Ancient Egyptian Makeup and Personal Hygiene

Regardless of gender, everyone wore cosmetics in Ancient Egypt. People used oil to protect their skin against the harsh climate of Egypt and wealthy women would hand out perfumed wax cones at parties, which would be placed on the head and would melt and cool the wearer down.

People generally used white makeup and black makeup, but people would also apply red ochre, which was watered down, to stain their cheeks and lips with a brush. As well as that, henna was used to stain the fingernails yellowy- brown. People applied Kohl to emphasise their eyes by drawing a line on the top and bottom lid of the eye and also they painted their eyebrows. For those who could afford it, they could employ a makeup- artist to do their daily makeup, but the majority of the population did their makeup for themselves. 

Egyptians were famous for perfumes. They would be made out of natural ingredients such as henna leaves, bitter almonds, roses and irises. They would soaked in oil or maybe cooked and then squeezed to extract the powerful scent. 

When people think of Ancient Egyptians, they quite rightly think wigs. People would shave their hair off to replace it with wigs. Rich Egyptians could afford many fine wigs, each styled with braids, beads and embellishments.