10+ Unexpected Facts That Shed New Light on Self-Care Practices From the Past

There is an opinion that people in earlier centuries didn’t really care about personal hygiene. In fact, our ancestors always cared about the health of their skin, hair and teeth. But many of their methods may seem quite questionable now. On the other hand, we still use some of them even today.

Depilation wasn’t easy.

Ancient Romans were extremely sensitive about their appearance. Messy hairstyle and the presence of body hair were considered completely unacceptable. Both men and women were ready to spend a lot of time on various hygienic procedures.

One of the most popular procedures was plucking hair with ordinary tweezers. This method was relatively safe and effective, although, unfortunately, far from painless. The hair was usually removed in public baths, where professional “pluckers” did the job.

In the Middle Ages, women also tried to get rid of body hair, although society didn’t approve of this. If a woman plucked hairs on her chin or neck, she had to confess the sin during confession. In addition to tweezers, women used various mixtures to help remove unwanted hairs. One recipe suggested mixing ant eggs, arsenic sulfide, ivy resin and vinegar and then applying the resulting ointment to the problem areas.

In the 19th century, more radical methods of depilation appeared, which could hardly be called safe. To get rid of hair once and for all, women pierced the hair follicle with a thin needle soaked in a solution of silver nitrate or in a mixture of carbolic acid and olive oil. It was believed that this procedure destroyed the root of the hair, which prevented it from growing back.

Soap factories existed 1,000 years ago as well.

The first soap was invented 5,000 years ago, but there is no evidence that people used it for personal hygiene. However, it’s known that it was used to wash wool before dyeing. The Romans also produced soap, but they got rid of sweat and dirt with metal or wooden scrapers.

The first analog of modern soap appeared in the 7th century. In fact, there were even factories that produced soap, and its sale could bring a decent income. For its production, they used olive oil that was mixed with ashes of saltwort (an annual plant), the mixture was cooked for a week, and then poured into shallow containers. Once the soap hardened (it took about 10 days), it was cut into bars and sent to dry for 2 months.

The ancient Romans used perfume made from patchouli.

The Egyptians were considered the most experienced perfumers of the ancient world. It was thanks to them that perfumes and aromatic oils gained popularity in Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. However, until recently, it remained unknown what exactly our ancestors used.

Not so long ago, a quartz vessel was found in a tomb, which contained perfume. Scientists determined that the perfume was made from patchouli in the first century. Since this plant grew only in India, the perfume clearly belonged to a very wealthy and noble family.

Toothpicks have been used as far back as the Neanderthals.

The toothpick may be one of the oldest hygiene tools. Anthropologists found small scratches on the teeth of Neanderthals, which indicate that they used toothpicks. In the past, this tool was not only a symbol of high status, but also quite a dangerous object.

It’s believed that the death of the ancient Greek king Agathocles was caused by a poisoned toothpick. From the Middle Ages to the second half of the 19th century, nobles liked to flaunt ornate metal toothpicks. These items were even included in the dowries of highborn maidens. Toothpicks became widely available in the 1870s, after Charles Forster built the first factory to produce them.

In ancient times, people freshened their breath with strange concoctions.

Even 5,000 years ago, our ancestors were concerned about the problem of fresh breath. It was believed that even an attractive young lady could repel suitors if she had bad breath. Babylonians tried to cope with this problem by chewing twigs, and the ancient Egyptians made concoctions of frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, and honey.

Pliny the Elder, who lived in the first century, suggested a more radical remedy. The recipe for his paste included ashes made from mouse droppings and honey. The teeth were supposed to be rubbed with this mixture. The writer also recommended brushing teeth with porcupine needles rather than vulture feathers.

The first toothbrushes were invented in the 15th century in China. For their manufacture, they used bristles cut from the neck of a pig. It was not until the early 20th century that the problem of bad breath was officially recognized as a disease.

Visiting a dentist was the worst of nightmares.

In the 18th century and earlier, tooth decay was most often treated radically by simply pulling out the damaged tooth. However, some dentists offered a gentler option: the damaged part of the tooth was removed, and a filling made of white wax or gold was placed in its place. If a poor patient lost too many teeth, they were replaced with prostheses on silver wire.

At first, the implants were made of ivory or walrus bone, and some dentists managed to create entire dentures on springs. Later, artificial teeth began to be made of porcelain. In 1776, one doctor began experimenting with tooth transplantation, and the practice quickly caught on. So, a person with a snow-white smile who was in dire need of money could always sell a couple of their teeth.

In one of her letters, Jane Austen describes a trip to the dentist with her 3 nieces. One poor girl had 2 teeth extracted, another had gold inlays made, and the third had her teeth filed. In those days, the latter procedure was believed to prevent tooth decay, although in fact it could only make things worse. Toothpastes used in the early 19th century, which consisted of ground salt or bricks, also didn’t improve dental health.

People knew how to get rid of pests in bedding as far back as 200,000 years ago.

A few years ago, archeologists discovered the oldest grass bedding to date. Scientists determined that it was made about 200,000 years ago. Supposedly, the layer of fresh grass was up to 1 foot thick, and underneath was ash of the same plant and camphor laurel. Archeologists suggested that ancient people regularly burned old bedding and laid a fresh layer of grass on top of the ashes. This was done to deter various insects.

