Synthetic bristles are the most common material used in makeup brushes. These brushes are widely found in drugstores and makeup-specific stores. The bristles are made out of plastic,  nylon , or other synthetic fibers, and may be dyed. [ 9 ]  Synthetic bristles are often used with liquid and cream products, as they tend to blend out products more easily and will not absorb product as much as a natural bristle brush. [ 10 ]  Synthetic brushes are cruelty-free. Synthetic brushes usually last longer than natural haired bristles as they do not degrade and are not as fragile.


The natural bristles are often dark in color, not super soft, sheds, hold pigments better and difficult to wash. As the natural bristles are very porous they pick up more pigments and distributes them evenly. The natural bristled brushes best applies powder products and it is best to avoid liquid or cream products as they will drink up most of the products. Although natural bristles are more preferred in the cosmetic industry, the bristles themselves can cause allergic reactions to the animal hair. [ 11 ]


Natural bristles may more easily control the product when blending out or even packing on a product, because they have hair cuticles.


Masonjoany  ( Malagasy pronunciation:   [masund͡zuanʲ] ) (or  msindanu  or  msindzano  in  Comoros  and  Mayotte ) [ a ]  is a  cosmetic  paste and  sunscreen  made of ground wood. It is worn as a protective and decorative mask by women and girls in  Madagascar ,  Comoros , and  Mayotte . In Madagascar, the paste has yellow and white forms, with yellow masonjoany being derived from the wood of the tabàky or Madagascar sandalwood ( Coptosperma  madagascarensis ), and white masonjoany deriving from the wood of the aviavy or fihamy tree ( Ficus  grevei ). [ 2 ]  In Comoros, the most commonly used tree for msindzano is  Indian sandalwood  ( Santalum album ), producing a "canary yellow" paste. [ 3 ] [ 4 ]  The wood is ground against a surface of ceramic, stone, or  coral  skeleton, and combined with water and oil to make the paste. [ 5 ] [ 6 ]  The practice in Madagascar originates from  cultural exchange  in  Nosy Be  between  Malagasy  natives and  Indian  merchants, who first arrived to the island in the 11th century CE. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ]


Masonjoany is both protective and decorative: women wear it as  sunscreen  and  insect repellent , and sometimes paint it in natural and abstract designs with a mix of contrasting white and yellow pastes. Common motifs in decorative masonjoany include flowers, stars, and leaves. [ 7 ]  Other benefits associated with masonjoany in Madagascar include anti-aging, eliminating skin impurities, and cleansing the skin. Other benefits ascribed in Comoros include the  lightening of skin  as well as treatment of medical ailments like  eczema ,  acne , and  allergies . [ 5 ]


Masonjoany in Madagascar is also worn for  religious rituals  and beauty pageants. Molecular biologist Gianfranco Rasuelo reported that a Malagasy woman he had met on the street had told him that yellow masonjoany was spread on the faces of widows in mourning, but noted that this information is apocryphal. [ 5 ]  The paste is typical of Madagascar's  Northwestern coastal region , particularly by  Sakalava  and  Vezo  women in the provinces of  Nosy Be ,  Antsiranana , and  Toliara —though it has spread throughout the island and can now be found adorning women's faces as far as the  Central Highlands . [ 5 ]  Sakalava women wear yellow masonjoany when performing the  Kahoitry  ritual dance. [ 10 ]  The mask is ubiquitous throughout Mayotte, and is common, though waning in popularity, in Comoros. [ 11 ]


A  moisturizer , or  emollient , [ 1 ]  is a  cosmetic preparation  used for protecting, moisturizing, and lubricating the  skin . These functions are normally performed by  sebum  produced by healthy skin. [ 2 ]  The word "emollient" is derived from the Latin verb  mollire , to soften. [ 3 ]


In the human body, water constantly evaporates from the deeper layers of the skin through an effect known as  transepidermal water loss . By regulating its water content, human skin naturally maintains a dry, easily shed surface as a  barrier  against pathogens, dirt, or damage, while protecting itself from drying out and becoming brittle and rigid. The ability to retain moisture depends on the  lipid bilayer  between the  dead skin cells . [ 4 ]


Moisturizers modify the rate of water loss, with active ingredients of moisturizers falling into one of two categories: occlusives and  humectants . [ 5 ]


Occlusives  form a hydrophobic coating on the surface of the skin, keeping moisture from escaping. The more occlusive the formulation, the greater the effect.  Ointments  are more occlusive than  aqueous creams , which are more occlusive than  lotion . [ 5 ]  Water loss through the skin is normally about 4–8 g/(m 2 ⋅h). A layer of  petrolatum  applied to normal skin can reduce that loss by 50–75% for several hours. [ 4 ]  Oils naturally produced by the human body moisturize through this same mechanism. [ 2 ]


Humectants  are hydrophilic and absorb water. They absorb water from humid air (when >70% humidity) to moisturize the skin. More commonly, however, they draw out water from the dermis into the epidermis, making deeper skin dryer. [ 6 ]  When used in practical applications, humectants are combined with occlusives. [ 7 ]  Moisturizers commonly contain water, which acts as a temporary hydration agent. [ 8 ]


There are many different types of moisturizers.  Petrolatum  is one of the most effective moisturizers, although it can be unpopular due to its oily consistency. [ 9 ] [ 10 ]


Other popular moisturizers are  cetyl alcohol ,  cetearyl alcohol ,  cocoa butter ,  isopropyl myristate ,  isopropyl palmitate ,  lanolin ,  liquid paraffin ,  polyethylene glycols ,  shea butter ,  silicone oils ,  stearic acid ,  stearyl alcohol  and  castor oil , and other oils.


Moisturizers may also be available as  lotions ,  creams ,  ointments ,  bath oils , or  soap substitutes .


Mineral oils and waxes are not prone to  oxidation  or  rancidity . [ 11 ]  For this reason, they have essentially replaced  vegetable oils  in emollients and topical medication.


Moisturizer cosmetics may additionally contain  antioxidants ,  ceramides ,  emulsifiers ,  fragrances ,  penetration enhancers ,  preservatives , and  solvents . Some products are marketed as having anti-wrinkle and skin enhancement effects. Many plant and animal extracts have been claimed to impart skin benefits, but such claims are presented with little scientific evidence.


Moisturizers are used for the treatment of certain skin diseases, such as  psoriasis ,  ichthyosis vulgaris ,  xerosis , and  pruritus  in  atopic dermatitis . More often, they are bases or vehicles for  topical medication , such as in  Whitfield's ointment . They are often combined with humectants, such as  salicylic acid  and  urea . [ 12 ]


Moisturizers are also widely used in  sunscreens ,  antiperspirants ,  skin cleansers ,  shaving creams ,  aftershaves , and  hair tonics .


Moisturizers are used in  disposable diapers  to prevent dry skin and  diaper dermatitis .


Moisturizers show some beneficial effects in treating  atopic dermatitis  (eczema). Using moisturizers helps to improve skin comfort and may reduce disease flares. [ 13 ] [ 14 ]  They can be used as leave-on treatments, bath additives, or  soap substitutes . There are many different moisturizer products, but the majority of leave-on treatments (from least to most greasy) are one of the following: lotions, creams, gels, or ointments. As none of the different types of moisturizers are more effective than the others, people with atopic dermatitis need to choose one or more products according to their age, affected body site, climate/season, and personal preference. [ 15 ] [ 14 ]  However using moisturizers daily in infants during the first year of life does not help to prevent the development of atopic dermatitis, and might even increase the risk of skin infections. [ 16 ] [ 17 ]


Persistent moisturization to the skin via water contact may contribute to an allergic reaction or contact dermatitis. [ citation needed ]  This could allow foreign objects to penetrate the skin. [ ambiguous ]


Changes in the skin's normal ecological environment–either atop or within the skin–can also allow for the overgrowth of pathogens. [ 8 ]


Aromas or food additives in moisturizers may trigger an immune reaction, including development of an allergy. [ 18 ] [ 19 ]


There is currently no regulation over use of the term "hypoallergenic". In fact, some pediatric skin products marketed as hypoallergenic contained allergens. [ 20 ] [ 21 ]


Those with  eczema  are especially vulnerable to allergic reaction with lotions and creams, as their compromised skin barrier allows preservatives to bind with and activate immune cells. [ 22 ]


The  American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology  released a warning in 2014 that natural lotion containing ingredients commonly found in food (such as goats milk, cow's milk, coconut milk, or oil) may introduce new allergies, potentially causing an allergic reaction upon later consuming such foods. [ 18 ]  A paper published in 2021 noted that frequent skin moisturization in early life might promote the development of food allergy, even when skin conditions such as eczema are taken into account. [ 19 ]


Paraffin-based skincare products and contaminated clothing can pose a serious fire hazard. [ 23 ]  Between 2010 and 2018, paraffin was linked to 50 fire incidents (49 of which were fatal) in the U.K. [ 24 ]  A West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service study found that clothing contaminated with cream containing only 21% paraffin, when set alight, was fully engulfed in flame in 3 seconds. [ 23 ]  The  Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency  (MHRA) released a warning in 2008 about the flammability of paraffin-based products. [ 25 ]  MHRA recommends that regular paraffin users change their sheets regularly, refrain from smoking and/or bringing open flames near paraffin-coated people or objects. [ 26 ]  MHRA also recommends that skin creams containing any paraffin have a flammability warning on the packaging. [ 27 ]


Natural skin care  uses topical creams and lotions made of ingredients available in nature. [ 1 ]  Much of the recent literature reviews plant-derived ingredients, which may include  herbs ,  roots ,  flowers  and  essential oils , [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ]  but natural substances in skin care products include animal-derived products such as  beeswax , and minerals. These substances may be combined with various carrier agents,  preservatives ,  surfactants ,  humectants  and  emulsifiers . [ 5 ] : 5–8


There are no legal definitions in the U.S. for advertising terms "natural" or "organic" when applied to personal care products. [ 6 ]  Consumers often express a preference for skin products with organic and natural ingredients. [ 1 ]   The personal skin care market based on natural products has shown strong growth. [ 7 ]  Clinical and laboratory studies have identified activities in many natural ingredients that have potential beneficial activities for personal skin care, [ 2 ] [ 3 ]  but there is a shortage of convincing evidence for natural product efficacy in medical problems. [ 8 ]


Some natural products and therapies may be harmful, either to the skin or systemically. [ 4 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ]  People prone to allergies should pay careful attention to what they use on their skin. Dermatologists may feel that there is enough scientific evidence to assist in the selection or avoidance of particular natural ingredients. [ 1 ]


Many countries require that the ingredient composition of skin care products is listed on the product, using the  International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients  (INCI) conventions. [ 5 ] : 4   Ingredients are listed in the order of their percentage within the product; natural ingredients are listed in Latin and synthetic ingredients are listed by technical name. [ 5 ] : 4   "The U.S. government has documented more than 10,500 ingredients in cosmetic products, but only a small percentage of those chemicals have been tested for safety. Of those that have been tested, some have been identified as carcinogens (causes cancer), teratogens (causes birth defects), and reproductive toxicants (damages the ability to reproduce)." [ 10 ]


