Men have had a long history with cosmetics, and have been beautifying since 50,000 BCE. In the 1970s, male musicians began to use makeup onstage. This included famous rockstars such as David Bowie, Alice Cooper, and the band Kiss.[1] The use of cosmetics allowed them to create an alter ego, and were part of the visual entertainment of their shows. Currently, the popularity of TikTok has created a rise in mens' cosmetics. Some men have chosen to wear nail polish, makeup, and other cosmetics to express their identity online.[2]
In Japan, geisha wore lipstick made of crushed safflower petals to paint the eyebrows and edges of the eyes as well as the lips, and sticks of bintsuke wax, a softer version of the sumo wrestlers' hair wax, were used by geisha as a makeup base. Rice powder colors the face and back; rouge contours the eye socket and defines the nose.[unreliable source?] Ohaguro (black paint) colours the teeth for the ceremony, called Erikae, when maiko (apprentice geisha) graduate and become independent. The geisha would also sometimes use bird droppings to compile a lighter color. The beginning of the modern Japanese cosmetic industry began after the Meiji Restoration in 1868.[3] New products began appearing in the markets for skin care and dermatology due to new ingredients and technologies.
In addition, Black women joined the consumer market in America for hair care. Due to innovations in technology in the 1940s and 1950s, Black women were given more options in hair straightening techniques.[4] In 1954, George E. Johnson started the Johnson Product Company and introduced a safe straightening hair care system that could be purchased in stores and done at home.[5] As America shifted into the 1960s and 1970s, the afro became a popular hairstyle and required a new set of beauty demands. The afro became a symbol of naturalness, and rose with the "Black is Beautiful Movement," as well as Black nationalism.[6] Johnson Product Company created various hair care products to upkeep the Afro look. Products like Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen became popular amongst Black consumers. As Black consumerism grew, White owned companies tried to make their way into the Black hair care industry. Clairol created products and advertisements that were aimed to support Black hair.
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Beauty standards varied by tribes. Cosmetics was typically describing an individual's social class. These tribes tend to have the product on their bodies in addition to their face. In Colombia, cosmetic products used oil or petroleum with various colors for the face and vermillion for the body. More color indicates the woman of higher class. For Nicaragua, the arms were painted on the arm with a mixture consisting of wool and the individual's blood. Like the Colombian women, the petroleum is used with the exception of the breasts to prevent interference with child development.[7]
The Maya utilized the color red to represent social class and also used the color in funeral processes. The pigment was produced with mercury, lead, and arsenic. Other products to make the red color includes animals and plants. These items helped create more variety of reds with various tones, intensity, and sheen. Different shades of red determine a person's social status as red was represented luxury. Other colors in Maya society were blue and green made with Indigofera, malachite, azurite, veszelyite, and copper-containing minerals. Similar to red, the colors were also used in funerals and used to represent royalty. Orange and yellow were used with the same purpose of prestige being produced with hematite, goethite, and limonite.
The body was considered as their portrait to the Maya with various images of plants, animals, and humans being common images. Other designs include personal designs using geometry.
The Chinchorro culture in northern Chile followed the same principle as the Mayans regarding the significance of the color red with it being found in mummies.[8]
Latin America's cosmetic and personal-care industry has been increasing significantly and much more diverse. Within the industry, the thought of sustainability in products are considered to find alternatives to silicone and palm sourced additives. Clariant being one of the companies producing such products. One item used in products is epseama derived from seaweed. The ingredient serves as an anti-aging agent in skin products.[9]
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