We have long been accustomed to taking a shower and basking in a warm bath. But there were times when young ladies seriously wondered whether to wash today or not? And if it turned out that to wash, the means for a bathing day were chosen very strange …
Body scraper
How long people remained unwashed and when exactly they felt all the charm of fragrant soap is not known for certain. According to reports, soap was made in ancient Sumer and Babylon (about 2800 BC), as well as in Mesopotamia and Egypt. However, archaeologists found the first evidence of the cleanliness of mankind on clay tablets, the inscriptions on which told that people washed themselves 4000 years ago. More precisely, they scraped the dirt off the body with wooden or bronze scrapers. Moreover, only wealthy people could afford this pleasure. The poor simply rubbed themselves with river sand and ash.
Sand baths
Washing with sand is perhaps the most ancient method of cleansing that has survived to our times. Now in this way they wipe the pans from ash after a fire in the country. But you can safely say: “Proven for centuries!”
In ancient Rome and Greece, adhering dirt was “shaved off” with a special sickle-shaped tool called the “shear”. These scrapers were made of ivory, crocodile teeth, wood or metal.
Clay baths
The hot climate of Egypt required careful hygiene. In the mornings, women, both mistresses and maids, and even slaves, gathered in a special room, where they diligently washed, smearing the body with clay extracted from the Nile, and washing it off with lukewarm water. Then the slaves polished the skin of their mistresses with round pebbles. Finally followed with palm or coconut oil: they were pre-scented with the help of aromatic herbs. The purpose of the massage was not only , but also … protection from blood-sucking insects, which were frightened off by a pungent smell, was hampered by an oil film. Without fail, all hair was removed from the body, for this they used resin, which was then rolled off the skin, pulling out the hair.
Washcloths-mittens, massage brushes and pumice stone are the products that are found in every bathroom today.
Pure in my soul
In the Middle Ages in Europe, any touch of the body was considered a sin, so people generally tried to wash as little as possible. However, the inhabitants of the Mediterranean used a local natural sponge. After processing, only a porous skeleton remained from it, which was used as a washcloth.
In the era of great geographical discoveries, a Caribbean sponge, which is tougher and better than the Mediterranean, was brought to Europe, along with other overseas gizmos.
Washcloth fashion
In the twentieth century, many different lathering devices appeared. Washcloths began to be made from hemp ropes, various fibrous wood structures. In the 1930s, an artificial porous material was invented – foam rubber, from which sponges were immediately made. And after the Second World War, rubber sponges appeared, imitating natural pores.
In the 1960s, massage shower brushes of various configurations came into vogue. They were first made from natural hair and then supplied with nylon bristles.
Today, sponges-mittens made of sisal, a natural fiber from Mexican agave plants, and also from luffa, a herb of the pumpkin family, have become indispensable helpers. These are intended not only for washing, but also for intensive body massage. Sisal washcloths and thoroughly exfoliate.