Beauty and the Bath House – Cosmetics and Perfume in Roman Times

Jo Wenlock the author of this article has worked as a hazardous waste chemist and a Secondary school teacher, she has a BSc (Hons) in science from Open University, and has also studied Classical Latin. She has an interest in the past especially Roman Britain, and the history of medicine. Other hobbies and interests include art, historical demonstrations and astronomy. She also bakes massive sponge cakes.

Introduction

In our current 21st century world, the cosmetic and perfume industry generates billions in revenue from those wanting to look, smell and feel good. It often attracts as much criticism as admiration from society due to the perceived pressure to fit an ‘ideal’; to emulate an idol or indulge in the latest fad or trend.

Up until a few decades ago, we would be influenced by posters, magazines, entertainers or portraits of well-heeled aristocrats or socialites- or even (often wildly exaggerated) accounts from those who had at least claimed to have met them and been charmed by their attributes, now we have social media to further promote these ideals.

What were we like two thousand years ago?

Well, not really all that different…

Theuseofperfumesand cosmetics in the ancient world is well documented. As well as themany archaeological finds ranging from ornate flasks to preserved hairpieces, we also have recorded evidence via ancient writers, most notably Seneca, Ovid, Martial, Juvenal and Pliny, who all gave detailed, and often satirical accounts of society.

The abundance of information stresses the importance of perfumes and cosmetics, not only to scent and beautify, but also as having medicinal and social benefits in a world where beauty and a pleasant odour signified good health, wealth and high status.

Many perfumes and cosmetics commanded high prices. The Romans, as today, had designer brands, and the inevitable counterfeit items too! Many popular perfumers became very wealthy, and their products were in demand. One such perfumer, Cosmus, is cited frequently in ancient texts. Some of these texts also record the prices of some of the raw ingredients used to produce these items and perfumes containing imported or difficult to harvest items must have been very costly. Cinnamon and saffron were highly prized ingredients imported from Asia. Perfumes containing these would have only been worn by the very wealthy on special occasions.

Body odour in the Roman world was socially unacceptable. Poor or unclean Romans were viewed as barbarians or no better than ‘wild animals.’ Destitute Romans had to make do with nothing or occasionally a perfume made from grasses or cheap ingredients available locally.

Cosmetics and perfumes were worn by both men and women, although public use of these by men was viewed as ‘unmanly’ and unbecoming for a Roman male citizen. However, even some of the greatest Roman military men were partial to a little scent occasionally, Julius Caesar was said to have been fond of a perfumed oil called ‘Telinum’ which ingredients included cat mint, yellow clover and fenugreek.

The beauty regime for many began in the public bath house. It was seen as a place not just for bathing but also for relaxation, exercise, socialising, and even serious business was conducted there. Mixed bathing was forbidden by most emperors and women generally bathed later in the day than men.

The bath house consisted of many rooms, the main three being the hot room, the warm room and the cold room. These rooms had a supply of heat and hot water via lead pipes and a furnace. Slaves constantly stoked this furnace and great amounts of wood were burned daily to fuel the baths. Other rooms at the bath house included a changing room and a gymnasium.

A patron of the bath house was usually accompanied by a house slave or could pay for the use of a bath house slave. These slaves would carry the flasks of oils and help with bathing, but most importantly- look after the patron’s belongings. The vast number of curse tablets found damning “whoever stole my cloak/ robe/ tunic…” is testament to the high incidence of theft that occurred.

When bathing, theRomansdidnotusesoap. Instead, assisted by their slave, they would rub olive oil or perfumed oil into their skin, and after a spell in the hot room, the mixture of sweat, dirt and oil was scraped off the skin using a curved metalscraper. Aftera finalplungein thecold bath and drying with a linen towel, more perfumed oil was added, if wished.

The bath house provided a range of services such as massage and hair removal. Seneca provides us with a vivid account of this latter service.

“Imaginethehairplucker with hispenetrating shrillvoicefor the purposes of advertisement continually giving it vent and never holding his tongue except when he is plucking his armpits and making his victim scream instead.”

(Seneca, Epistles .56.2)

In Roman times, an abundance of body hair (except on the head) was seen as unsightly for both men and women and there were many different methods to remove it. One could apply a potion made from arsenic sulfide and calcium oxidewhich worked very much like modern depilatory creams, or one could use blood from a bat instead. For the less squeamish, tweezers or pumice could be used to pluck or rub the hair away.

Skincare and treatment.