In the Middle Ages, the poor slept on straw, just like their distant ancestors, while wealthier people could afford feather mattresses, sheets, blankets and pillows. And aristocrats paid close attention even to the details of the headboard when ordering furniture. The color of wood and its grade were also important. But medieval methods of getting rid of insects were not as effective as those used by their ancestors. Most often, people just scattered various herbs around the bed, which only made the life of bedbugs more comfortable.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, people often used highly toxic products that could do more harm than good. To get rid of bedbugs, the bedroom and bed were treated with mercury or arsenic. Some people fumigated rooms with sulfur vapor or burned cow dung next to the bed.

One hereditary exterminator of bedbugs appeared in the house armed with a rapier and dealt with pests with this weapon. Often, experts advised to simply sell the old house with insects and buy a new one.

Acne was treated with honey.

People suffered from acne even in Ancient Egypt and looked for various ways to help get rid of pimples. It is believed that Pharaoh Tutankhamun was not spared from this condition because popular acne remedies were found in his tomb. In those days, honey, sulfur, salt, or sour milk were applied to pimples.

The same remedies were used by the ancient Greeks, although one doctor recommended wiping the face with a towel while watching a shooting star. It was believed that in the light of this celestial body, pimples would immediately disappear by themselves.

The ancient Romans noticed a connection between adolescence and breakouts. They used many different remedies including leek leaves, alum, sour cheese, and even cinnamon. Doctors in Byzantium suggested burning the viper onion plant, and the resulting ashes were rubbed into the skin with a soft coral.

In the 18th century, pimples were even in fashion for a short time. They allowed young ladies to decorate themselves with tiny pieces of black velvet or silk on their faces, which perfectly concealed any skin defects.

In the 19th century, doctors argued whether acne is a disease and whether it should be treated at all. Poultices of bran and opium were used against acne. Another popular remedy was mercury. Creams and lotions based on it really helped to cope with irritation, but as a result, the patient could get chemical burns. Only at the beginning of the 20th century, acne was taken seriously and began to be treated.

It wasn’t easy for the knights to go to the toilet.

Whether a knight wore a hauberk (knee-length chain mail with a hood) or plate armor, going to the toilet was not an easy task for these warriors. Even though a knight could partially remove his armor without the help of squires, it was a dangerous thing to do in the heat of battle. O

n the other hand, in the Middle Ages, many warriors suffered from stomach disorders, and therefore the need could catch a man during a battle. In this case, knights probably had to relieve themselves without taking off their armor.

The samurai had a similar problem. One of their famous warriors was caught by villains in the toilet. Because of this, another famous warrior was rumored to move his toilet to a corner of the courtyard, where he had it securely walled up. This way, the samurai was sure that no enemy would take him by surprise.

Before the spread of flush toilets, people in the 18th century mostly used ordinary boxes in which night potties were installed. These were even carried along when travelling to avoid using other people’s facilities.

Perhaps people were embarrassed to carry these amenities with them, so they tried to disguise them as much as possible. For example, some people had a box that looked like a stack of books. It’s not known whether real books were used or whether the box was simply papered with fake book spines. In one building in Antwerp, the entire washroom was designed as a library, with not a single real book in it.

During the Renaissance, washing hair was a serious matter.

Some physicians of those times directly linked the cleanliness of hair with human health, and noted that dirty strands could cause serious diseases. It was believed that during digestion, harmful vapors reached the brain, and the only way to get rid of them was to comb the hair, rub the scalp with a cloth or wash the hair.

Some doctors recommended doing it a couple of times a month, others said it should be done every week. But most experts agreed on one thing — washing hair was a necessary but dangerous thing to do. Therefore, after the procedure, the curls were wrapped in a towel, so that the head wouldn’t get cold, and the person was recommended to have a rest. For example, Lucrezia Borgia could easily skip an event with the excuse that she had washed her hair that day.

In the 19th century, the profession of a “corns cutter” was very prestigious.

In ancient times, people used beef suet, ground frankincense and fig juice to treat corns. Hippocrates recommended the removal of corns altogether and invented skin scrapers for this purpose. In the beginning of the 17th century, people who removed corns began to earn decent money, and soon every self-respecting aristocrat tried to hire a cutter to look after their feet.

The publication, in 1774, of a text titled Chiropodologia led to the rise of chiropody as a profession. In the 19th century, even royalty like Napoleon and Queen Victoria used the services of personal “corns cutters” who took care of the health of their feet.

In the 14th century, public baths were the analogue of a polyclinic.

Public baths were a popular place in the Middle Ages. People came there not only to bathe, but also to get well. Bathhouse owners often performed simple medical procedures: treating wounds, pulling teeth, applying cupping and making poultices.

Despite the fact that many bathhouse attendants received specialized training, other doctors openly despised them. Bath attendants were often much cheaper, and their methods were questionable. But it was they who provided access to medicine for the poorest layers of society. Baths began to lose popularity in the 16th century, when it was assumed that large crowds of people led to disease.

And here are “modern” things we had no idea existed in the past.