It is widely used throughout the world, typically as eyeliner to contour or darken the eyelids. The content of kohl and various ways to prepare it differ based on tradition and country. Several studies have questioned the safety of kohl due to the dangers of lead poisoning. Importing kohl into the United States is banned.
Ancient kohl cosmetic tube from western Iran, dated 800–500 BCE
The Arabic name كحلkuḥl formed the Arabic root k-ḥ-l, "to apply kohl". Transliteration variants of Arabic dialectal pronunciation include kohl or kuhl. The Arabic word cognates with Syriac-Aramaic word כוחלא/ܟܘܚܠܐkuḥla. Both words derived from Akkadian𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕guẖlu(m) meaning stibnite.
The English word alcohol is a loan of the Arabic word (via Middle Latin and French; originally in the sense "powder of antimony". The modern meaning is from the 18th century).
Kohl has been worn traditionally since the Naqada III era (c.3100 BCE) by Egyptians of all social classes, originally as protection against eye ailments.[1][2] There was also a belief that darkening around the eyes would protect one from the harsh rays of the sun.[3]
Galena eye paint (later termed Kohl in Arabic from the Akkadian word for the cosmetic) was widely applied in ancient Egypt. Upper eyelids were painted black and lower ones were colored green, as depicted in ancient texts that describe the use of both black galena and green malachite. Ancient graves from the prehistoric Tasian culture point to the early application of galena in Egypt, a custom stretching from as old as the Badarian culture through to the Greco-Roman era. Although found locally, both black galena and green malachite were also imported from nearby regions in Western Asia, Coptos, and the Land of Punt.[4]
The 18th Dynasty female Pharaoh Hatshepsut would also grind charred frankincense into kohl eyeliner. This is the first recorded use of the resin.[5] The frankincense itself had originally been obtained during an expedition to the ancient Land of Punt in this New Kingdom dynasty (c. 1500 BCE).[6] Cosmetic ingredients such as cinnamon bark and other spice components – used for fragrances – alongside copper kohl sticks were exported from the towns of Pomparippu and Kadiramalai-Kandarodaiin Tamraparni (ancient Sri Lanka) to ancient Egypt.[7][8][9][10]
Additionally, the pioneering Muslim scholar ibn Abi Shaybah described in a legal compilation how to apply kohl to the eye, as narrated by earlier authorities.[11]
Berber and Semitic-speaking women in North Africa and the Middle East, respectively, also apply kohl to their faces. A vertical line is drawn from the bottom lip to the chin and along the bridge of the nose. Originally the line from the bottom lip to the chin showed whether a woman was married or not. This form of using kohl on the face originated from the Arabian Peninsula, and was introduced in the seventh century to North Africa.[12]
Kohl has also been used in Yemen as a cosmetic for a long time. In addition, mothers would apply kohl to their infants' eyes soon after birth. Some did this to "strengthen the child's eyes", and others believed it could prevent the child from being cursed by the evil eye.[13]
Usage of kohl eye paint in the Horn of Africa dates to the ancient Kingdom of Punt.[4]Somali, Djiboutian, Ethiopian, and Eritrean women have long applied kohl (kuul) for cosmetic purposes, as well as to cleanse the eyes, lengthen eyelashes, and to protect the eyes from the sun's rays.[14][15]
For women, kohl or black-henna is applied to the face as well in a similar manner as that practiced by communities in North Africa.
South Asia
A Varanasi food seller with his granddaughter wearing kohl
In many parts of India, kohl is referred to as kājal. In Southern India (Karnataka in particular), local tradition considers it to be a traditional remedy.[citation needed]
Some Indian Ayurvedic (i.e., ancient Indian herbal medicine) manufacturing companies add camphor and other medicinal herbs that are meant for eye health.[citation needed]
A Tamil woman applying kohl on her toddler son in India
In Punjabi culture, kājal is a traditional ceremonial dye predominantly worn by men around their eyes on special occasions. It is usually applied by the wife or the mother. [citation needed]
Some people[who?] apply dots of kājal to ward off bad omens & the evil eye (nazar).[citation needed]
Kohl is also an integral part of Bharatanatyam and Odissi dances in India. The dancers apply kohl heavily to their eyes so as to draw attention to their eye gestures and movement.[citation needed]
Preparation
Preparation of homemade kohl holds importance to many people across the world. It traditionally involves burning sandalwood paste with cloth wicks and castor oil, collecting the soot, and adding fat to the soot.[citation needed]
The ingredients used in the homemade preparation of kohl are believed by local peoples to have medicinal properties. They are still used in Indian therapies like ayurveda and Siddha medicines.[citation needed]
Health concerns
The content of kohl and the recipes to prepare it vary greatly. In North Africa and the Middle East, homemade kohl is often made by grinding galena (lead sulfide). Western manufacturers use amorphous carbon or organic charcoal instead of lead. Plant oils and the soot from various nuts, seeds, and gum resins are often added to the carbon powder. The non-lead products are considered[by whom?] to be of inferior quality to the older, traditional varieties, and so there has been an increase in the use of handmade, lead-based kohl.
