It's no secret how Africans were stripped off their identity and forced to conform to a Western world. Our hygiene practices and cuisines were considered uncivilized, unappealing and appalling to the settlers. They told us our way must be done away with and their way was better. In the past 5 years, thanks to social media, the beauty industry in South Africa has grown in leaps, many discovering skin care techniques, routines and hacks. But are we really 'discovering' this new age of beauty or are we seeing recycled and rebranded techniques appropriated from our culture? When I really think about it, most of the beauty trends we see today are things our own mothers, and their mothers and their mothers practiced on them and us.
Exfoliate Dry brush, sugar and Coffe scrubs, exfoliating balms with small granules. The process of removing of dead skin on one's body is something my mother truly believed it. She didn't use a fancy name for it, she just reffered it as 'ukususa insila'. Ring a bell?, remember those baths on the weekend where you knew mama will walk in while you bathing either with a pebble or orange sack? That's exfoliation! See even though we grew up never knowing the purpose of our moms scrubbing our legs and backs. It is all just part of a beauty and hygiene regimen. Today, bath brushes and spoolies are selling for a fortune, and it's been introduced as a new technique to our bath routine when actually, it's been embedded in our culture.
Clay Masks On the last week before a Zulu maiden's memulo ceremony or Umabo (traditional wedding), she is required to sit indoors. While she is indoors, she will be smeared with a red clay mask (ibomvu), made from a type of soil. It is believed that ibomvu has special properties which are good for the skin where on her big day, her face/skin would appear brighter, even, and glowing. Last year we saw many beauty brands launching clay masks. These products also claim to give a brighter, much more even toned and glowing skin.
Charcoal I have very uneven teeth and bleeding gums. It was hard for me to get all the gunk out of my teeth when I was 6 and 7, leaving my teeth a tad bit yellowish (eeew, I know). My mother would crush coal, sprinkle it on my toothpaste and told me to brush with it. Activated charcoal has been a phenomenon in the beauty industry. Almost every hygneie or cleansing beauty product considered vegan friendly have active charcoal. Out of curiosity I asked my mother, how did she know charcoal would work on my teeth? She told me when she grew up, toothpaste was a luxury, so was a toothbrush. They would use charcoal or ashes to clean their teeth and dried sugar cane strips as a toothbrush. Did I not see bamboo stick toothbrushes being launched a month ago?
Make up Make up is not something new, Pharaoh's and dynasties of Egypt would permanently tattoo their water line. The famous cat eye look, descends from Egyptian monarchy. And if we look at Egyptian mythology, it dates back to BC.
Body oils It was a norm to apply body oils to people of royalty in African cultures. Oils were reserved for the rich as they nourished skin and made royalties glisten and shine. We've seen a surge in preference for body oils instead of body creams.
Africans have always been a civilised and advance human race. The western standards of beauty today, when you look closely, derive from African beauty practices which are now repackaged and resold back to us.