Worldwide cosmetic history and the growth of the cosmetic industry

The history of cosmetics worldwide has gone through a sea of ​​changes in recent centuries. Today, the cosmetics industry is worth over $50 billion, but that wasn’t always the case. Before studying more about the history of cosmetics, we must look for the origin of cosmetics. Cosmetics were not a business during its early days and were only used to improve the appearance of facial skin. It all started during the 4th century BC. C. when cosmetics and business were words from two different worlds.

If we look at the history of cosmetics, we find that the Egyptians were the forerunners of cosmetic use. Here, upper-class women used animal fat, scented oils, and eye color to give their faces a true ‘facelift’. During its initial years, cosmetics were restricted to the confines of a room where they were made from natural ingredients. The cosmetics had not yet found any commercial use, although they were traded between women.

The Western world also adopted it (albeit a bit late) much to the discontent of the Church and Queen Victoria. The use of cosmetics here was more among lower class women and this was what slowly led to cosmetics being manufactured for sale among the common masses. The French were the first to manufacture cosmetics on a large scale using new and improved methods. They replaced dangerous ingredients like copper and lead with zinc oxide and other harmless chemicals. This soon resulted in a huge sale of cosmetics and women from the elite and the lower classes began using it to beautify their faces.

The history of cosmetics changed with the end of World War II and the growth of industry during the 1940s, when cosmetics found acceptance among women in all corners of the world. With the advent of electronic media like television and radio, things looked really sunny for the cosmetics industry as actresses wore cosmetic makeup which appealed to the general masses – a huge boost to sales figures. Soon more and more women made it a habit to wear cosmetic makeup for almost every occasion.

People, mostly associated with the cosmetics industry, wanted to make better and healthier products because they didn’t treat this as a business but as something that even had use in their homes. Technological advances have made it easier for companies to test different ingredients for their cosmetics and this has also provided a plethora of choice in front of modern consumers. The history of cosmetics around the world is all about providing the right types of cosmetics to satiate the obsession to look beautiful and stay young.

Today, the cosmetics industry not only concentrates on cosmetics for women, but also gives metro-sexual men the opportunity to improve their facial appearance. Today, the global cosmetic industry is facing a great demand and a real challenge in the production of good quality cosmetic products. It is still a very lucrative business for new entrants, but the challenge now comes from clinical studies showing the existence of toxic ingredients currently used in the manufacture of cosmetic products. These ingredients, used for long periods of time, are now considered harmful to health. Therefore, today’s cosmetics story will evolve where the industry will go in the future with this new information indicating that continued use of these toxic ingredients could be detrimental to health.

Little did the Egyptians know then, when they were out of options and sat in front of the mirror to use their cosmetics, what challenges would exist today.