The FDA surveyed 1,687 consumers ages 14 and older in 1994 about their use of cosmetics. [ 11 ]  Nearly half of these consumers felt that a product claiming to be "natural" should contain all natural ingredients. [ 11 ]  However, although the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated within its certain requirements within its specific area of regulation for organic products, [ 1 ]  the U.S.  Food and Drug Administration  (FDA) does not recognize a definition for natural products. [ 1 ]  Accordingly, there are no legal definitions in the U.S. for the advertising terms "natural" or "organic" in personal care products. [ 6 ]  The FDA prohibits certain ingredients in cosmetics. [ 12 ]


Some organic products which are designated organic may be intensely modified, sometimes considerably more so than conventional products. [ 1 ]


Plant extracts and herbs have been used by many cultures as cosmetics and perfumes since ancient times. [ 2 ] [ 13 ] [ 14 ]


Research is scientifically assessing natural products, selected based on experience in the ancient era. [ 15 ] [ 16 ]  Validated use of these materials and products awaits further assessment. [ 15 ]


Consumers often express a preference for skin products with organic and natural ingredients. [ 1 ]  The skin care market based on natural products has shown strong growth. [ 7 ]  Clinical and laboratory studies have identified activities in many natural ingredients that have potential beneficial activities for the skin. [ 2 ] [ 3 ]  Dermatologists may feel that there is enough scientific evidence to assist in the selection of particular natural ingredients. [ 1 ]


Consumers expected products to perform as advertised. [ 11 ] [ 17 ]


Voluntary discontinuation of precursor substances that release small quantities of formaldehyde, which is a carcinogen, as well as reducing levels of the potentially carcinogenic impurity 1,4-dioxane. [ 6 ]  Polycyclic musk fragrance ingredients, which have raised concerns as persistent and bioaccumulative endocrine disruptors, are being discontinued. [ 6 ]


There are significant reservations about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) [ 18 ] [ 19 ]  including a "shortage of evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of CAM" for skin problems. [ 8 ]  However, patients express a desire to utilize natural ingredients as treatment. [ 1 ]  A literature search found a growing prevalence of CAM use for skin conditions. [ 8 ]  A number of textbooks address CAM perspectives of skin care. [ 20 ] [ 21 ]  The purpose of this section is to review botanical compounds in skin care; a broader review the history and theory behind other CAM modalities such as psychocutaneous therapies, acupuncture and homeopathy can be found in recent reviews. [ 8 ]


The plant monographs with dermatological relevance of the former German Commission E have recently been reviewed. [ 22 ]


According to Baumann, "Botanical compounds for which dermatologic and cosmetic applications have emerged include: olive oil, chamomile,   colloidal oatmeal , oat kernel extract,  feverfew ,  acai berry ,  coffee berry ,  curcumin , green tea, pomegranate,  licorice ,  paper mulberry ,  arbutin , and soy. [ 3 ]  "Many of these botanical sources offer biologically active components that require further in vitro and in vivo investigation". [ 3 ]


A review of 35 plant  families  found that a "variety of phytomolecules, derived in particular from polyphenols, triterpenes and sterols classes, demonstrated a promising activity." [ 7 ]


Colloidal oatmeal may be beneficial in psoriasis. Aloe vera may help in atopic dermatitis. In both these conditions, the benefit may arise from anti-inflammatory properties. "For combating acne and rosacea, green tea, niacinamide and feverfew are considered efficacious. For  hyperpigmentation  and antioxidative capabilities, licorice, green tea, arbutin, soy, acai berry, turmeric and pomegranate are among those plants and compounds found to be most beneficial. Additional research is needed to determine to confirm and elucidate the benefits of these ingredients in the prevention and management of skin disease." [ 2 ]


An assessment of clinical trials on green tea preparations and their uses in dermatology found some evidence for potential benefits. [ 23 ]


Ayurvedic  skincare is derived from medicinal practices that began over 5,000-years ago in India. [ 24 ]  Ayurvedic medicine and healing practices are based on Indian philosophical, psychological, conventional, and medicinal understandings.
Most of the ayurvedic skincare products contain the following herbs—aloe vera, almond, avocado, carrot, castor, clay, cocoa, coconut oil, cornmeal, cucumber, cutch tree, emu oil, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, grape seed oil, ground almond and walnut shell, horse chestnut, witch hazel, and honey. [ citation needed ]


Ayurvedic approaches have been used in  molluscum contagiosum , [ 25 ]   lymphatic filariasis ,  vitiligo  and  lichen planus . [ 16 ]


Phyllanthus emblica  (amla, Indian gooseberry) has been used in ayurvedic medicine. [ 26 ]  Standardized extracts of Phyllanthus emblica have a long-lasting and broad-spectrum antioxidant activity. [ 27 ]  This may be suitable for use in  Anti-aging cream , sunscreen and general purpose skin care products. [ 27 ]


Natural skin care ingredients include  jojoba ,  safflower oil ,  rose hip seed oil ,  shea butter ,  beeswax ,  witch hazel ,  aloe vera ,  tea tree oil , coconut oil, and chamomile.


Dermatological research suggests that the bioactive ingredients used in cosmeceuticals have benefits beyond the traditional moisturizer (e.g., Chen et al., 2005; [ 36 ]  Zettersten, Ghadially, Feingold, Crumrine, & Elias, 1997). [ 37 ]  However, despite reports of benefits from some cosmeceutical products, there are no formal requirements to prove that these products live up to their claims.


Biocompatible and environmentally friendly natural compounds have the potential to provide materials with photoresistant and thermoresistant properties. [ 38 ]


Dehydroabietic acid (DAA), a naturally occurring  diterpene  resin acid, "has lifespan extension effects in  Caenorhabditis elegans , prevents lipofuscin accumulation, and prevents  collagen  secretion in human dermal fibroblasts. We found that these anti-aging effects are primarily mediated by  SIRT1  activation." DAA may activate SIRT1 enzymatic activity, which may have a preventive effect against the aging process. [ 39 ]


Validated use of these materials and products awaits further assessment. [ 15 ]


Cosmeceuticals  are topically applied, combination products that bring together  cosmetics  and "biologically active ingredients". Products which are similar in perceived benefits but ingested orally are known as  nutricosmetics . According to the  United States Food and Drug Administration  (FDA), the  Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act  "does not recognize any such category as "cosmeceuticals". A product can be a drug, a cosmetic, or a combination of both, but the term " cosmeceutical " has no meaning under the law". Drugs are subject to an intensive review and approval process by FDA. Cosmetics, and these related products, although regulated, are not approved by FDA prior to sale. [ citation needed ]


Some alternative and natural products and therapies may be harmful, either to the skin or systemically. [ 4 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ]


The FDA recommends understanding the ingredient label and says "There is no list of ingredients that can be guaranteed not to cause allergic reactions, so consumers who are prone to allergies should pay careful attention to what they use on their skin", further warning that "[t]here is no basis in fact or scientific legitimacy to the notion that products containing natural ingredients are good for the skin". Food preservatives are commonly used to preserve the safety and efficacy in these products. Alternative remedies may increase the prevalence of  eczema . [ 9 ]  Bhuchar recommends that "ingestible substances including most homeopathic, Ayurvedic, and traditional Chinese medicine herbal formulations that are not US FDA regulated should be viewed with caution as they may cause severe adverse effects" such as  arsenic poisoning  and  liver failure ." [ 8 ]


Given the shortage of evidence for natural skin care efficacy, if applied it may often need to be used in combination with conventional treatment, rather than independently. [ 8 ]  In fact, a recent 2022 study found that nearly all skin products that have the label "natural" actually contained ingredients that triggered contact dermatitis. The study looked at nearly 1,700 products.  [ 40 ]


According to Bhuchar, there is a consensus in the literature that dermatologists need more information about CAM. [ 8 ]  Wu advises that "dermatologists should be aware of what patients may be using and be able to advise them about the efficacy of these ingredients or the potential for adverse effects". [ 41 ]  Many patients fail to inform their physicians about their use of herbal ingredients. [ 41 ]


Officine Universelle Buly 1803  is a French company formed in 2014 by  Ramdane Touhami  and Victoire de Taillac-Touhami. Entrepreneur Jean-Vincent Bully sold perfume products in the early 19th century on  rue Saint-Honore  in  Paris . This brand would then be reinvigorated by Touhami. It is headquartered in Paris, France, and has had more than 25 stores around the globe and counting, the brand sells perfumes, scented candles, soaps, plant oils, and other beauty products for body, [ 1 ]  face and hair, as well as accessories.


At the beginning of the 19th century, a distiller, perfumer and cosmetician, Claude Bully, invented a vinaigre de toilette, [ 2 ]  a vinegar-based fragrance designed to fight body odours, cure disease, and nourish the skin, which later influenced the perfume industry and popular beauty care sector.


His son, Jean-Vincent Bully, [ 3 ]  sought validation from doctors and scientists, bringing further recognition to the brand, and the vinegar based product was granted two patents in 1809, and a second for a revised product in 1814. Bully showcased products at the 1823, 1827, and 1849  World's Fairs , and at the 1851  Great Exhibition  in London. [ 4 ]


Bully lost his shop due to a riot during a period of revolution, and then had to sell his business "for a trifling sum", [ 5 ]  after which the perfumer died in poverty.


The protagonist Cesar in the 1837 novel  César Birotteau  by  Balzac , was influenced by Jean Bully, reflected his fame during the 19th century.


In the summer of 1937,  Le Figaro  mentioned in its Beauty section: "Don't forget to buy a bottle of … Bully vinegar, the object of world renowned for nearly a century."


The product "Vinagre Aromatico Tipo de Bully" with the same formula concocted by Bully continued to exist in  Latin America  due to international licensing; the work of the Bully family had endured long after the end of Jean Bully's company, although outside the borders of France.


Reinvigorated by Ramdane Touhami and Victoire de Taillac-Touhami, the brand was revived as 'Officine Universelle Buly', or 'Buly 1803' in 2014. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ]


The first Buly shop was established in 2014, [ 9 ]  at 6  rue Bonaparte  in Paris, [ 10 ]  and has seen a fast expansion around the world ever since. As of March 2021, Buly 1803 has 25 shops globally, in cities such as Paris, [ 11 ]   Hong Kong , [ 12 ]   New York , [ 13 ]   San Francisco ,  London ,  Tokyo , [ 14 ] [ 15 ]   Kyoto ,  Osaka ,  Seoul  and  Taipei .


Officine Universelle Buly was acquired by the multi-national  LVMH  in October 2021. [ 16 ]  The company is managed by the duo Ramdane Touhami, the manager, and Victoire de Taillac-Touhami, the head of communication and the spokesperson. The brand now operates in 7 countries in the world and is rapidly expanding.


Officine Universelle Buly carries a wide range of beauty products for body, face, hair and home, [ 17 ]  with more than 800 variants amassed from around the world. Most of them bear a traditional French name [ 18 ]  honoring its commitment to old beauty recipes but combined with innovative cosmetic techniques, such as eau triple, the brand’s water-based perfume, containing 0 alcohol. [ 19 ]


2019 has seen an unprecedented collaboration between the  Louvre  museum and Officine Universelle Buly, [ 20 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ] [ 23 ] [ 24 ] [ 25 ] [ 26 ]  with eight perfumers each selecting eight art pieces as an inspiration for eight new fragrances, [ 27 ]  namely:


Some of the scents are also available in candles, postcards, as well as soap sheets. [ 30 ] [ 31 ]


The  oil cleansing method , often abbreviated as  OCM , is a system for cleaning the human body. It is sometimes used for treating acne. [ 1 ]  Sometimes, oils can be mixed; one example is 50%  extra virgin olive oil  and 50%  castor oil . [ 2 ]  This mixture can be optimized based on  skin type  and personal preference.


