Top 10 Health and Beauty Tips From Ancient Egypt
Staying healthy in ancient Egypt was about much more than just avoiding illness (although they certainly had a hearty arsenal of cures and treatments for anything that did go wrong). The Egyptians went to great lengths (burning cone on the head, anyone?) in order to look, and smell, great. In terms of fashion, jewellery, make-up, and seductive beauty they were streets ahead of their contemporaries, and wouldn't look out of place on today's catwalks (or dancefloors). Defining beauties like Nefertiti and Cleopatra remain beauty and style icons to this day. So what was their secret? We scoured the annals of Egyptian wisdom to put together the top 10 health and beauty tips of the ancient Egyptians.
1. Shave yourself regularly, lice won't get near you. Shaving is a must for priests, but all men and women should shave themselves regularly as lice infestations are less likely to develop if a body is as free of hair as possible. There are nice wigs to wear on festive occasions, so, don’t worry, you will look your best - even better than if you had your own hair.
2. Use always a scented wig; it doesn't matter if the cone is still melting... scented wigs are a must. Prepare those nice scented cones with fresh flowers and oils made from incense and some tree resin, and save them for special occasions. Keep them in a cosmetic box, apart from the wigs.
3. Keep your kohl in your bag just in case the sun melts what you have on. Always protect your eyes from the sun and sand dust. Keeping your kohl at hand prevents you from getting an eye disease and having to wear a nasty, smelly poultice on top of your eyes at night.
4. Eat your bread cautiously or you will last longer than your teeth. Teeth are precious, you need them to eat. As bread and other foods are subject to sand dust, use a papyrus stem after meals to floss your teeth. Remember you only get one set in life... false teeth are only for the tomb.
5. Drink your beer three times a day but do not overindulge yourself; it is not advisable to run around drunk. Beer helps to digest food and feels good. But remember your neighbour’s case every time you feel like drinking more.
6. Look after your cat and fix your walls, or rats will invade your house. If you’ve got holes in the walls of your house, you can stick nasty stuff into them to keep out the rats and snakes. It is much better to have a nice live Bastet at home - your kids will have a pet to play with and the bad creatures won’t come in.
7. Fix your amulets' bag cords as you are not allowed to lose them. All those protective amulets you have; when you are sick, when you travel, when your wife was pregnant, when your kid start going to scribes’ school, keep them safe and always check the bag’s cords so they won’t get loose and you lose the amulets you are carrying.
8. Pray regularly for protection and participate in the festivals if you want to keep prosperity in your life and your family. Write down in an ostracon all the festivals’ dates so you won’t miss them. Write also the nefast days in the calendar so you won’t get out of the house for any transaction, or do any magic on those days.
9. Be aware when travelling in the river that there are beasts and diseases everywhere. The same water you pick up in a basket to drink at home, to cook and to do the washing with, will be riddled with worms. Also watch out for the crocodiles, hippos and big fish that live in the Nile, which can also kill you.
10. Work hard to ensure that your own mummification and tomb are covered, and your sons won't have to pay for that. Always save some merchandise to trade for workers to build your tomb while you live, and save some to pay the priests doing your mummification after your death. Don’t be a burden for your children.
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11. If you can, try to stay out of the sun. You'll get less rimples, and lessen your risk in getting cancer. (Did ancient Egyptians realise this? And did they invent 'sun blocks'?)
12. If you can afford it, wash yourself regularely. (For a recepy for soap, see the Ebers Papyrus, or buy some from your local swnw.)
13. Make sure to chose the right person to become Royal Supervisor of the Laundry. Keeping your garments clean is an important issue!
Feel free to correct me if I'm giving out wrong ancient advise! And err... any advise for avoiding contracting an STD? ;)
Great page, never realised the Ancient Egyptians were so inventive and self concious!! However some of their ways seem very unbelievable haha! Not that I know what i'm talking about, so i'm not arguing...
Nice page anyway, well done and thanks alot for the post!
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