The ideal Roman woman, based on various statues and surviving artwork seems to be youthful, have dark hair, bright eyes, a medium sized figure and a pale, clear complexion. In Roman text, personal attributes such as chasteness and a pleasant manner are also emphasized as contributing to beauty.

For those Romans who were not blessed with the above ideals, help wasathand from amyriad oflotions, potionsand accessories. Ironically, many of these products used to enhance beauty were often harmful, even deadly.

White lead in powder form was used in abundance to whiten and brighten the skin. Mercury II sulfide, lead sulfide and antimony compounds were used extensively in cosmetics.

The dangerous properties of these compounds were known to the ancient philosophers and physicists, and were well publicised, but this did little to curb their use. However, not all beauty products were as dangerous, although many may seem disagreeable to modern tastes.

Ovid lists many different beauty preparations in his Medicamina Faciei Femineae (Art of Painting the Face) some of the more agreeable concoctions included the use of starch, orris root, frankincense, roses and honey to brighten the complexion, others were downright dangerous, with the usual addition of toxic lead compounds.

Pliny the Elder recommended a rather more disagreeable face mask made using crocodile dung and oil to help get rid of blemishes.

A more pleasant concoction was created by the physicist, Galen. Hewastheinventoroftheoriginal‘cold cream’based on roses, beeswax and oil. This cream was so successful that variations of this are still used today, although the original olive oil is now replaced by mineral oil in modern products.

In 2003,Southwark,London,archaeologistsdiscovered apot of cosmetic cream which is thought to have been used as a skin whitener or cold cream. Chemical analysis revealed that it was composed of mainly starch, tin oxide and animal fat.

Cosmetics

Once skin was glowing and scented, (preferably not smelling of crocodile dung), make-up could then be applied. This began with a dusting of white lead, kaolin or chalk to the face, neck and lower arms. The desired look was to appear as if you were wealthy enough to be able to stay indoors rather than work outdoors for a living- so a suntan, although desired by modern populations, was not ‘in vogue’ during the Roman era. Eyelids were enhanced with eyeshadow madefrom azuriteormalachite-both copperoreswhich gave a blue or green tint. Eyes were then enhanced with eyeliner made from burnt frankincense, kohl, antimony compounds or for poorer women, lampblack or ashes. Again, these eyeliners were also seen as having medicinal benefits. Burnt frankincense and antimony mixed with gum was thought to help cure eye ailments according to Pliny the Elder.

Mascara could be made from ashes, powdered soot and antimony or, as advised (probably sarcastically) by Plinysquashed flies! Thick, full lashes were seen as virtuous as ‘loose morals’ were rumoured to make your eyelashes fall out!

Pigments were usually crushed and applied using thin metal applicators called ligulae. These cosmetic implements had a spoon at one end and tapered into a point at the other. The solid cosmetic was ground down using a cosmetic grinder, and then blended with oil to form a thick liquid, then applied to the skin. Brushes may have been used, but there is little surviving evidence that they were used cosmetically.

Cheekswerecolouredwithalightsweep ofred ochreorwine dregs. Many ancient authors and politicians lamented the excessive use of this ancient rouge and even tried to outlaw it. Despite their toxicity, powdered cinnabar and red lead were also used to redden the cheeks.

Eyebrows were then enhanced by using pigments ranging from soot to burned frankincense and galena, as thick, dark eyebrows were deemed attractive on women. A ‘monobrow’ was the height of beauty and the bridge of the nose was painted on to give this effect!

There is no material evidence that Roman ladies wore lipstick, and it is not mentioned in surviving texts. However, frescos and portraits from the era do suggest that lips may have been reddened with pigment.

Cosmetics were often stored in elaborate glass flasks or little boxes. These, along with their applicators, were also stored in decorated toilet boxes. Roman ladies’ graves have been discovered containing many of these personal effects. Did these ladies want to look their best on their journey to the afterlife? Or were they merely cherished by the owner when alive and buried with them for sentimental purposes?

Whichever the correct reason is, this gives us a good indication of the importance of such items in Roman society.

Dental care

To complement clean, fragrant skin, breath was freshened with pastilles, or a mouthwash made from orris root and wine. Teethwerecleaned withpumiceorpowdered stag horn washed out with urine! Myrrh was also used to alleviate dental problems, and this is still used today in some modern dental products. The Romans were quite skilled at dentistry, and this included false teeth and dental work using gold wires. Evidence of this elaborate dentistry is found listed in the ‘Twelve tables’ (laws passed in Ancient Rome). One of these laws’ states

“Neve aurum addito. At cui auro dentes iuncti escunt. Ast in cum illo sepeliet uretve, se fraude esto.”

