10 Secret Beauty Tricks From The Ancients Time Forgot (We Thought #2 Was A Myth!)

Photo credit: bigstock.com

Have you ever walked through your local supermarket, drug store, or beauty store and wondered what in the world women did before all these chemicals were concocted?

Women of ancient times had their own set of worries, true, but they were also concerned with stopping wrinkles, having beautiful hair, and looking as young as possible.

It seems as though modern women have forgotten that there are plenty of natural substances and tricks that can keep them looking great without spending a fortune on makeup and facials, or putting tons of toxic chemicals into your body via the bloodstream.

Before Botox, before concealer, before perms, our ancestors had their own ways of staying beautiful that didn’t involve a trip to the dermatologist.

Want to know what your ancestors did to look younger? Keep reading and find out 15 beauty secrets that even your grandmother probably didn’t know about.

1. Long, Shiny, Lustrous Hair

Every woman in history has wanted longer, shiny, gorgeous locks. Depending on the region, every woman had her own natural way to accomplish this. In Greece, it was popular to have lighter colored hair, so they often put lemon juice in their hair and spent a few hours in the sun each week to give themselves lighter hair or highlights. In the Middle East and ancient Egypt, henna was used to give hair a uniform color and even add highlights. Depending on the area, oils of all kinds were used to make hair stronger and shinier, including coconut oil, olive oil, cocoa butter and shea butter. Chinese women used rice water, washing their hair with the water left over after boiling rice. Women there stated that they kept their beautiful black hair well into their 80s because they used rice water.

Continue to Page 2

Photo credit: bigstock.com

2. Beautiful Soft Skin

Although you might get different answers from different women depending on where they come from and their age, if you were to ask who the most beautiful woman in history was, many women will undoubtable say it was Cleopatra. During her time in the first century B.C., Cleopatra was known for taking milk baths as her primary skin treatment. Of course, she used to use donkey milk, something most of us cannot obtain in sufficient quantities to bathe in today, but you can still enjoy milk baths. Since cow’s milk contains lactic acid as well as alpha hydroxyl acid, it only makes sense that it will give you beautifully soft skin. Both of these acids dissolve the proteins that hold together dead skin cells. Feel like Cleopatra and add a quart of milk to a warm bath several times each week.

3. Fight Wrinkles

You might think that poor women in ancient times had virtually no recourse when it came to wrinkles. But the truth is that ancient ladies had a great many options available to them. Most women consumed mushrooms for this purpose. How they knew we don’t know, but mushrooms have powerful rejuvenating effects on the entire body, including the skin. In Greece, roses were added to bathwater to help treat skin problems, and in China, women consumed a tree fungus called ganoderma, which fights free radical damage.

4. More Remedies for Beautiful Skin

It seems like women everywhere were worried about keeping their beautiful skin beautiful for as long as possible. The Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians used to use water from the Dead Sea to wash their faces. Modern science confirms that, with its 29 percent sea salt level (most other oceans only have a 4 percent salt makeup), the waters and salts from the Dead Sea can work miracles on the skin. Studies have shown that using Dead Sea Salts on the face can cause a 40 percent reduction in the depth of wrinkles. Dead Sea Salts also are high in magnesium, which is excellent for all types of skin problems. Look for masks that contain Dead Sea salts for less deep wrinkles and a truly beautiful complexion.

Continue to Page 3

Photo credit: bigstock.com

5. Stop Acne

Some people erroneously believe that pimples, acne, and cysts are a modern day plague, but this isn’t entirely true. They also afflicted the ancients, and they hated them as much as we do. In many countries, frankincense was used to heal pimples and other skin wounds. Honey was also used as a natural antibiotic to help heal acne. In India, a mask made of gram flour, sandalwood, rose water, turmeric, and milk was used to make a bride’s skin flawless and beautiful before her wedding.

6. Glowing Skin and Unwanted Hair Removal

Sugar is an interesting substance. When we consume it, it wreaks havoc on our skin, but when we use it externally, it can give us gorgeous skin tone. Sugar is a great exfoliator and it even works well for removing unwanted hair. Long before razors or waxing, women in Lebanon, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries used sugar, lemon juice, and a bit of water to make a paste that not only gave them soft, glowing skin, but removed hair as well. Now this does take time and patience when it comes to hair removal, but it does work.

7. Chinese Pearls

Believe it or not, in Ancient China, rich women used one of the most fascinating ways to keep their skin well hydrated and absolutely flawless–pearls. They mixed crushed pearls with oils and not only applied the mixture to their faces as a mask, but they consumed pearl powder as well. Modern science does confirm that pearl powder has moisturizing compounds as well as powerful antioxidants, which is why this method worked so well.

Continue to Page 4

Photo credit: bigstock.com

8. Olive Oil

This oil has been around so long, it’s hard to know just when women began using it in their beauty treatments, but there is one thing we know for sure: it works! The ancient women of Greece used olive oil for centuries. It can rejuvenate damaged hair in the most effective way possible. Olive oil is also one of the best oils to use for skin treatments. This oil is so effective that the ancient Egyptians used to make a hair treatment that involved olive oil, beeswax, and other oils.

9. Tea from Asia

Although it might be difficult to follow the beauty treatments of a geisha girl, there are some things we can imitate. One of these is tea from Asia. You might have seen many creams and lotions boasting lately that they contain green tea extracts, and for good reason. Green tea has powerful anti-inflammatory compounds and unique antioxidants that will slow down the signs of aging skin. Drink 3 to 4 cups of green tea each day, and use creams containing green tea, or add green tea to your own homemade lotions and face creams.

10. Oil, Oil, and More Oil

One of the best beauty secrets that ancient women seem to have used all over the world are natural oils from their areas. Coconut oil, olive oil, sesame seed oil, cardamom oil, and bitter almond oil were all used to help keep skin and hair soft and beautiful. Whichever oil it is that you like best should be used as much as possible for the best skin tone of your life. Oil will keep your skin hydrated and your hair stronger to protect it from breakage.

Stay young, stay beautiful and avoid toxins. Use natural beauty products like the ancients did!

References:

www.umm.edu

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Prev Next