For decades, various conflicting reports in the literature have been published relating to kohl application to eyes being responsible for causing higher blood lead concentration, which may cause lead poisoning. At the same time, a number of research studies and reports have also been published refuting any such links to increased blood lead levels upon kohl application.[19]
A group of researchers in China tried to find some scientific basis of this claimed property of lead sulfide (galena) relating to absorption of sun rays when applied into the eyes in the form of kohl.[20] The authors reported the ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectra of a thin film of lead sulfide prepared on "indium tin oxide" (ITO) substrate. The spectra showed that thin films of lead sulfide had higher absorption and lower transmittance in the UV light band, which further increases with increased deposition voltage.
The drive to eliminate lead from kohl was sparked by studies in the early 1990s of preparations of kohl that found high levels of contaminants, including lead.[21][22][23] Lead levels in commercial kohl preparations were as high as 84%. Kohl samples from Oman and Cairo, analyzed using X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, were found to contain galena.[13][21] One decade later, a study of kohl manufactured in Egypt and India found that a third of the samples studied contained lead, while the remaining two-thirds contained amorphous carbon,[13]zincite,[13][21]cuprite,[13]goethite,[13] elemental silicon[13] or talc,[13]hematite, minium,[21] and organic compounds.[13]
Lead-contaminated kohl use has been linked to increased levels of lead in the bloodstream,[24][25][26][27] putting its users at risk of lead poisoning (also called lead intoxication). Complications of lead poisoning include anemia, growth retardation, low IQ, convulsions, and, in severe cases, death. Anemia from lead poisoning is of special concern in Middle Eastern and South Asian countries where other forms of anemia are prevalent, including iron deficiency anemia (from malnutrition) and hemoglobinopathy (sickle cell anemia, thalassemia).
Modern kajal pencils
These banned products are different from lead-free cosmetics that use the term "kohl" only to describe its shade or color, rather than its actual ingredients. Some modern eye cosmetics are marketed as "kohl", but are prepared differently and in accordance with relevant health standards.
Eye cosmetics such as surma are recognized as one of the important sources of lead exposure in Pakistan. As adverse health effects of heavy metals are a public health concern, where especially lead may cause negative health impacts to human fetal and infantile development, a study in Pakistan of pregnant women's nails in 2016, showed 13 nail samples out of 84 analyzed contained lead concentrations exceeding the 13.6 μg/g found in a fatal case of lead poisoning. (The possibility of an external contamination was excluded.) The observations showed that lead-containing surma consists of fine particles of galena (ore of lead sulfide) in a respirable dust range (less than 10 μm), and relative in vitrobioavailability of lead in the surma was determined as 5.2%. Thus, lead-containing surma consists of inhalable and bioavailable particles, and it contributes to an increased risk of lead exposure.[28]
"Blue" kohl is a dark-bluish black pigment composed of lead-based compounds as well as a compound of antimony. The lead-based compounds in kohl are galena (PbS) – dark grey and gloss, laurionite (PbCl(OH)) – white, phosgenite (PbCl)2CO3), and cerussite (PbCO3) – blue. The antimony-based compound in kohl is stibnite (Sb2S3) – blue.
In January 2010, French researchers reported that the particular heavy eye makeup that ancient Egyptians wore may have had medical benefits. At submicromolar concentrations, the specially-made lead compounds can elicit overproduction of nitric oxide (NO), which in turn can trigger an enhancement of the immune response.[29][30]
The ancient Egyptians, documented in the Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE), discuss these compounds within kohl as protective for the eyes. Indeed, kohl was used as both an cosmetic eyeliner and a medicinal. There are a number of endemic ocular diseases in the Nile region including trachoma – which is caused by a chlamydial bacterium and can cause corneal scarring – and conjunctival cicatricial disease, with resulting visual loss. Kohl was used not only as a cosmetic but also as a medicinal collyrium (from Greekkollurion). Two of kohl's lead compounds – the lead chlorides laurionite and phosgenite – were not natural to the Nile valley. It is believed they were intentionally synthesized by the ancient Egyptians for this purpose. The widespread use of kohl across the Mediterranean and the Middle East attests to its ability to protect the eye from infectious disease and as well as being used as a cosmetic.[31][32]
Legal status
In the United States, kohl is not on the list of color additives approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which considers kohl unsafe for use due to its potential lead content. It is illegal to import into, or sell in, the United States.[33] Kohl is considered unsafe partly due to risk of lead exposure.