In accordance with skin type variations,  castor oil  may be too harsh in some skin-care regimens and is sometimes used in a 1:9 ratio. However, overly oily skin can make use of a larger proportion of castor oil. [ 2 ] [ 3 ]  Other oils that are commonly used are  jojoba oil ,  sweet almond oil ,  coconut oil ,  argan oil ,  rosehip oil ,  sunflower oil ,  safflower  oil, and  grapeseed oil . [ 3 ]  Furthermore, some sources say that the oil cleansing method is not viable for sensitive skin. [ 4 ]


The modern OCM method claims to be derived from ancient bathing practices. It differs from these practices in its focus solely on oil, and the ancients would also use water. Modern soap was not produced industrially until the 19th century. In the ancient world people would use olive oil as part of their bathing. They may have combined the oil with ash, and we know they used a scraping implement called a  strigil .


In the Roman  baths , a man would bathe in this way before taking a  Caldarium  or 'hot bath'.   Pliny the Elder  himself mentions ancient bathing practices. [ 5 ]


In this beauty treatment, the oil is rubbed into skin for approximately two minutes. Next, a warm, damp  microfiber  wash cloth is used to wipe off the excess oil. [ 2 ]  Applied sparingly, oil may be used to moisturize the skin after the cleansing oil has been removed from the face. [ 6 ]


Otjize  is a mixture of  butterfat  and  ochre  pigment used by the  Himba people  of  Namibia  to protect themselves from the harsh desert climate. The paste is often perfumed with the aromatic resin of  Commiphora multijuga  ( omuzumba ). [ 1 ] [ 2 ]  The Himba apply otjize to their skin and hair, which is long and plaited into intricate designs. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]  Himba women start designing their hair from puberty using the red clay as well as adding on the hair of goats for stylistic purposes. [ 3 ]  Other documented uses of otjize include  initiation ceremonies , the burial of human corpses, and as a mosquito repellent. [ 5 ]  The use of otjize by both men and women has been documented, with the decline in use by men beginning in the 1960s and attributed to "the presence of the  South African Defence Force  in the region and the subsequent employment of many men as trackers and soldiers". [ 5 ]


Otjize is also used for hygienic purposes due to  water scarcity . Over time, otjize flakes off, removing dirt and dead skin.  Wood ash  is used to wash the hair. [ citation needed ]


In  Nnedi Okorafor 's  Hugo Award –winning novella  Binti  (2015), the protagonist's use of otjize represents an "animist spirituality [that] radically decenters human exceptionality while simultaneously imbricating people thoroughly with their material world". [ 6 ]  For scholar S. R. Toliver, Binti's success in creating otjize on a planet away from her home planet "symbolizes a metaphorical rebirth of the Himba culture in a new land" and "is a lasting remnant of home and healing in a land that was initially defined by surveillance and control". [ 7 ]


In 2022 a team of South African and French scientists published a study of otjize's physical properties, concluding that "such a red ochre exhibits an exceptional  UV  filtration and a significant  IR  reflectivity substantiating its effectiveness as an effective UV-blocking and solar heat IR reflector in support of the low  skin cancer  rate within the Namibian Himba community". [ 2 ]


Pearl powder  ( Chinese :  珍珠粉 ;  pinyin :  zhēnzhū fěn ) is a preparation of crushed  pearls  used in  China  and elsewhere for  skin care  and in  traditional Chinese medicine .


Pearl powder is made from  freshwater pearls  or saltwater pearls below jewellery grade. These are sterilised in boiling water [ 1 ]  and then milled into a fine powder using stainless steel grinding discs or by milling with small  porcelain  balls in moist conditions. [ 2 ]  The powder is sold as such or mixed into creams. [ 3 ]


Pearl powder is widely believed to help improve the appearance of the skin, and is used as a cosmetic by royal families in Asia. [ 3 ]  It is also used as a treatment for  acne . Some studies have claimed that pearl powder can stimulate the skin's  fibroblasts , help regenerate  collagen , and accelerate healing of certain skin conditions, wounds, and burns. [ 4 ]


Pearl powder contains a number of  amino acids , over 30 trace minerals, [ 4 ]  and a high concentration of  calcium . [ 3 ]   In Chinese medicine, it is used as an  anti-inflammatory  and  detoxification  agent, and as a  relaxant . [ 5 ]


The calcium content is considered beneficial for calcium deficient persons with issues such as  osteoporosis . A typical dose is 1 gram of pearl powder taken by mouth, traditionally mixed into water or tea, twice weekly. Excessive doses may cause calcium toxicity. [ 3 ]


The powder is also used to treat stomach and intestinal conditions such as  indigestion  and chronic  constipation . It is claimed to minimize pain from sores and ulcers, and to help reduce the sores and ulcers themselves. [ 3 ]


The use in China of pearl powder, both as medicine and as cosmetic, dates back at least to 320 AD. Pearl powder was an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in the treatment of eye diseases,  tuberculosis  and to prevent heart attacks. The empress  Wu Ze Tian  (625 AD – 705 AD) used pearl powder internally and on her skin. The medical book  Bencao Gangmu  of the  Ming dynasty  claimed that pearl can stimulate new skin growth and healing, release toxins, and remove sun damage and age spots. [ 4 ]


Pearl powder was also used in  Ayurvedic medicine  in the  Indian subcontinent . Narahari, a physician of  Kashmir , wrote in about 1240 that the pearl was an antidote to poisons, cured conditions of the eyes,  consumption  and "morbid disturbances", and increased general strength and health. [ 6 ]  Powdered pearl was also an ingredient of love potions. [ 7 ]  An Indian pharmacological work published in 1903 listed the powder as a tonic, stimulant and aphrodisiac. [ 8 ]


In the  Philippines  from pre-colonial times, selected youths called  binukot   are special type of princes and princesses that were kept in seclusion and hidden from the sun in order to have fair and white skin. The  binukot  were fed crushed pearl powders to enhance the fairness and luminosity of their skin. Crushed pearl powder was also applied to their face and body to make their skin more pale and firm. [ citation needed ]


In medieval Europe, pearl powder was widely perceived to have therapeutic qualities. It was used in an attempt to treat the insanity of  Charles VI of France  (1368–1422), and the fever of which  Lorenzo de Medici  died in 1492. [ 9 ]  Seventeenth-century German and English works claimed its effectiveness in a wide range of physical and mental conditions. [ 10 ]   Francis Bacon  (1561–1626) recommended it as a means of prolonging life. [ 9 ]   Pearl powder was also used as a skin whitener by women in Europe during the nineteenth century; [ 4 ] [ 11 ]  one work, however, deprecated it as imparting a "pale, sickly hue", as well as being injurious to the skin and general health. [ 12 ]


Periorbital puffiness , also known as  puffy eyes , or  swelling around the eyes , is the appearance of swelling in the tissues around the  eyes , called the  orbits . It is almost exclusively caused by fluid buildup around the eyes, or  periorbital  edema . Minor puffiness usually detectable below the eyes only is often called  eye bags . Such transient puffiness is distinct from the age related and gradual increase in the size of the fat pad lying below the lower eyelids (suborbicularis oculi fat – "SOOF") which can also be colloquially referred to as  eye bags . [ 1 ]


While some degree of puffiness may be normal for a given individual, factors such as age and fatigue may make the swelling more prominent. The periorbital tissues are most noticeably swollen immediately after waking, perhaps due to the gravitational redistribution of fluid in the horizontal position.


Eye puffiness may also be caused by:


Puffy eyes are usually only a temporary  cosmetic  worry, but occasionally, individuals become concerned about the cosmetic effect of periorbital swelling and seek  surgical  correction. Severe and persistent puffiness may be a sign of other serious medical conditions.


For someone predisposed to eye puffiness, changes to diet and  lifestyle  (under the supervision of a  physician ) may be required to reduce the possibility of swelling.


A cold compress near the eye can act as a short-term remedy as cold temperature constricts  blood vessels , preventing the flow of fluid into tissues and diminishing puffiness in the process. [ 8 ]


Live Yeast Cell Derivative (LYCD) may be effective. [ 9 ]


Elevating the head while sleeping can prevent the gravitational redistribution of fluid that is associated with eye swelling. Eating  foods  rich in vitamins, especially  A ,  C  and  E , helps to reduce eye puffiness and to maintain clear, moist skin. [ 10 ]


Phisoderm  is a skin  detergent  which assists persons who are allergic to soap and  Phisohex , a detergent [ 1 ]  and sudsless cleanser [ 2 ]  which prevents the spread of infections.
In the 1950s, both Phisoderm and Phisohex were manufactured by Winthrop Laboratories. Earlier, the product  was made by  Fairchild Brothers & Foster . Phisoderm was developed by B. Thurber Guild (1886–1958), a physician and pharmaceutical manufacturer. Guild practiced medicine in  Boston, Massachusetts , and was a specialist in  allergies . [ 1 ]  The brand is currently owned by  Mentholatum .


Both Phisoderm and Phisohex were removed by drugstores and retail outlet stores when the  Food and Drug Administration  halted the production and distribution of products containing more than 1% of  hexachlorophene , in September 1972. [ 2 ]


Phisoderm continued to be produced by Winthrop Laboratories, a division of  Sterling Drug , in 1980. An  over-the-counter drug , its advertising was carried out by Warren Muller Dulubowsky. [ 3 ]


By April 1989, Sterling Drug was owned by  Eastman Kodak . Three Sterling brands, Haley's M-O, Philips' Milk of Magnesia, and Phisoderm, were being advertised by  N.W. Ayer . [ 4 ]


In 1991, the Phisoderm account was picked up by Ammirati & Puris of  New York City . [ 5 ]  When  Bayer  bought Sterling in 1994,  Chattem  acquired the Phisoderm brand.


In 2005, it was sold to The Mentholatum Company.


In the current formulation, as of 2023, the anti-acne active ingredient [ 6 ]  is 2%  salicylic acid .


