The Ancient Art of Skincare Rituals
I always feel we can understand a product and its benefits if we first understand how it came to be integrated into our world and cultures. Evidence of skincare rituals have been deeply rooted within ancient civilisations such as Egypt, Greece and Turkey. While each of these cultures practiced with similar intentions of enhancing the appearance of the individual, they remain unique in the way they were interwoven into specific cultural traditions and events. Courtship, burial adornment and battle symbols, each reflections and commentaries of a long history of artistic, religious and therapeutic practices.
Ingredients such as herbs, oils and clays have shaped the formulations of cosmetics, with olive oil playing a significant part in skincare routines for the Egyptians and Grecians. Clay, alongside other mineral pigments have been widely used to illustrate the stories of cultures’ ancestor’s as well as part of skin cleaning routines. Herbs have been used globally for their biologically active properties, think poultices, ointments and moisturisers. These rituals created a collective movement, incrementally raising the consciousness on beauty as a societal concept. Eventually, this led to a greater demand in products and a growth in the cosmetic industry.
Taking us back to current day, we can clearly see the ripples of history in key ingredients used. Our products proudly reflect such ancient practices. Calendula was chosen for its historical use across Europe. Olive oil continues to be used for its anti-inflammatory effects, alongside pink cay face masks to clean, soften and stimulate the skin, overall boosting cell turnover. (For an in-depth account on how to use our pink clay face mask, click here).
We invite you to treat your skincare routine like the powerful ritual it is. It is a practice exclusively for you. It sets intention for how you care for yourself, how you look at yourself and how you feel about yourself. May you derive meaning and value in this act and carry these sentiments into your daily life. We thank you anytime you decide to choose our products.
Written by Emma Sun
References:
https://www.scielo.br/j/bjps/a/4cxzmxHtfPSQrMyyfG4GdND/
https://ensaioseciencia.pgsscogna.com.br/ensaioeciencia/article/view/9414
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0733863505702060
https://web.p.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=15257886&AN=155451976&h=SRGqxGUZdZQ7C7w%2fXxbOyfr%2bis3XndH5H2wLqWI%2fs7g7wCeyG3hbKJddqlOMQS2xB73KnSQY7sfVN8ek6ExTdg%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d15257886%26AN%3d155451976
https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=jMpQEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=history+of+skincare+ancient&ots=jEwaW1NVX3&sig=A2n3b3UJTctoVALKS1q6a_W9sYo&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false