Antimony is a chemical element; it has symbol Sb (from Latin stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous grey metal or metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient times and were powdered for use as medicine and cosmetics, often known by the Arabic name kohl. The earliest known description of this metalloid in the West was written in 1540 by Vannoccio Biringuccio.
In chemistry, an alcohol, is a type of organic compound that carries at least one hydroxyl functional group bound to a saturated carbon atom. Alcohols range from the simple, like methanol and ethanol, to complex, like sugars and cholesterol. The presence of an OH group strongly modifies the properties of hydrocarbons, conferring hydrophilic (water-loving) properties. The OH group provides a site at which many reactions can occur.
Lead is a chemical element; it has symbol Pb and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, lead is a shiny gray with a hint of blue. It tarnishes to a dull gray color when exposed to air. Lead has the highest atomic number of any stable element and three of its isotopes are endpoints of major nuclear decay chains of heavier elements.
Ophthalmology is a clinical and surgical specialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. A former term is oculism.
Cosmetics are composed of mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes, including personal and skin care. They can also be used to conceal blemishes and enhance natural features. Makeup can also add colour to a person's face, enhance a person's features or change the appearance of the face entirely to resemble a different person, creature, or object.
Stibnite, sometimes called antimonite, is a sulfide mineral with the formula Sb2S3. This soft grey material crystallizes in an orthorhombic space group. It is the most important source for the metalloid antimony. The name is derived from the Greek στίβι stibi through the Latin stibium as the former name for the mineral and the element antimony.
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Mascara is a cosmetic commonly used to enhance the upper and lower eyelashes. It is used to darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define the eyelashes. Normally in one of three forms—liquid, powder, or cream—the modern mascara product has various formulas; however, most contain the same basic components of pigments, oils, waxes, and preservatives. The most common form of mascara is a liquid in a tube with an application brush.
An eyelash is one of the hairs that grows at the edges of the top and bottom eyelids, spanning outwards and away from the eyes. The lashes grow in up to six layers on each of the upper and lower eyelids. Eyelashes serve to protect the eye from debris, dust, and small particles, and are highly sensitive to touch, thus providing a warning that an object is near the eye, which then reflexively closes or flutters to rid the area of the object. The eyelid margin from which lashes grow is among the most sensitive parts of the human body, with many nerve endings enveloping the roots of the lashes, giving it sensitivity to very light tactile input even at the tips of the lashes, enabling it to trigger the blink reflex when touched. Eyelashes are also an important component of physical attractiveness, with long prominent lashes giving the illusion of large, gazing eyes, and drawing attention to the eyes.
Realgar, also known as ″arsenic blende″, ″ruby sulphur″ or ″ruby of arsenic″, is an arsenic sulfide mineral with the chemical formula α-As4S4. It is a soft, sectile mineral occurring in monoclinic crystals, or in granular, compact, or powdery form, often in association with the related mineral, orpiment. It is orange-red in color, melts at 320 °C, and burns with a bluish flame releasing fumes of arsenic and sulfur. Realgar is soft with a Mohs hardness of 1.5 to 2 and has a specific gravity of 3.5. Its streak is orange colored. It is trimorphous with pararealgar and bonazziite.
Eye liner or eyeliner is a cosmetic used to define the eyes. It is applied around the contours of the eye(s). It is often used to create various aesthetic effects.
Eye shadow is a cosmetic applied primarily to the eyelids to attract attention to the wearer's eyes, making them stand out or look more attractive. Eye shadow can also be applied under the eyes, on the cheeks, or to brow bones.
The history of cosmetics spans at least 7,000 years and is present in almost every society on earth. Cosmetic body art is argued to have been the earliest form of a ritual in human culture. The evidence for this comes in the form of utilised red mineral pigments including crayons associated with the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa. Cosmetics are mentioned in the Old Testament—2 Kings 9:30 where Jezebel painted her eyelids—approximately 840 BC—and the book of Esther describes various beauty treatments as well.