Pumice  (   / ˈ p ʌ m ɪ s / ), called  pumicite  in its powdered or dust form, is a  volcanic rock  that consists of extremely  vesicular  rough-textured  volcanic glass , which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored.  Scoria  is another vesicular volcanic rock that differs from pumice in having larger vesicles, thicker vesicle walls, and being dark colored and denser. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]


Pumice is created when super-heated, highly pressurized rock is rapidly ejected from a  volcano . The unusual foamy configuration of pumice happens because of simultaneous rapid cooling and rapid depressurization. The depressurization creates bubbles by lowering the  solubility  of gases (including  water  and  CO 2 ) that are dissolved in the lava, causing the gases to rapidly  exsolve  (like the bubbles of CO 2  that appear when a carbonated drink is opened). The simultaneous cooling and depressurization freeze the bubbles in a  matrix .  Eruptions under water are rapidly cooled and the  large volume of pumice created  can be a shipping hazard for cargo ships. [ 3 ]


Pumice is composed of highly  microvesicular  glass  pyroclastic  with very thin, translucent bubble walls of  extrusive   igneous rock . It is commonly [ 4 ]  but not exclusively of  silicic  or  felsic  to intermediate in composition (e.g.,  rhyolitic ,  dacitic ,  andesite ,  pantellerite ,  phonolite ,  trachyte ), but  basaltic  and other compositions are known. Pumice is commonly pale in color, ranging from white, cream, blue or grey, to green-brown or black. It forms when  volcanic gases  exsolving from viscous  magma  form bubbles that remain within the viscous magma as it cools to glass. Pumice is a common product of explosive eruptions ( plinian  and  ignimbrite -forming) and commonly forms zones in upper parts of silicic  lavas . Pumice has a  porosity  of 64–85% by volume and it floats on water, possibly for years, until it eventually becomes waterlogged and sinks. [ 5 ] [ 6 ]


Scoria  differs from pumice in being denser. With larger vesicles and thicker vesicle walls, scoria sinks rapidly. The difference is the result of the lower viscosity of the magma that forms scoria. When larger amounts of gas are present, the result is a finer-grained variety of pumice known as  pumicite . Pumicite consists of particles less than 4 mm (0.16 in) in size. [ 7 ]  Pumice is considered a  volcanic glass  because it has no  crystal  structure. Pumice varies in density according to the thickness of the solid material between the bubbles; many samples float in water. After the explosion of  Krakatoa ,  rafts of pumice  drifted through the Indian Ocean for up to 20 years, with tree trunks floating among them. [ 8 ]  In fact, pumice rafts disperse and support several marine species. [ 9 ]  In 1979, 1984 and 2006, underwater volcanic eruptions near  Tonga  created large pumice rafts that floated hundreds of kilometres to  Fiji . [ 10 ]


There are two main forms of vesicles. Most pumice contains tubular microvesicles that can impart a silky or fibrous fabric. The elongation of the microvesicles occurs due to  ductile  elongation in the volcanic conduit or, in the case of pumiceous lavas, during flow. The other form of vesicles are subspherical to spherical and result from high  vapor pressure  during an eruption. [ 11 ]   Reticulite  is a type of basaltic pumice formed in very high lava fountains. It has an extremely low density and is composed of a network of volcanic glass formed when the vesicles have almost completely coalesced. [ 12 ]


Pumice is an igneous rock with a foamy appearance. The name is derived from the Latin word  pumex  (meaning "pumice") [ 13 ]  which is related to the Latin word  spuma  meaning "foam". [ 14 ]  In former times, pumice was called "Spuma Maris", meaning "froth of the sea" in Latin because the frothy material was thought to be hardened sea foam. Around 80 B.C., it was called "lapis spongiae" in Latin for its vesicular properties. Many Greek scholars decided there were different sources of pumice, one of which was in the sea coral category. [ 15 ]


Pumice can be found all around the globe deriving from continental volcanic occurrences and submarine volcanic occurrences. Floating stones can also be distributed by ocean currents. [ 16 ]  As described earlier pumice is produced by the eruption of explosive volcanoes under certain conditions, therefore, natural sources occur in volcanically active regions. Pumice is mined and transported from these regions. In 2011, Italy and Turkey led pumice mining production at 4 and 3 million tons respectively; other large producers at or exceeding a million tonnes were Greece, Iran, Chile, and Syria. Total world pumice production in 2011 was estimated at 17 million tonnes. [ 17 ]


There are large reserves of pumice in Asian countries including Afghanistan, Indonesia, Japan, Syria, Iran, and eastern Russia. Considerable amounts of pumice can be found at the  Kamchatka Peninsula  on the eastern flank of Russia. This area contains 19 active volcanoes and it lies in close proximity with the  Pacific volcanic belt . Asia is also the site of the second-most dangerous volcanic eruption in the 20th century,  Mount Pinatubo , which  erupted on June 12, 1991  in the  Philippines . Ash and pumice  lapilli  were distributed over a mile around the volcano. These ejections filled trenches that once reached 660 feet deep. So much magma was displaced from the vent that the volcano became a depression on the surface of the Earth. [ 18 ]  Another well-known volcano that produces pumice is  Krakatoa . An eruption in 1883 ejected so much pumice that kilometers of sea were covered in floating pumice and in some areas rose 1.5 meters above sea level. [ 19 ]


Europe is the largest producer of pumice with deposits in Italy, Turkey, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, and Germany. Italy is the largest producer of pumice because of its numerous eruptive volcanoes. On the  Aeolian Islands  of Italy, the island of  Lipari  is entirely made up of volcanic rock, including pumice. Large amounts of igneous rock on Lipari are due to the numerous extended periods of volcanic activity from the Late  Pleistocene  ( Tyrrhenian ) to the Holocene. [ 20 ]


Pumice can be found all across North America including on the  Caribbean Islands . In the United States, pumice is mined in  Nevada ,  Oregon ,  Idaho ,  Arizona ,  California ,  New Mexico  and  Kansas . U.S. production of pumice and pumicite in 2011 was estimated at 380,000 tonnes, valued at $7.7 million with approximately 46% coming from Nevada and Oregon. [ 17 ]  Idaho is also known as a large producer of pumice because of the quality and brightness of the rock found in local reserves. [ 21 ]  One of the most famous volcanoes was  Mount Mazama  that erupted 7,700 years ago in Oregon and deposited 300 feet of pumice and ash around the vent. The large amount of magma that was erupted caused the structure to collapse, forming a caldera now known as  Crater Lake . [ 18 ]


Chile  is one of the leading producers of pumice in the world. [ 22 ]  The  Puyehue-Cordón Caulle  are two coalesced volcanoes in the  Andes  mountains that ejected ash and pumice across Chile and  Argentina . A recent eruption in 2011 wreaked havoc on the region by covering all surfaces and lakes in ash and pumice. [ 23 ]


Kenya ,  Ethiopia  and  Tanzania  have some deposits of pumice.  [ 16 ]


The  Havre Seamount  volcano produced the largest-known deep ocean volcanic eruption on Earth. The volcano  erupted in July 2012  but remained unnoticed until enormous pieces of pumice were seen to be floating on the Pacific Ocean. Blankets of rock reached a thickness of 5 meters. [ 24 ]  Most of this floating pumice is deposited on the northwest coast of  New Zealand  and the  Polynesia  islands.


The  mining  of pumice is an environmentally friendly process compared with other mining methods because the igneous rock is deposited on the surface of the earth in loose aggregate form. The material is mined by open-pit methods. Soils are removed by machinery in order to obtain more pure quality pumice. Scalping screens are used to filter impure surficial pumice of organic soils and unwanted rocks. Blasting is not necessary because the material is unconsolidated, therefore only simple machinery is used such as bulldozers and power shovels. Different sizes of pumice are needed for specific uses therefore crushers are used to achieve desired grades ranging from lump, coarse, intermediate, fine, and extra fine. [ 25 ]


Pumice is a very lightweight, porous and abrasive material and it has been used for centuries in the construction and beauty industry as well as in early medicine. It is also used as an  abrasive , especially in  polishes , pencil  erasers , and the production of  stone-washed   jeans . Pumice was also used in the early book-making industry to prepare parchment paper and leather bindings. [ 26 ]  There is high demand for pumice, particularly for water filtration, chemical spill containment, cement manufacturing, [ 27 ]  horticulture and increasingly for the pet industry. The mining of pumice in environmentally sensitive areas has been under more scrutiny after such an operation was stopped in the U.S. state of Oregon, at Rock Mesa in the southern part of the  Three Sisters Wilderness . [ 28 ]


Pumice has been used in the medicinal industry for more than 2000 years. Ancient Chinese medicine used ground pumice along with ground  mica  and fossilized bones added to teas to calm the spirit. This tea was used to treat dizziness, nausea, insomnia, and anxiety disorders. Ingestion of these pulverized rocks was believed to be able to soften nodules and was later used with other herbal ingredients to treat gallbladder cancer and urinary difficulties. In Western medicine, beginning in the early 18th century, pumice ground into a sugar consistency mixed with other ingredients was used to attempt to treat ulcers mostly on the skin and cornea. Concoctions such as these were also used to help wounds scar in a supposedly healthier manner. In approximately 1680 it was noted by an English naturalist that pumice powder was used to promote sneezing. [ 29 ]


Pumice has been used as a material in personal care for thousands of years. It is an abrasive material that can be used in powdered form or as a stone to remove unwanted hair or skin. In ancient  Egypt , it was common to remove all hair on the body to control  lice  and as a form of ritual purification, using creams, razors, and pumice stones. [ 30 ]  Pumice in powdered form was an ingredient in toothpastes in ancient Rome. [ 31 ]  Nail care was very important in ancient China; nails were kept groomed with pumice stones, and pumice stones were also used to remove calluses.


It was discovered in a Roman poem that pumice was used to remove dead skin as far back as 100 BC, and likely before then. [ 32 ]  It has been used throughout many eras since then, including the  Victorian Era . Today, many of these techniques are still used; pumice is widely used as a skin  exfoliant . Even though hair removal techniques have evolved over the centuries, abrasive material like pumice stones is also still used. "Pumice stones" are often used in beauty salons during the  pedicure  process to remove dry and excess skin from the bottom of the foot as well as  calluses .


Finely ground pumice has been added to some  toothpastes  as a polish, similar to Roman use, and easily removes  dental plaque  build-up.  Such toothpaste is too abrasive for daily use. Pumice is also added to heavy-duty hand cleaners (such as  lava soap ) as a mild abrasive. Some brands of  chinchilla   dust bath  are formulated with powdered pumice. Old beauty techniques using pumice are still employed today but newer substitutes are easier to obtain.


Pumice stone, sometimes attached to a handle, [ 33 ]  is an effective scrubbing tool for removal of limescale, rust, hard water rings, and other stains on porcelain fixtures in households (e.g., bathrooms). It is a quick method compared to alternatives like chemicals or  vinegar  and  baking soda  or  borax .


Good soil requires sufficient water and nutrient loading as well as little compaction to allow easy exchange of gases. The roots of plants require continuous transportation of  carbon dioxide  and  oxygen  to and from the surface. Pumice improves the quality of soil because of its porous properties; water and gases can be transported easily through the pores and nutrients can be stored in the microscopic holes. Pumice rock fragments are inorganic therefore no decomposition and little compaction occur.


