The True History of Skin Care


Of course the history of skin care goes back to prehistoric times where the cave man and cave woman did all they could to survive the weather extremes without the kinds of shelter we appreciate today. As the history of skin care tells us, it was these cave dwellers who first needed to look after their skin. Weather beaten or at least sun dried the skin of the cave dweller was craggy to say the least of it.

Skin care for them was most likely the relief of pain that was associated with skin conditions brought on by the kinds of foods they ate, the lack of knowledge about how to take care of oneself and the weather they faced. What is truly amazing as one reads the history of skin care is that with these early homo-sapiens there was very little discussion of acne even though they by all counts consumed vast amounts of heavy fatty foods. Perhaps the heavy growth of facial hair prevented some of these skin outbreaks or at least hid them. The history of skin care is full of unknowns like this.

Medicinal Skin Care

Skin care is not simply a cosmetic activity. As the discussion on prehistoric man shows the history of skin care depicts the true origin of skin care as more medicinal than cosmetic. Man has always fought the elements to survive and explore. Consequently, man has always exposed the external parts of the human body to trauma, weather, and today more and more to pollutants and toxins that we have ourselves created.

Although the body has some natural resistance and skin is very resilient and has many layers, one of the many truths of skin care is that skin tends not to adapt very well. Yes you can get a tan, you can develop layers of hard skin and calluses but in general the skin actually deteriorates in the process.

The history of skin care tells us that it is the prevention of skin loss and the consequent protection of our ability to work that ultimately has driven the development of skin care products. For instance, as we review the history of skin care, we will see that farmers and fisherman are two of the most frequent users of skin care products. Both types of workers expose their skin to harsh conditions. For them skin care is the maintenance of a way of life.

However, it must be said that the history of skin care does also describe the use of skin care products, herbs and potions as ways of maintaining the quality of the skin and thus allowing one to feel better about the way they look and indeed the way ones own body feels.