome of grace. • Voluptuousness was also considered ideal with a very pale

complexion, somewhat unnatural. • Blonde was the color of choice to make them look youthful.

Vivacious Victorian Beauty The era where it was painful to be beautiful, the

late 1700’s to 1800’s the Victorian age brought us incredibly tight dresses, extreme methods to obtain the perfect appearance and with quite a few similarities to the Renaissance era, ladies in the 18th century focused on padded shoulders, narrow waists, wide hips, ample bosoms and lastly showing off their ankles. • What was considered beautiful in this time was also

achieved with corsets, light makeup and flamboyant hairstyles. 

Asian Beauty Aesthetic Japan during the late 1800’s and early

19th century probably represents the strangest culture, the Geisha. • Little feet shuffling around on wooden blocks, not

showing off much of the figure with a fairly frumpy robe in beautiful colors and designs.

The main aspect of beauty here was the aspect of mystery. • Geisha girls were elegant and almost mythical

with their white painted faces, tiny painted pouts and interesting hairstyles.

The Glamorous Golden Era Of Beauty

One can almost hear the sounds of Billy Holiday when thinking of this timeless era. • The 1930’s to 1940’s represented the time of the

Hollywood Golden era. • Glitz, glamour and sexy, all words that describes the ideal

women. No longer hiding the voluptuous form women of

the 30’s chose to wear dresses with lots of shine and gorgeous sandals showed off beautiful feet.• Women of this era strived to be elegant but also sexy, with

shiny curly hairstyles and voluptuous red lips. • Dresses were feminine, and with the depression less

expensive fabrics were used to make the ultimate frock.

Swinging Sixties Beauty Bras were burnt and the corset was

tossed aside and in its place came diet and exercise. • Women of the sixties strived to be thin,

really thin; the Twiggy look was hip and with it came short little dresses, tight attire and well, generally not a lot of curves.

• Gone were the long flowing curls, replaced by the beehive, pageboy and other retro styles.

Outrageous Eighties Beauty Considered as the most exuberant age of

fashion bigger was definitely better in the eighties, with teased hairstyles, spiral perms, neon colored clothing and aerobics. • Women were more conscious about their bodies

and followed aerobics and diet programs religiously. Big plastic earrings, poofy pants, pleated

jeans and lots of makeup. • Girls sported the look of femininity with strange

fashions.

Pious Religious Beauty Various religions have rules for the way their

female followers dress and adorn themselves, for example Muslim women, even though there are various types of Muslim beliefs, some more strict than others, the general idea is that women need to be covered and their natural beauty is a gift reserved for their husbands only.

Just like certain Amish cultures women are expected to make their own clothes and wear no makeup or even cut their hair at all.

What About Beauty Care Now? Today the ideal woman is once again

portrayed as thin with sunken cheeks and strategically applied make up.

Curly hair gets straightened and straight hair gets a perm.

Plastic surgery is now the method of choice to get rid of unwanted humps and bumps but also to provide a bigger bosom, less wrinkles and even a bigger derriere.

Beauty Care Throughout History

http://www.skillsacademy.co.za/beauty-care-throughout-

history/