Another benefit of this inorganic rock is that it does not attract or host  fungi  or  insects . As drainage is very important in horticulture, with the presence of pumice  tillage  is much easier. Pumice usage also creates ideal conditions for growing plants like  cacti  and  succulents  as it increases the water retention in sandy soils and reduces the density of  clayey  soils to allow more transportation of gases and water. The addition of pumice to soil improves and increases vegetative cover as the roots of plants make slopes more stable therefore it helps reduce  erosion . It is often used on roadsides and ditches and commonly used in turf and golf courses to maintain grass cover and flatness that can degrade due to large amounts of traffic and compaction. Chemically pumice is  pH  neutral, neither  acidic  nor  alkaline . [ 34 ]  In 2011, 16% of pumice mined in the United States was used for horticultural purposes. [ 17 ]


Pumice contributes to soil fertility in areas where it is naturally present in the soil due to volcanic activity. For example, in the  Jemez Mountains  of New Mexico, the  Ancestral Puebloans  settled on "pumice patches" of the  El Cajete Pumice  which likely retained a greater amount of moisture and was ideal for farming. [ 35 ]


Pumice is widely used to make lightweight  concrete  and  insulative  low-density  cinder blocks . The air-filled vesicles in this porous rock serve as a good insulator. [ 18 ]  A fine-grained version of pumice called  pozzolan  is used as an additive in cement and is mixed with  lime  to form a light-weight, smooth, plaster-like concrete. This form of concrete was used as far back as  Roman  times. Roman engineers utilized it to build the huge dome of the  Pantheon  with increasing amounts of pumice added to concrete for higher elevations of the structure. It was also commonly used as a construction material for many  aqueducts .


One of the main uses of pumice currently in the United States is manufacturing concrete. This rock has been used in concrete mixtures for thousands of years and continues to be used in producing concrete, especially in regions close to where this volcanic material is deposited. [ 36 ]


New studies prove a broader application of pumice powder in the concrete industry. Pumice can act as a cementitious material in concrete and researchers have shown that concrete made with up to 50% pumice powder can significantly improve durability yet reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption. [ 27 ]


Radio-frequency skin tightening  is an aesthetic technique that uses  radio frequency  (RF) energy to heat skin with the purpose of stimulating cutaneous  collagen , elastin and  hyaluronic acid  production in order to reduce the appearance of fine lines and loose skin. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]  The technique induces tissue remodeling [ 3 ]  and production of new collagen and  elastin . [ 4 ] [ 5 ]  The process provides an alternative to  facelift [ 6 ]  and other cosmetic surgeries.


By manipulating skin cooling during treatment, RF can also be used for heating and reduction of fat. Currently, the most common uses of RF-based devices are to noninvasively manage and treat skin tightening of lax skin (including sagging jowls, abdomen, thighs, and arms), as well as  wrinkle  reduction,  cellulite  improvement, and body contouring. [ 7 ]


Several companies manufacture RF devices, including D-Finitive Thermage by Solta Medical, Evo by Beco Medical V-Form by Viora, Venus Freeze Plus, Venus Legacy by  Venus Concept , VelaShape by  Syneron , Exilis by BTL, and 3DEEP by Endymed. Microneedle radiofrequency is the latest form of delivery and devices include Profound by Candela lasers, Fractora, Intensif, Thermia Ablative RF Fractional by Melorin Group and Genius by Lutronic. Alternative techniques include  Laser Resurfacing  and certain Ultrasound alternatives.  Novel non-invasive versions of radiofrequency delivery include tripolar devices such as Tripolar by Lumenis and Triactive by DEKA. Devices have different penetration depths depending on the number of electrodes (monopolar, bipolar, or unipolar). [ citation needed ]


The ideal target temperature in the dermis for inducing dermal remodeling and wrinkle and laxity reduction was shown to be 67 °C. By delivering radiofrequency power until this target temperature is attained, clinical outcomes are optimized. [ 8 ]


Microneedle radiofrequency has also been  FDA -approved for cellulite reduction using vertically penetrating needles that target the subnormal plane. [ 9 ] [ 10 ]


Due to  radiation  of high-energy radio frequency, several patients have reported pain requiring sedation during the procedure. The process also requires extreme care in its execution. Improper application may result in dents on the skin surface due to uneven healing responses on the skin. Many effects including  fat necrosis  and atrophic scarring have also been reported, although several new techniques have overcome this obstacle. With the application of a vacuum at the point of application, the burning and crusting was reportedly reduced. [ citation needed ]


Helena Rubinstein  (born  Chaja Rubinstein ; December 25, 1872 – April 1, 1965) [ 2 ]  was a Polish and American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A  cosmetics  entrepreneur, she was the founder and  eponym  of Helena Rubinstein Incorporated cosmetics company, which made her one of the world's richest women. [ 3 ]


Rubinstein was the eldest of eight daughters [ 4 ]  born to  Polish Jews , "Augusta" Gitte (Gitel) Shaindel Rubinstein née Silberfeld and Naftoli Hertz "Horace" Rubinstein. Her father was a shopkeeper in  Kraków ,  Lesser Poland , which was then occupied by  Austria-Hungary  following the  partitions of Poland  in the late 18th century. The  existentialist  philosopher  Martin Buber  was her cousin. She was also the cousin of  Ruth Rappaport 's mother. [ 5 ]


After refusing an arranged marriage, Rubinstein emigrated from Poland to Australia in 1896, with no money and little command of the English language. [ 6 ]  Her stylish clothes and milky complexion did not pass unnoticed among the town's ladies, however, and she soon found enthusiastic buyers for the jars of beauty cream in her luggage. She spotted a market where she began to make her own. A key ingredient of the cream,  lanolin , was readily at hand.


Coleraine , in the  Western Victoria region , where her uncle was a shopkeeper, might have been an "awful place" [ This quote needs a citation ]  but was home to some 75 million [ citation needed ]  sheep that secreted abundant quantities of lanolin. These sheep were the wealth of the nation and the Western District's vast mobs of  merinos  produced the finest wool in the land. To disguise the lanolin's pungent odour, Rubinstein experimented with  lavender ,  pine  bark, and  water lilies .


Rubinstein had a falling out with her uncle, but after a stint as a bush governess began waitressing at the Winter Garden tearooms in  Melbourne . There, she found an admirer willing to stump up the funds to launch her Crème Valaze, supposedly including herbs imported "from the  Carpathian Mountains ". [ This quote needs a citation ]  It cost ten  pence  and sold for six  shillings  (72 pence). Known to her customers only as Helena, Rubinstein could soon afford to open a salon in fashionable  Collins Street , selling glamour as a science to customers whose skin was "diagnosed" and a suitable treatment "prescribed". [ This quote needs a citation ]


Sydney was next, and within five years, Australian operations were profitable enough to finance a Salon de Beauté Valaze in London. As such, Rubinstein formed one of the world's first cosmetic companies. Her business enterprise proved immensely successful and later in life, she used her enormous wealth to support charitable institutions in the fields of education, art, and health.


Rubinstein rapidly expanded her operation. In 1908, her sister Ceska assumed the Melbourne shop's operation, and with $100,000, Rubinstein moved to London and began what was to become an international enterprise. (Women at this time could not obtain bank loans, so the money was her own.)


In 1908, she married the Polish-born American journalist Edward William Titus in London.  They had two sons, Roy Valentine Titus (London, December 12, 1909 – New York, June 18, 1989) and Horace Titus (London, April 23, 1912 – New York, May 18, 1958).  They eventually moved to Paris where she opened a salon in 1912.  Her husband helped with writing the  publicity  and set up a small publishing house, published  Lady Chatterley's Lover [ citation needed ]  and hired  Samuel Putnam  to translate famous model  Alice Prin 's (Kiki de Montparnasse) memoirs,  Kiki's Memoirs .


Rubinstein threw lavish dinner parties and became known for apocryphal quips, such as when an intoxicated French ambassador expressed vitriol toward  Edith Sitwell  and her brother  Sacheverell :  Vos ancêtres ont brûlé Jeanne d'Arc!  Rubinstein, who knew little French, asked a guest what the ambassador had said. "He said, 'Your ancestors burned  Joan of Arc . ' "  Rubinstein replied, "Well, someone had to do it." [ 7 ]


At another  fête ,  Marcel Proust  asked her what makeup a duchess might wear. She summarily dismissed him because "he smelt of mothballs". Rubinstein recollected later, "How was I to know he was going to be famous?" [ 8 ]


At the outbreak of  World War I , she and Titus moved to New York City, where she opened a cosmetics salon in 1915, the forerunner of a chain throughout the country. Rubinstein opened up the boundless American market, and she skilfully used it, despite serious competitors. This was the beginning of her vicious rivalry with another notable woman of the cosmetics industry,  Elizabeth Arden . Both Rubinstein and Arden, who died within 18 months of each other, were social climbers. They were both keenly aware of effective marketing and luxurious packaging, the attraction of beauticians in neat uniforms, the value of celebrity endorsements, the perceived  value of overpricing  and the promotion of the  pseudoscience  of skincare. The rivalry with Arden lasted all her life. Rubinstein said of her rival, "With her packaging and my product, we could have ruled the world." [ 9 ]


From 1917, Rubinstein took on the manufacturing and wholesale distribution of her products. The "Day of Beauty" in the various salons became a great success. The purported portrait of Rubinstein in her advertising was of a middle-age mannequin with a  Gentile  appearance. [ citation needed ]


In 1928, she sold the American business to  Lehman Brothers  for $7.3 million, ($127 million in 2022). After the onset of the  Great Depression , she bought back the nearly worthless stock for less than $1 million and eventually increased the value of the company to $100 million, establishing salons and outlets in almost a dozen US cities. This saga, and Rubinstein's early business career, has been the subject of a recent  Harvard Business School  case. [ 10 ]  Her subsequent spa at 715  Fifth Avenue  included a restaurant, a gymnasium and rugs by painter  Joan Miró . She commissioned artist  Salvador Dalí  to design a powder compact as well a portrait of herself in 1943, titled  Princess Arthchild Gourielle-Helena Rubinstein . [ 11 ]  Other artists who painted her portrait [ 12 ]  were  Graham Sutherland  in 1957 for the Helena Rubinstein Foundation, now in the  National Portrait Gallery of Australia , [ 13 ]   Marie Laurencin  in 1934 (now in the  National Portrait Gallery (United States) , [ 14 ]   Raoul Dufy  (1930), [ 15 ]   Roberto Montenegro  (1941). [ 16 ]  After Rubinstein's last visit to Australia,  William Dobell  painted a series of eight portraits in 1957. [ 17 ] [ 18 ]


After her divorce, in 1938 Helena readily married Prince Artchil Gourielli-Tchkonia (sometimes spelled Courielli-Tchkonia; born in  Georgia , February 18, 1895, died in New York City, November 21, 1955), whose somewhat clouded matrilinear claim to  Georgian nobility  stemmed from him having been born a member of the untitled noble Tchkonia family of  Guria , enticing the ambitious young man to appropriate the genuine title of his grandmother, born Princess  Gourielli . [ 19 ]


Gourielli-Tchkonia was 23 years younger than Rubinstein. Eager for a regal title, Rubinstein pursued the handsome man avidly and named a male cosmetics line after her youthful prized catch. Some have claimed that the marriage was a marketing ploy, including Rubinstein's being able to pass herself off as Helena Princess Gourielli. [ 20 ]


Rubinstein took a packed lunch to work and was frugal in many matters, but bought top-fashion clothing and valuable fine art and furniture. She founded the Helena Rubinstein Pavilion of Contemporary Art at the  Tel Aviv Museum of Art  and in 1957 she established the Helena Rubinstein Travelling Art Scholarship in Australia. [ 17 ]  In 1953, she established the philanthropic Helena Rubinstein Foundation to provide funds to organizations specializing in health, medical research and rehabilitation. [ 21 ]


In 1959, Rubinstein represented the US cosmetics industry at the  American National Exhibition  in Moscow.


