COSMETICS IN INDIA,: A Brief Guide for the Student and the Intending Manufacturer By SETHUMADHAVA, M.Sc. (Tech.)., Dip. Soap. Tech.* THE MANUFACTURE and use of cosmetics and perfumes in India are by no means of recent origin their beginnings may, in fact, be traced far back into the mists of remote antiquity. Turning the pages of history, we find refer- ences to the liberal use of various cosmetics and perfumes by kings, courtiers and commoners as a normal part of their daily routine. Naturally occurring materials were prepared and compounded to give various types of cosmetic preparations, which corresponded in many essential ways to those in use to-day. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between perfumes and cosmetics in ancient India, and the manufacture of these allied aids to beauty may usually be regarded as one overall process rather than a series of deliberately separated practices. Cosmetic and perfume receptacles of many kinds have been discovered in some of the oldest excavations of Mohenj adaro and other Indian archaeo- logical sites. Very lucid descriptions of these and the art of beauty culture of ancient India have been recorded in the early works of our celebrated poets, scholars, dramatists and historians. Even to-day, we find many people in India, using, as a matter of routine, judicious blends of some of the naturally occurring materials which bear closer resemblance to ancient Indian cosmetics than to those of the present day. A very interesting account of the art and science of cosmetics in the Gupta Age and in the time of the poets Kalidasa and B•na have been made available to us by Sadgopal. • A detailed study of these old writings reveals that some cosmetic preparation or other was used at every stage of human activity from the cradle to the grave. FOR THE BATH Prior to bathing, men, women and children used to massage their bodies with several pastes (creams) and tissue oils to render the skin (particularly the limbs and face) soft and supple. Sandalwood was used for the prepara- tion of several of these pastes, which were called Anulepana, Angaraga, etc., and several beneficial oils (tissue oils) were prepared from such fruits as ingudi, manatsila and harilata. During the bath, in addition to using scented waters like rose, geranium, etc., a soap-like preparation called Phenaka was also employed. Several medicinal herbs were commonly soaked in advance in the water intended for the bath. * Burmah Shell, Bangalore. 5O

COSMETICS IN INDIA 51 The after-bath toilet evidently used to take up quite a lot of time. The hair, after drying, was perfumed and warmed with the frankincense of Lodhra dust, Dhupa (gum benzoin), etc. The body was then smeared with a paste, prepared by mixing sandalwood dust, camphor, musk, saffron, etc., grinding them together and kneading the mixture to a fine paste with rose- water. This preparation was applied to the skin because of the medicinal properties of some of the ingredients and in order that they might keep the body always pleasantly scented. More or less as an ornament, the Tilaka or vermilion spot was impressed on the forehead by men, women and children alike. Women used to smear their breasts with several pastes for the cooling effect thus imparted. Eyebrow pencils and eye shadows were used. Lips were painted with a lac dye and finished with Lodhra dust, although the chewing of betel leaves with the other necessary ingredients was equally popular for reddening the lips. Men used to chew scented tobacco along with betel leaves as a means of sweetening their breath. The above is only the barest outline of the beauty culture of ancient India. Unfortunately, elaborate information on the subject was not hitherto available so easily to the modern student of cosmetics who was, therefore, naturally led to believe that such beauty aids had been largely introduced into India from foreign countries. More and more information on the subject is being brought to light by several Indian authors, and there is no doubt that exceedingly instructive and interesting information will be unfolded if the talented research workers in India divert their attention towards the revival of ancient Indian cosmetics and modify them to suit the present-day needs of the country. COPING WITH TRADITION AND CLIMATE Manufacturers of cosmetics in India are nowadays faced with a number of peculiar difficulties. To start with, a vast majority of people in India still prefer the traditional Indian methods of beauty culture, notwithstanding the changing conditions and the eye-catching advertisements in favour of modern cosmetics. This ancient art is something in which they have a firm belief (even to the extent of being very uncompromising and absolutely con- servative) because, in this case, they need not rely upon the veracity or otherwise of newspaper advertisements. Traditional methods have been passed on to them from their forefathers and they practise them almost as rites and rituals, although not to the same extent as did their ancestors. If you tell such a conservative Indian that by using modern cold creams, skin foods and vanishing creams, etc., he or she can keep his skin always in a velvety condition and that he would do well to use them, out comes the instantaneous reply that he needs no special preparation for that purpose