Nor gold shall be added to a corpse. But if any one buries or burns a corpse that has gold dental work it shall be without prejudice (Cicero)

Hair

Roman ladies, unless in mourning, wore their hair pinned up. Loosehairwasdeemed barbaricoran indication thatonehad given up on life. Hair was usually dressed using pins made of wood, bone, bronze or precious metals adorned with jewels. Hair fashion changed more frequently than clothing did, and hairstyles are more frequently used to date statues or frescoes.

Some hairstyles, notably from the Flavian period (69- 96AD) seem to defy gravity and special means were used to create such styles. Hair shorn from captive women slaves or criminals was frequently used to make wigs or hairpiecesand hair could be padded out to create height. The use of these wigs and hairpieces was common by wealthier Roman ladies, but a Roman man wearing an obvious wig or toupee was subjected to ridicule. For a bald man in the Roman Empire, life could be very tough. Bald men were viewed as incompetent and weak, and a receding hairline could even threaten a political career. Julius Caesar’s opponents would mock how he carefully scratched his head so as not disturb his hairstyle- which was styled to hide his thinning hair. There were many claimed ‘cures’ for baldness using ingredients such as goat urine, lard and bird droppings. It is highly unlikely that these had any beneficial effect.

As well as augmentation with false hair, colour could also be enhanced with a variety of dyes. Grey hair was unbefitting for a lady in a society which valued youth so highly. Hair could be darkened, lightened or the colour completely changed. To darken hair, a dye made from burnt dates could be applied, or according to Pliny, a black dye could be made by leaving leeches to rot in wine for forty days.

Blonde hair was also popular, and a hair bleach made from wood ash and caustic could make your hair lighter (or fall out if you were not careful!)

The Ornatrix

The application of cosmetics and hair dye was indeed a hazardous process, not only for the wearer who was at risk of being burned or poisoned by the ingredients, but also for the house slaves or hairdressers who applied them. The poor assistant, if her mistress so wished, could spend hours applying and reapplying cosmetics and dressing the hair. If the mistress was not satisfied with the result, the slave could be punished severely.

According to Martial, one mistress beat her slave to death with a mirror due to a ringlet being out of place.

“One ringlet of hair, in the whole circle of Lalage's tresses, wasoutofitsplace, having been badly fixed by an erring pin. This crime she punished with the mirror, by means of which she discovered it, and Plecusa fell to the ground under her blows, in consequence of the cruel hair.”

(Martial.

Epigrams II. 66)

Ovid also derided mistresses who attacked attendants by stabbing them with hair pins:

“Leave your maid alone: I hate those who scratch her face with their nails or prick the arm they’ve snatched at with a pin. She’ll curse her mistress’s head at every touch, as she weeps, bleeding, on the hateful tresses.”

(Ovid, Ars Am. III. IV)

Finally, when the mistress was satisfied with her look, another dab of perfumed oil would have made her presentable too.

Perfumes

Perfumes in Ancient Rome were used to scent houses, clotheshair, skin and even added to wineandingested. These were stored in various flasks made from glass or alabaster. Many perfumes were very costly and difficult to produce.

The base oils used had to be prepared before the other ingredients were added and this was a very time-consuming process. The ancient writers recorded many of the perfumes used and their ingredients. Pliny’s Naturalis Historia contains a wealth of information about unguents and the sources of their ingredients.

Chemical analysis of dregs found in flasks in the ‘House of the Perfumer’ in Pompeii recently enabled scientists and archaeologists to recreate some of these ancient scents.

Many of the recreated perfumes were described as ‘sweet’ and ‘delicate’ and were not deemed unpleasant, others were not as well received and probably not to most modern tastes. As stated at the beginning of this article, the perfume and cosmetic industry makes billions in profits every year, demonstrating how important image and personal grooming are to modern society just as they were to our ancestors. Some ingredients in ancient cosmetics, such as iron oxides and copper compounds, are still used in modern cosmeticshowever, we have thankfully moved on from covering ourselves in white lead and other toxic or yucky substances in our modern pursuit of ‘perfection’.

Unless you still fancy trying Pliny’s squashed flies… maybe?

Figure 1 is a collection of Roman replica cosmetic items:

1: Roman cosmetic powders made from natural pigments

2. A toothpick shaped like a heron

3. Replica jet hair roller/ hair pin

4. Hair shears

5. Various‘ligulae’ for applying cosmetics and a cosmetic or paint brush

6. Various ornamental hair pins

7. Tweezers/ forceps

8. Woad or cosmetic grinder and applicator tool.

Credit: Sailko - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=312207 76 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>,

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