Called "Madame" by her employees, she eschewed idle chatter, continued to be active in the corporation throughout her life, even from her sick bed, and staffed the company with her relatives. [ citation needed ]


Rubinstein died April 1, 1965, of natural causes and was buried in  Mount Olivet Cemetery  in  Queens . [ 22 ]  Some of her estate, including African and fine art,  Lucite  furniture, and Victorian furniture upholstered in purple, was auctioned in 1966 at the  Parke-Bernet  Galleries in New York City.


One of Rubinstein's numerous sayings was: "There are no ugly women, only lazy ones." [ 23 ]  A scholarly study of her exclusive beauty salons and how they blurred and influenced the conceptual boundaries at the time among fashion, art galleries, the domestic interior and versions of modernism is explored by Marie J. Clifford. [ 24 ]  A feature-length  documentary film ,  The Powder & the Glory  (2009) by Ann Carol Grossman and Arnie Reisman, details the rivalry between Rubinstein and  Elizabeth Arden . [ 9 ]


In her book  Ugly Beauty ,  Ruth Brandon  described her methodology:


She knew how to advertise—using 'fear copy with a bit of blah-blah'— and introduced the concept of 'problem' skin types. She also pioneered the use of pseudo-science in marketing, donning a lab coat in many advertisements, despite the fact that her only training had been a two-month tour of European skin-care facilities. She knew how to manipulate consumers' status anxiety, as well: If a product faltered initially, she would hike the price to raise the perceived value. [ 25 ]


In 1973, the company Helena Rubinstein, Inc. was sold to  Colgate-Palmolive .  By the 1980's the brand had faded from the US market. [ 26 ]  In 1984 it was acquired by  L'Oréal . [ 27 ] [ 28 ]  The L'Oreal takeover was to cause a good deal of scandal as company founder,  Eugène Schueller , had been an enthusiastic collaborator during the war, and in its aftermath, L'Oreal became notorious for employing ex-Nazis on the run.  Jacques Corrèze , who engineered the takeover, was one of these: he had been active in expropriating Jewish property in Paris. [ 29 ]  The brand was re-launched in the US market in 1999 but it was unprofitable despite its having a renaissance in Asia, Europe, and South America. The US operation was closed down in 2003. [ 30 ]   Since 2011, L'Oréal has been repositioning the brand as an ultra-premium skin care franchise. As of 2023, high-end Helena Rubinstein products remain unavailable in the US but are sold in international markets. [ 26 ]


The  L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science  are also known as the Helena Rubinstein Women in Science Awards.


The Helena Rubinstein Foundation, which had been established in 1953, operated through 2011, ultimately distributing nearly $130 million over the course of six decades, primarily to education, arts, and community-based organizations in New York City. [ 21 ]  The foundation was a longtime supporter of children's programming for New York City's  PBS  affiliate  WNET .


The Manhattan  Jewish Museum  hosted the exhibition "Helena Rubinstein: Beauty Is Power", the first museum show devoted to Rubinstein, from October 31, 2014, until March 22, 2015. [ 31 ] [ 32 ]


A one-off Rubinstein Mural Prize was awarded in 1958 to  Erica McGilchrist  for her work in the Women's College,  University of Melbourne , and a Helena Rubinstein Scholarship was awarded to  Frank Hodgkinson  in 1958 and  Charles Blackman  1960.


The  Helena Rubinstein Portrait Prize  was an annual prize of £300 for portraiture by an Australian artist, and was mostly staged at the  Claude Hotchin  Gallery in Western Australia. [ 33 ]


Based on Woodhead's book, [ 34 ]  the 2016 musical  War Paint  dramatizes her rivalry with competitor  Elizabeth Arden . After a run Chicago's  Goodman Theatre , the show opened on  Broadway  at the  Nederlander Theatre  on April 6, 2017, starring  Patti LuPone  as Rubinstein and  Christine Ebersole  as Arden. [ 35 ]


The comedy  Lip Service  by the Australian dramatist  John Misto  chronicles the life and career of Rubinstein and her rivalry with Elizabeth Arden and  Revlon [ clarification needed ] .  Lip Service  premiered April 26, 2017, at the  Park Theatre  in London, under the title  Madame Rubinstein , before opening at Sydney's  Ensemble Theatre  in August of the same year.  Miriam Margolyes  starred as Rubinstein. [ 36 ]


Sources


Shea butter  ( / ʃ iː /   SHEE ,  / ˈ ʃ iː ə /   SHEE -ə , or  / ʃ eɪ /   SHAY ;  Bambara :  ߛߌ߮ߕߎߟߎ ,  romanized:  sìtulu [ 1 ] ) is a fat ( triglyceride ; mainly  oleic acid  and  stearic acid ) extracted from the nut of the African shea tree ( Vitellaria paradoxa ). [ 2 ]  It is ivory in color when raw and commonly dyed yellow with  borututu  root or  palm oil . It is widely used in cosmetics as a moisturizer or lotion. It is edible and is used in food preparation in some African countries. [ 3 ]  It is occasionally mixed with other oils as a substitute for cocoa butter, although the taste is noticeably different. [ 4 ] [ 5 ]


The English word "shea" comes from  sǐ , the tree's name in  Bambara . [ 6 ]  It is known by many local names, such as  kpakahili  in the  Dagbani language ,  taama  in the  Wali language ,  nkuto  in  Twi ,  kaɗe  or  kaɗanya  in  Hausa ,  òkwùmá  in the  Igbo language ,  òrí  in the  Yoruba language , and  karité  in the  Wolof language  of  Senegal . [ 7 ]  It is also known as Moo-yaa in the  Acholi  language. [ 8 ]


The common name is  shísu   ߛ߭ߌ߭ߛߎ  (lit. "shea tree") in the Bambara language of Mali. This is the origin of the English word, one pronunciation of which rhymes with "tea"  / ʃ iː / , although the pronunciation  / ʃ eɪ /  (rhyming with "day") is common, and is listed second in major dictionaries. The tree is called  ghariti  in the Wolof language of Senegal, which is the origin of the French name of the tree and the butter,  karité .


The shea tree grows naturally in the wild in the dry  savannah  belt of West Africa from Senegal in the west to  Sudan  in the east, and onto the foothills of the Ethiopian highlands. It occurs in 21 countries across the African continent, namely  Benin ,  Burkina Faso ,  Cameroon ,  Central African Republic ,  Chad ,  Ethiopia ,  Eritrea ,  Ghana ,  Guinea Bissau ,  Ivory Coast ,  Mali ,  Niger ,  Nigeria ,  Senegal ,  Sierra Leone ,  South Sudan ,  Sudan ,  Togo ,  Uganda ,  Democratic Republic of the Congo ,  Kenya  and  Guinea .


A  testa  found at the site of the medieval village of Saouga is evidence of shea butter production by the 14th century. [ 9 ]  The butter was being imported into Britain by 1846. [ 10 ]


Shea butter is composed of five principal fatty acids:  palmitic ,  stearic ,  oleic ,  linoleic , and  arachidic  (see Table below). About 85 to 90% of the fatty acid composition is stearic and oleic acids. The relative proportion of these two fatty acids affects shea butter consistency. The stearic acid gives it a solid consistency, while the oleic acid influences how soft or hard the shea butter is, depending on ambient temperature.


The proportions of stearic and oleic acids in the shea kernels and butter differ across the distribution range of the species. Ugandan shea butter has consistently high oleic acid content, and is liquid at warm ambient temperatures. It fractionizes into liquid and solid phases, and is the source of liquid shea oil. The fatty acid proportion of West African shea butter is much more variable than Ugandan shea butter, with an oleic content of 37 to 55%. Variability can be high even locally, and a tree that produces hard butter can grow with one that produces soft butter.


Nuts are gathered from a wide area for local production, so shea butter consistency is determined by the average fatty acid profile of the population. Within West Africa, shea butter from the Mossi Plateau region of  Burkina Faso  has a higher average stearic acid content, and so is usually harder than shea butter from other West African regions. [ 11 ]


A 2014 review characterized and quantified phenolic compounds in shea butter, identifying 10 phenolic compounds, eight of which are  catechins . [ 12 ]  This study also found that the overall concentration and relative percentages of different phenolic content in shea kernels varied from region to region. [ 12 ]  The authors hypothesized that the overall concentration of phenols in shea kernels is linked to the level of environmental stress that the trees endure. [ 12 ]


Shea butter is mainly used in the cosmetics industry for skin- and hair-related products (lip gloss, lip stick, skin moisturizer creams and emulsions, and hair conditioners for dry and brittle hair). [ citation needed ]  It is also used by soap makers and massage oil manufacturers, typically in small amounts, because it has plenty of  unsaponifiables , and higher amounts result in a softer soap that has less cleaning ability. Some artisan soap makers use shea butter in amounts to 25% – with the European Union regulating the maximum use around 28%, but it is rarely the case in commercially produced soap due to its high cost compared to oils like palm oil or olive oil.


In some African countries such as  Benin , shea butter is used for cooking oil, [ 13 ]  as a waterproofing wax, for hairdressing, for candle-making, and as an ingredient in medicinal ointments. It is used by makers of traditional African  percussion instruments  to increase the durability of wood (such as carved  djembe  shells), dried  calabash  gourds, and leather tuning straps. [ citation needed ]


The  United States Agency for International Development  and other companies have suggested a classification system for shea butter, separating it into five grades:


Commercial grades are A, B, and C. The color of raw (grade A) butter ranges from cream (like whipped butter) to grayish yellow. It has a nutty aroma which is removed in the other grades. Grade C is pure white. While the level of vitamin content can be affected by refining, up to 95% of vitamin content can be removed from refined grades (i.e., grade C) of shea butter while reducing contamination levels to undetectable levels.


Skin disinfection  is a process that involves the application of a  disinfectant  to reduce levels of  microorganisms  on the skin. [ 1 ]  Disinfecting the skin of the patient and the hands of the healthcare providers are an important part of  surgery . [ 1 ]


Skin disinfection may be accomplished with a number of solutions including  providone-iodine ,  chlorhexidine ,  alcohol  based solutions, and  cetrimide . [ 2 ]  There is strong evidence that  chlorhexidine  and  denatured alcohol  use to clean skin prior to surgery is better than any other commercially available antiseptic, such as povidone-iodine with alcohol. [ 3 ] [ 4 ]


Its importance in health care was determined by  Semmelweis  in the 1840s. [ 5 ]


Soap  is a  salt  of a  fatty acid  (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. [ 1 ]  In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are  surfactants  usually used for  washing ,  bathing , and other types of  housekeeping . In industrial settings, soaps are used as  thickeners , components of some  lubricants ,  emulsifiers , and  catalysts .


Soaps are often produced by mixing fats and oils with a  base . [ 2 ]  Humans have used soap for millennia; evidence exists for the production of soap-like materials in ancient  Babylon  around 2800 BC.