Face powder is a cosmetic product applied to the face to serve different functions, typically to beautify the face. Originating from ancient Egypt, face powder has had different social uses across cultures and in modern times, it is typically used to set makeup, brighten the skin and contour the face. Face powders generally come in two main types. One of which is loose powder, which is used to assist with oily skin in absorbing excess moisture and mattifying the face to reduce shininess. The other is pressed powder which conceals blemishes and maximises coverage.
Venetian ceruse or Venetian white, also known as blanc de céruse de Venise and Spirits of Saturn, was a 16th-century cosmetic used as a skin whitener. It was in great demand and considered the best available at the time, supposedly containing the best quality white lead sourced from Venice, the global merchant capital at the time. It is similar to the regular ceruse, although it was marketed as better, more exclusive and more expensive than the regular ceruse variant. The regular ceruse white pigment is a basic lead carbonate of chemical formula 2 PbCO 3·Pb(OH) 2 while the mineral cerussite is a simple carbonate of lead.
Blurred vision is an ocular symptom where vision becomes less precise and there is added difficulty to resolve fine details.
Cosmetics, first used in ancient Rome for ritual purposes, were part of daily life. Some fashionable cosmetics, such as those imported from Germany, Gaul and China, were so expensive that the Lex Oppia tried to limit their use in 189 BCE. These "designer brands" spawned cheap knock-offs that were sold to poorer women. Working-class women could afford the cheaper varieties, but may not have had the time to apply the makeup as the use of makeup was a time-consuming affair because cosmetics needed to be reapplied several times a day due to weather conditions and poor composition.
Ancient Egyptian clothes refers to clothing worn in ancient Egypt from the end of the Neolithic period to the collapse of the Ptolemaic Kingdom with the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC. Egyptian clothing was filled with a variety of colors. Adorned with precious gems and jewels, the fashions of the ancient Egyptians were made for not only beauty but also comfort. Egyptian fashion was created to keep cool while in the hot desert.
The ancient Egyptians regarded beauty as a sign of holiness. Everything they used had a spiritual aspect to it, including cosmetics. Both men and women wore makeup. Traders traded makeup often, especially in the upper classes. In tombs, cosmetic palettes were found buried in gold with the deceased as grave goods, which further emphasized the idea that cosmetics were not only used for aesthetic purposes but rather magical and religious purposes.
Aravind Laboratories is an Indian cosmetic manufacturing company, founded in 1938. It is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The company is known for its Eyetex range of cosmetics.
↑ Katheryne S. Loughran, Somalia in word and image, (Foundation for Cross Cultural Understanding: 1986), p.166.
↑ Sergew Hable Selassie, Ancient and medieval Ethiopian history to 1270, (Printed by United Printers: 1972), p.26.
↑ Nasidi, A., Karwowski, M.P., Woolf, A.D., Kellogg, M.D., Law, T.C., Sucosky, M.S., Glass-Pue, R.M., Brown, M.J., & Behbod, B. (2012). "Infant lead poisoning associated with use of tiro, an eye cosmetic from Nigeria--Boston, Massachusetts, 2011". MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 61 30, 574-6 .
↑ Bascom, W. R. (1949). Literary style in Yoruba riddles. The Journal of American Folklore, 62(243), 1-16.
↑ Alan Donovan, My journey through African Heritage, (Kenway Publications: 2004), p.62.
↑ Mahmood ZA, Zoha SM, Usmanghani K, Hasan MM, Ali O, Jahan S, Saeed A, Zaihd R, Zubair M, Pak (January 2009). "Kohl (surma): retrospect and prospect". Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 22 (1): 107–122. PMID19168431.
↑ Li-Yun C, Wen H, Jian-Feng H and Jian-Peng W (2008). "Influence of deposition voltage on properties of lead sulfide thin film". American Ceramic Society Bulletin, 87(6): 9101–9104
↑ Parry C, Eaton J (August 1991). "Kohl: a lead-hazardous eye makeup from the Third World to the First World". Environmental Health Perspectives (94): 121–123.
↑ Alkhawajah AM (October 1992). "Alkohl use in Saudi Arabia: Extent of use and possible lead toxicity". Tropical Geographical Medicine. 44 (4): 373–377. PMID1295151.
↑ Al-Saleh I, Nester M, DeVol E, Shinwari N, Al-Shahria S (April–June 1999). "Determinants of blood lead levels in Saudi Arabian schoolgirls". International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. 5 (2): 107–114. doi:10.1179/oeh.1999.5.2.107. PMID10330510.
↑ Nir A, Tamir A, Nelnik N, Iancu TC (July 1992). "Is eye cosmetic a source of lead poisoning?". Israel Journal of Medical Science. 28 (7): 417–421. PMID1506164.
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