Before Modern Skincare: The History of Traditional Ingredients in Personal Care

Many Tallow companies talk about tallow and other herbal ingredients being "ancient skincare". Does that claim truly hold merit?

In this blog post I research how animal fats, beeswax, botanical oils, flowers, herbs, and other natural ingredients found their way into preparations used for bathing, grooming, fragrance, and personal care.

Animal Fats: An Ancient Foundation for Personal Care

Among the oldest materials used in personal care are animal fats. Before modern manufactured creams and lotions existed, fats and oils provided practical bases for preparations intended to soften, protect, and condition the skin.

In 2021, researchers published an analysis of residue found inside a small bronze container excavated from a burial site at Liujiawa, China. The container, dating to approximately 700–640 BCE, held a mixture of ruminant animal fat and a mineral known as monohydrocalcite, likely collected from cave deposits. Researchers concluded that the mixture was probably an early cosmetic face cream.

The discovery provides physical evidence that animal fats were being incorporated into cosmetic preparations more than 2,700 years ago. It also demonstrates that early cosmetic formulations could be more sophisticated than we might imagine.

Animal fats were also documented in ancient Chinese medical manuscripts, where they served as bases for topical preparations containing other ingredients.

Today, tallow remains an ingredient in traditional soapmaking and some modern skin preparations. Its continued use is an interesting example of how a material with a long history can find a place in contemporary formulations.

Beeswax, Oils, and Honey: Traditional Building Blocks

Some of the most recognizable ingredients in traditional personal care preparations are also among the most versatile.

Beeswax has historically been valued for its texture and ability to create a firm, protective base. Combined with oils and fats, wax could be incorporated into ointments, salves, and aromatic preparations. These types of ingredients provided a practical way to create preparations that were easier to handle and apply than liquid oils alone.

Ancient Egyptian medical texts offer particularly interesting examples of how everyday materials were incorporated into personal care.

The Ebers Papyrus, an important Egyptian medical document dating to approximately 1550 BCE, contains numerous recipes involving oils, waxes, plant materials, and other substances. One preparation described as a remedy for restoring the skin included honey, natron, salt, and powdered alabaster.

These historical preparations were not identical to modern balms or creams, but they illustrate a longstanding interest in combining fats, waxes, oils, and other materials into useful preparations for the body.

Flowers and Herbs: 

Plants have always been an important part of traditional personal care. Flowers, leaves, and aromatic herbs were gathered for their fragrance and incorporated into oils, baths, infusions, and other household preparations.

Many botanical ingredients used today have histories that can be traced through ancient medical texts and medieval herbals.

Chamomile

Chamomile has a particularly interesting history in traditional herbal practices.

The plant appears in writings attributed to ancient Greek physicians, including Hippocrates, and was later described in detail by both Pliny the Elder and the Greek physician Dioscorides during the first century CE.

Dioscorides documented the plant's appearance, growing conditions, and traditional applications. Chamomile also appears in medieval European herbal manuscripts, where preparations made by boiling the flowers in olive oil were described for external application.

Interestingly, chamomile's historical uses were considerably broader than its modern association with herbal tea.

Today, chamomile remains a familiar botanical ingredient in personal care products.

Calendula

Calendula, commonly known as pot marigold, is another flower with a long history in European botanical traditions.

Although calendula was known and cultivated in the ancient Mediterranean world, its documented medicinal history becomes much more substantial in medieval European herbal literature.

By the Middle Ages, calendula was being used in food, dyes, and traditional herbal preparations. Its flowers were incorporated into household remedies and later became particularly associated with traditional salves and infused oils.

Calendula is still a popular botanical ingredient in modern personal care formulations, where it is often incorporated into oils, balms, and creams.

Its history is a good example of how a familiar garden flower can develop a lasting place in traditional household practices.

Rose

Few flowers have a history as closely connected to fragrance and personal care as the rose.

Roses were valued throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, and historical accounts describe their use in aromatic oils and perfumes. Greek and Roman writers documented preparations made by steeping rose petals in oil.

Rosewater also became especially important in Persian culture. The distillation of rosewater developed into an important craft, and by the medieval period, Persian rosewater was being produced and traded on a considerable scale.

Rosewater found uses in food, fragrance, and ceremonial traditions. The development of distillation techniques also helped establish a lasting relationship between roses and perfumery.

Today, rose continues to be used in botanical preparations, fragrant oils, and personal care products.

Rosemary and Lavender

Rosemary and lavender have long been associated with the aromatic traditions of the Mediterranean.

In ancient Greek and Roman cultures, aromatic plants played important roles in bathing, perfumery, and household life. Herbs were valued not only for their fragrance but also for their place in traditional herbal practices.

Rosemary appears in classical botanical and medicinal writings, while lavender became particularly associated with bathing and fragrance traditions.

The name lavender itself is commonly connected to the Latin word lavare, meaning to wash.

During the medieval period, aromatic herbs were also cultivated in European gardens, including monastery gardens, where plants were grown for culinary, medicinal, and household purposes.

These herbs continue to be appreciated for their distinctive aromas and their place in botanical personal care traditions.

The Relationship Between Fragrance and Personal Care

Historically, personal care was not always separated into the categories we recognize today.

Fragrance, bathing, grooming, and cosmetic preparations often overlapped. Flowers, herbs, spices, and aromatic plant materials were used to scent oils, waters, and other preparations.

Rose, lavender, rosemary, and other aromatic plants became important parts of these traditions.

Vanilla offers another interesting example of the relationship between aromatic ingredients and culture. Native to the Americas, vanilla has a history connected to Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures and the preparation of cacao beverages. Its journey into European culinary and fragrance traditions followed the arrival of Europeans in the Americas.

Although vanilla is now most familiar as a flavoring and fragrance, its history illustrates how botanical ingredients travel between cultures and find new uses over time.

Traditional Ingredients, Modern Formulations

Looking at the history of these ingredients offers an interesting perspective on modern personal care.

Many of the materials used today are not new discoveries. Animal fats, beeswax, botanical oils, flowers, and aromatic herbs have all played roles in traditional preparations across different cultures and periods.

What has changed is our understanding of how to formulate with them.

Modern cosmetic formulation involves considerations such as ingredient stability, preservation, compatibility, and product safety. A traditional preparation and a contemporary skincare product may share familiar ingredients while being very different in how they are made and evaluated.

For us, there is something meaningful about continuing to work with ingredients that have such interesting histories. Exploring tallow, botanical infusions, flowers, and herbs provides an opportunity to appreciate both the materials themselves and the traditions that surround them.

Not every traditional practice needs to be recreated exactly as it once was. Sometimes, understanding where an ingredient came from is simply a way to appreciate it a little more.

The history of personal care is, in many ways, a history of working with the natural materials available to us. And many of those materials still have a place in the products we make today.

Further Reading & Historical Sources

The following publications and historical resources informed this article:

1. Han, B. et al. (2021). The Rise of the Cosmetic Industry in Ancient China: Insights from a 2700-Year-Old Face Cream. Archaeometry, 63(5), 1042–1058. Read the research paper.

2. Hartmann, A. et al. (2016). Back to the Roots – Dermatology in Ancient Egyptian Medicine. Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft. Read the research.

3. Touwaide, A. & Appetiti, E. (2023). Herbs in History: Chamomile. American Herbal Products Association. Read the historical account.

4. Alam, H. Rose Water. Encyclopaedia Iranica. Read the historical account.

5. McMullen, R. L. & Dell’Acqua, G. (2023). History of Natural Ingredients in Cosmetics. Cosmetics, 10(3), 71. Read the academic review.