In a domestic setting, "soap" usually refers to what is technically called a toilet soap, used for household and personal cleaning. Toilet soaps are salts of fatty acids with the general formula ( RCO 2 − )M + , where M is  Na  (sodium) or  K  (potassium). [ 3 ]


When used for cleaning, soap  solubilizes  particles and grime, which can then be separated from the article being cleaned. The insoluble oil/fat "dirt" become associated inside  micelles , tiny spheres formed from soap molecules with polar  hydrophilic  (water-attracting) groups on the outside and encasing a  lipophilic  (fat-attracting) pocket, which shields the oil/fat molecules from the water, making them soluble. Anything that is soluble will be washed away with the water. In  hand washing , as a surfactant, when lathered with a little water, soap kills  microorganisms  by disorganizing their membrane  lipid bilayer  and  denaturing  their  proteins . [ citation needed ]  It also  emulsifies  oils, enabling them to be carried away by running water. [ 4 ]


When used in  hard water , soap does not lather well but forms  soap scum  (related to  metallic soaps , see below). [ 5 ]


So-called  metallic soaps  are key components of most lubricating  greases  and thickeners. [ 3 ]  A commercially important example is  lithium stearate . Greases are usually  emulsions  of  calcium soap  or  lithium soap  and  mineral oil . Many other metallic soaps are also useful, including those of  aluminium ,  sodium , and mixtures thereof. Such soaps are also used as thickeners to increase the  viscosity  of oils. In ancient times, lubricating greases were made by the addition of  lime  to  olive oil , which would produce calcium soaps. [ 6 ]  Metal soaps are also included in modern artists'  oil paints  formulations as a  rheology  modifier. [ 7 ]  Metal soaps can be prepared by neutralizing fatty acids with metal oxides:


A cation from an  organic base  such as  ammonium  can be used instead of a metal; ammonium  nonanoate  is an ammonium-based soap that is used as an herbicide. [ 8 ]


Another class of non-toilet soaps are  resin soaps , which are produced in the  paper industry  by the action of tree rosin with alkaline reagents used to separate cellulose from raw wood.  A major component of such soaps is the sodium salt of  abietic acid .  Resin soaps are used as emulsifiers. [ 9 ]


The production of toilet soaps usually entails  saponification  of  triglycerides , which are vegetable or animal oils and fats. An alkaline solution (often  lye  or  sodium hydroxide ) induces saponification whereby the triglyceride fats first  hydrolyze  into salts of fatty acids.  Glycerol  (glycerin) is liberated. The glycerin is sometimes left in the soap product as a softening agent, although it is sometimes separated. [ 10 ] [ 11 ]  Handmade soap can differ from industrially made soap in that an excess of fat or coconut oil beyond that needed to consume the  alkali  is used (in a cold-pour process, this excess fat is called "superfatting"), and the glycerol left in acts as a moisturizing agent. However, the glycerine also makes the soap softer. The addition of glycerol and processing of this soap produces  glycerin soap . Superfatted soap is more skin-friendly than one without extra fat, although it can leave a "greasy" feel. Sometimes, an  emollient  is added, such as  jojoba  oil or  shea butter . [ 12 ]   Sand  or  pumice  may be added to produce a  scouring  soap. The scouring agents serve to remove dead cells from the skin surface being cleaned. This process is called  exfoliation .


To make  antibacterial  soap, compounds such as  triclosan  or  triclocarban  can be added. There is some concern that use of antibacterial soaps and other products might encourage  antimicrobial resistance  in microorganisms. [ 13 ]


The type of alkali metal used determines the kind of soap product.  Sodium  soaps, prepared from  sodium hydroxide , are firm, whereas  potassium  soaps, derived from  potassium hydroxide , are softer or often liquid. Historically, potassium hydroxide was extracted from the ashes of  bracken  or other plants. Lithium soaps also tend to be hard. These are used exclusively in  greases .


For making toilet soaps,  triglycerides  (oils and fats) are derived from coconut, olive, or palm oils, as well as  tallow . [ 14 ]  Triglyceride is the chemical name for the  triesters  of fatty acids and  glycerin . Tallow,  i.e.,   rendered  fat, is the most available triglyceride from animals. Each species offers quite different fatty acid content, resulting in soaps of distinct feel. The seed oils give softer but milder soaps. Soap made from pure  olive oil , sometimes called  Castile soap  or  Marseille soap , is reputed for its particular mildness. The term "Castile" is also sometimes applied to soaps from a mixture of oils with a high percentage of olive oil.


Proto-soaps, which mixed fat and alkali and were used for cleansing, are mentioned in  Sumerian ,  Babylonian  and  Egyptian  texts. [ 15 ] [ 16 ]


The earliest recorded evidence of the production of soap-like materials dates back to around 2800 BC in ancient Babylon. [ 17 ]  A formula for making a soap-like substance was written on a Sumerian clay tablet around 2500 BC. This was produced by heating a mixture of oil and  wood ash , the earliest recorded chemical reaction, and used for washing  woolen  clothing. [ 18 ]


The  Ebers papyrus  (Egypt, 1550 BC) indicates the ancient Egyptians used a soap-like product as a medicine and created this by combining animal fats or vegetable oils with a  soda ash  substance called  trona . [ 18 ]  Egyptian documents mention a similar substance was used in the preparation of  wool  for weaving. [ citation needed ]


In the reign of  Nabonidus  (556–539 BC), a recipe for a soap-like substance consisted of  uhulu  [ashes],  cypress  [oil] and sesame [seed oil] "for washing the stones for the servant girls". [ 19 ]


True soaps, which we might recognise as soaps today, were different to proto-soaps. They foamed, were made deliberately, and could be produced in a hard or soft form because of an understanding of lye sources. [ 16 ]  It is uncertain as to who was the first to invent true soap. [ 15 ] [ 20 ]


Knowledge of how to produce true soap emerged at some point between early mentions of proto-soaps and the first century AD. [ 15 ] [ 16 ]  Alkali was used to clean textiles such as wool for thousands of years [ 21 ]  but soap only forms when there is enough fat, and experiments show that washing wool does not create visible quantities of soap. [ 15 ]  Experiments by Sally Pointer show that the repeated laundering of materials used in  perfume -making lead to noticeable amounts of soap forming. This fits with other evidence from  Mesopotamian  culture. [ 15 ]


Pliny the Elder, whose writings chronicle life in the first century AD, describes soap as "an invention of the Gauls". [ 22 ]  The word  sapo , Latin for soap, has  connected to a mythical Mount Sapo, a hill near the River Tiber where animals were sacrificed. [ 23 ]  But in all likelihood, the word was borrowed from an early Germanic language and is  cognate  with Latin  sebum , " tallow ". It first appears in  Pliny the Elder 's account, [ 24 ]   Historia Naturalis , which discusses the manufacture of soap from tallow and ashes. There he mentions its use in the treatment of  scrofulous sores , as well as among the  Gauls  as a dye to redden hair which the men in  Germania  were more likely to use than women. [ 25 ] [ 26 ]  The Romans avoided washing with harsh soaps before encountering the milder soaps used by the Gauls around 58 BC. [ 27 ]   Aretaeus of Cappadocia , writing in the 2nd century AD, observes among "Celts, which are men called Gauls, those alkaline substances that are made into balls [...] called  soap ". [ 28 ]  The Romans' preferred method of cleaning the body was to massage oil into the skin and then scrape away both the oil and any dirt with a  strigil . [ 29 ]  The standard design is a curved blade with a handle, all of which is made of metal. [ 30 ]


The 2nd-century AD physician  Galen  describes soap-making using lye and prescribes washing to carry away impurities from the body and clothes. The use of soap for personal cleanliness became increasingly common in this period. According to Galen, the best soaps were Germanic, and soaps from Gaul were second best.  Zosimos of Panopolis ,  circa  300 AD, describes soap and soapmaking. [ 31 ]


In the Southern  Levant , the ashes from  barilla plants , such as species of  Salsola , saltwort ( Seidlitzia rosmarinus ) and  Anabasis , were used to make  potash . [ 32 ] [ 33 ]  Traditionally, olive oil was used instead of animal lard throughout the Levant, which was boiled in a copper cauldron for several days. [ 34 ]  As the boiling progresses, alkali ashes and smaller quantities of  quicklime  are added and constantly stirred. [ 34 ]  In the case of lard, it required constant stirring while kept lukewarm until it began to trace. Once it began to thicken, the brew was poured into a mold and left to cool and harden for two weeks. After hardening, it was cut into smaller cakes. Aromatic herbs were often added to the rendered soap to impart their fragrance, such as  yarrow  leaves,  lavender ,  germander , etc.


A detergent similar to soap was manufactured in ancient China from the seeds of  Gleditsia sinensis . [ 35 ]  Another traditional detergent is a mixture of pig pancreas and plant ash called  zhuyizi  ( simplified Chinese :  猪胰子 ;  traditional Chinese :  豬胰子 ;  pinyin :  zhūyízǐ ). Soap made of animal fat did not appear in China until the modern era. [ 36 ]  Soap-like detergents were not as popular as ointments and creams. [ 35 ]


Hard toilet soap with a pleasant smell was produced in the  Middle East  during the  Islamic Golden Age , when soap-making became an established industry. Recipes for soap-making are described by  Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi  (c. 865–925), who also gave a recipe for producing  glycerine  from  olive oil . In the Middle East, soap was produced from the interaction of  fatty oils  and  fats  with  alkali . In  Syria , soap was produced using olive oil together with alkali and  lime . Soap was exported from Syria to other parts of the  Muslim world  and to Europe. [ 37 ]


A 12th-century document describes the process of soap production. [ 38 ]  It mentions the key ingredient,  alkali , which later became crucial to modern chemistry, derived from  al-qaly  or "ashes".


By the 13th century, the manufacture of soap in the Middle East had become a major cottage industry, with sources in  Nablus ,  Fes ,  Damascus , and  Aleppo . [ citation needed ]


Soapmakers in  Naples  were members of a  guild  in the late sixth century (then under the control of the  Eastern Roman Empire ), [ 39 ]  and in the eighth century, soap-making was well known in Italy and Spain. [ 40 ]  The  Carolingian   capitulary   De Villis , dating to around 800, representing the royal will of  Charlemagne , mentions soap as being one of the products the stewards of royal estates are to tally. The lands of  Medieval Spain  were a leading soapmaker by 800, and soapmaking began in the  Kingdom of England  about 1200. [ 41 ]  Soapmaking is mentioned both as "women's work" and as the produce of "good workmen" alongside other necessities, such as the produce of carpenters, blacksmiths, and bakers. [ 42 ]


In Europe, soap in the 9th century was produced from animal fats and had an unpleasant smell. This changed when olive oil began to be used in soap formulas instead, after which much of Europe's soap production moved to the Mediterranean olive-growing regions. [ 43 ]  Hard toilet soap was introduced to Europe by Arabs and gradually spread as a luxury item. It was often perfumed. [ 37 ] [ 43 ]


By the 15th century, the manufacture of soap in  Christendom  often took place on an industrial scale, with sources in  Antwerp ,  Castile ,  Marseille ,  Naples  and  Venice . [ 40 ]


In France, by the second half of the 16th century, the semi-industrialized professional manufacture of soap was concentrated in a few centers of  Provence — Toulon ,  Hyères , and  Marseille —which supplied the rest of France. [ 44 ]  In Marseilles, by 1525, production was concentrated in at least two factories, and soap production at Marseille tended to eclipse the other Provençal centers. [ 45 ]


