from Antiquity…
In 1150 BC, in ancient Egypt, all the wives of the pharaoh Ramses III had all hair removed, from underarms to pubic area. We also know that Phoenician and Babylonian kings and queens removed the hair from their chins in order to wear a false beard, considered an attribute of the gods… The methods used varied – magic formulas, bronze tweezers, and an early version of depilatory waxing, using a mixture of water, boiled sugar, and lemon.
In the fifth century BC, in ancient Greece, barbers practiced epilation at home and in their shops as artisans. Some wealthy families had a specialized slave for the purpose. Barbers, organized into a guild, also dispensed hand and foot care and dealt in wigs.
The Romans, fond of various forms of body care, went to the baths daily in large cities, where they enjoyed water and steam baths, massages, and care of all sorts in facilities that were extraordinarily sophisticated for the time. Epilation was among the care dispensed; young men from the Roman bourgeoisie liked to have the hair removed from their legs, which they showed off by wearing short tunics. The methods used ranged from singeing using red-hot nutshells to removing the hair with pine resin, and included such practices as eyebrow epilation using bats’ blood.
- from Antiquity
- the Middle Ages
- today