Women in ancient Rome were expected to suffer for beauty. They suffered even more than they realized because of the lead content found in their beauty creams. The lead was part of the tin oxide from Cornwall, England, that was used in face cream to give Roman women a ghostly complexion. Unfortunately, lead in the face cream affected the brain, slowly driving these women mad.
An ancient pot containing Roman face cream was recently discovered at the site of a Roman temple in London, preserved in thick layers of mud under wooden planks. It is the only one ever found with both its lid and contents intact. Scientists analyzed the white paste and found it was made of refined animal fat and tin-oxide. Then they recreated the formula. They found that it feels quite pleasant and contains many ingredients still used today.
Richard Evershed, who led the work at the school of chemistry at the University of Bristol, said, "It gives us yet another insight into the sophisticated way in which our ancestors used materials from their environment. This is an ancient technology and one that doesn't differ so much from some of the cosmetic technologies in use today."
Hopefully, the modern creams do not contain lead. You can read the complete story at TechNewsWorld at http://www.technewsworld.com/story/news/37850.html.
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