English manufacture tended to concentrate in London. [ 46 ]  The demand for high-quality hard soap was significant enough during the Tudor period that barrels of ashes were imported for the manufacture of soap. [ 16 ]


Finer soaps were later produced in Europe from the 17th century, using vegetable oils (such as  olive oil ) as opposed to animal fats. Many of these soaps are still produced, both industrially and by small-scale artisans.  Castile soap  is a popular example of the vegetable-only soaps derived from the oldest "white soap" of Italy. In 1634 Charles I granted the newly formed Society of Soapmakers a monopoly in soap production who produced certificates from 'foure Countesses, and five Viscountesses, and divers other Ladies and Gentlewomen of great credite and quality, besides common Laundresses and others', testifying that 'the New White Soap washeth whiter and sweeter than the Old Soap'. [ 47 ]


During the  Restoration era  (February 1665 – August 1714) a soap tax was introduced in England, which meant that until the mid-1800s, soap was a luxury, used regularly only by the well-to-do. The soap manufacturing process was closely supervised by revenue officials who made sure that soapmakers' equipment was kept under lock and key when not being supervised. Moreover, soap could not be produced by small makers because of a law that stipulated that soap boilers must manufacture a minimum quantity of one imperial ton at each boiling, which placed the process beyond the reach of the average person. The soap trade was boosted and deregulated when the tax was repealed in 1853. [ 48 ] [ 49 ] [ 50 ]


Industrially manufactured  bar soaps  became available in the late 18th century, as advertising campaigns in Europe and America promoted popular awareness of the relationship between cleanliness and health. [ 51 ]  In modern times, the use of soap has become commonplace in industrialized nations due to a better understanding of the role of  hygiene  in reducing the population size of  pathogenic   microorganisms . [ 52 ]


Until the  Industrial Revolution , soapmaking was conducted on a small scale and the product was rough. In 1780,  James Keir  established a chemical works at  Tipton , for the manufacture of alkali from the sulfates of  potash  and soda, to which he afterwards added a soap manufactory. The method of extraction proceeded on a discovery of Keir's. In 1790,  Nicolas Leblanc  discovered how to make alkali from  common salt . [ 27 ]   Andrew Pears  started making a high-quality, transparent soap,  Pears soap , in 1807 in London. [ 53 ]  His son-in-law,  Thomas J. Barratt , became the brand manager (the first of its kind) for Pears in 1865. [ 54 ]  In 1882, Barratt recruited English actress and socialite  Lillie Langtry  to become the poster-girl for Pears soap, making her the first celebrity to endorse a commercial product. [ 55 ] [ 56 ]


William Gossage  produced low-priced, good-quality soap from the 1850s.  Robert Spear Hudson  began manufacturing a soap powder in 1837, initially by grinding the soap with a  mortar and pestle . American manufacturer  Benjamin T. Babbitt  introduced marketing innovations that included the sale of bar soap and distribution of  product samples .  William Hesketh Lever  and his brother,  James , bought a small soap works in  Warrington  in 1886 and founded what is still one of the largest soap businesses, formerly called Lever Brothers and now called  Unilever . These soap businesses were among the first to employ large-scale  advertising  campaigns.


Liquid soap was invented in the nineteenth century; in 1865, William Sheppard patented a liquid version of soap. [ 57 ]  In 1898, B.J. Johnson developed a soap derived from palm and olive oils; his company, the  B.J. Johnson Soap Company , introduced " Palmolive " brand soap that same year. [ 58 ]  This new brand of soap became popular rapidly, and to such a degree that B.J. Johnson Soap Company changed its name to  Palmolive . [ 59 ]


In the early 1900s, other companies began to develop their own liquid soaps. Such products as  Pine-Sol  and  Tide  appeared on the market, making the process of cleaning things other than skin, such as clothing, floors, and bathrooms, much easier.


Liquid soap also works better for more traditional or non-machine washing methods, such as using a  washboard . [ 60 ]


A  soap substitute  is a natural or synthetic cleaning product used in place of  soap  or other  detergents , typically to reduce environmental impact or health harms or provide other benefits.


Traditionally, soap has been made from animal or plant derived fats and has been used by humans for cleaning purposes for several thousand years. [ 1 ]  Soap is not harmful to human health but, like any natural or unnatural surfactant, it does have the potential to cause environmental harm by forming a surface film that impedes the diffusion of oxygen into the water if it is added to an aquatic environment faster than it can biodegrade. [ 2 ]


Many washing agents today, from laundry and dish detergents to body wash and shampoos, are technically not soap, but synthetic detergents. [ 3 ]  They also often contain compounds that have been found to be harmful to human and wildlife health as well as to the environment. [ 2 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]  In this context, “Soap Substitutes” refers to cleansing products that significantly reduce or eliminate some or all of the components that have the potential to cause human or environmental harm. Throughout the last 100 years many changes have been made to the formulas of cleansing agents for these purposes, but the process of developing effective substitute detergent formulations that are completely harmless to humans and the environment is ongoing.


This article outlines some of the problems and concerns about synthetic surfactant based cleaning products since their popularization in the early 20th century as well as how these issues have been addressed, both technologically and legislatively.


Petroleum derived synthetic detergents became popular in the United States during World War 2 due to shortages of animal and plant derived fats and because they worked better when cleaning with hard water (water with a high concentration of dissolved minerals) than traditional soap. [ 6 ]  By the 1950s synthetic detergents were more commonly used than traditional soap in the United States. [ 7 ]  Many of the first synthetic detergents were made from compounds that contained branched carbon chains, which persist in the environment for far longer than their linear counterparts. [ 6 ]  Consequently, this led to the buildup of these foamy surfactants in water treatment plants as well as the formation of large flotillas of foam in waterways. [ 6 ]  Public pressure led the US and Europe to ban the use of alkyl benzene sulphonate (ABS) and other branched chain surfactants in 1965. [ 6 ]


This sparked great interest in the development of synthetic detergents that biodegrade into environmentally friendly byproducts. Such interest has led to the development of the linear carbon chain compounds commonly used today, such as sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate/ sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLS/SLES). [ 6 ]  While these surfactants are still derived from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource, and have been shown to cause mild to moderate irritation of skin, they biodegrade significantly faster, and this has led to a drastic reduction in surfactant pollution of waterways. [ 6 ] [ 8 ]  While the environmental friendliness of the biodegradation byproducts of the surfactants most commonly used today varies, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors and regulates claims made by companies about the environmental friendliness and potential toxicity of the biodegradation byproducts of their cleansing products. [ 6 ] [ 9 ]


There have been continued efforts to develop surfactants that are milder to humans and pose less risk to the environment.  An emerging substitute for synthetic petroleum derived surfactants such as SDS are Alkyl polyglycosides (APGs). [ 10 ] [ 11 ]  They are derived from plant based substances such as palm oil or wheat and exposure of APGs to skin and eyes is considerably safer than their petroleum derived counterparts. [ 10 ] [ 11 ]  Studies have shown APG use, even in large quantities, pose no measurable environmental risk, while others report that more research is needed to confirm the true environmental impact of APGs. [ 11 ]  Although the use of APG surfactants currently have some disadvantages, such as the relatively high cost of production and uncertainties about the potential environmental impact of large scale use, further research into the development of APG surfactants shows a promising path to the creation of a naturally derived, non-toxic and environmentally friendly substitute for petroleum derived surfactants that is inexpensive, equally effective, and mass producible. [ 10 ] [ 11 ]


Another environmental issue with synthetic detergents is the addition of phosphates to these cleaning products. Phosphates are added to detergent as tripolyphosphate or as sodium/potassium phosphate. [ 2 ] [ 6 ]  Phosphates interact with other ions in solution, like Calcium and Magnesium, to improve the washing ability of the detergent, especially when washing with hard water. [ 2 ]  Phosphates have also been shown to aid in killing germs when used in washing. [ 6 ]  However ,  most wastewater treatment processes generally remove only a small fraction of the phosphate in the water, and subsequently large quantities are released into waterways. [ 6 ]


When large quantities of phosphates accumulate in waterways, it causes a bloom in algae and a subsequent lack of oxygen in the water, which severely damages the aquatic ecosystem. This process is called “eutrophication”. [ 2 ] [ 6 ]  In 1959 detergents contained 7-12% phosphate by weight, by 1969 this increased to 15-17% by weight. [ 6 ]   It is believed that during its peak use in the 1970s, half of all phosphates released by human activity was from detergents. [ 6 ]


Newfound knowledge of eutrophication from scientific research in the 1940s and 1950s along with the occurrence of massive algal blooms during the 1960s-1970s in waterways like Lake Erie led to significant public concern about the increasing pollution in lakes and rivers. [ 6 ]  People believed phosphates from detergents to be a major cause. [ 6 ]  This led to a demand for methods of removal of phosphate from wastewater during the treatment. [ 6 ]  The first processes designed to remove phosphates from municipal wastewater (for environmental purposes) were implemented in the 1960s. [ 12 ]


During this time, two main processes were used; phosphates were removed from the wastewater by either chemical precipitation or through biological mechanisms. [ 13 ]  Further investment and research into phosphate removal methods led to the development of the modern multiphase biological reactor for removal of phosphorus-containing compounds. [ 14 ] [ 15 ]  Despite the technological advances made in phosphate removal processes, most were designed for use in large water treatment facilities that have advanced monitoring capabilities and expert operating technicians on site. [ 15 ]  As of 1999, only 7% of municipal wastewater treatment facilities in the United States have the tertiary treatment processes needed to remove greater than 20% of the phosphate from affluent wastewater. [ 15 ]  Even today, there remains a lack of technologies for phosphate removal in the smaller water treatment facilities found in non-urban areas. [ 16 ]


By the early 1970s there was also significant public pressure on the United States government to ban phosphates in detergent cleansing products and congressional hearings on the topic were held. [ 17 ]  Detergent manufacturers explored the use of other compounds as a potential substitute for phosphates such as nitrile-tri-acetic acid (NTA), gluconic acid, citric acid, and polyelectrolytes. [ 17 ]  Ultimately, effective detergent formulations using citric acid and polyelectrolytes were developed and in some cases even sold; but they were not a comparable substitute to phosphate containing detergent formulations, either economically or in cleaning ability. [ 17 ] [ 18 ]   While these hearings did not result in any direct regulation of the phosphate content of detergent by the federal government, they were part of the many hearings that led to the  Clean Water Act  of 1972. [ 17 ] [ 19 ]


Major soap manufactures resisted an outright ban on phosphates, and in 1970 voluntarily agreed to lower phosphate concentrations in detergents to 8.7%. [ 6 ]   Although the US federal government has made no legislation banning phosphates in laundry detergent, between 1971 and 1990, most US states independently banned or strictly limited it. [ 15 ]   In 1994, the Soap and Detergent Association (today known as the American Cleaning Institute (ACI)), a coalition representing most major detergent manufactures, voluntarily agreed to ban phosphates in consumer laundry detergents. [ 15 ]  Notably, this ban did not include dish detergents. [ 15 ]  Procter and Gamble, a detergent industry giant and ACI member, did not remove phosphates from all of their brands of laundry detergent (Tide, Ariel, Ace, and Bounty) until 2016. [ 20 ]