Curious about how women in the Middle Ages enhanced their beauty? The Trotula, a 12th-century medieval text from Italy, offers fascinating insights. This guide includes recipes and instructions that helped women clear their skin, colour their hair, and even eliminate bad breath! Here are 10 excerpts from The Trotula showcasing medieval beauty tips:
1) For Beautiful Hair
For shiny, golden hair, medieval women used a special cleanser. They combined “the ashes of burnt vine, the chaff of barley nodes, and licorice wood (so that it may the more brightly shine), and sowbread,” boiling the chaff and sowbread in water. After straining the mixture, they washed their hair with it and let it air dry, resulting in shimmering, radiant locks.
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2) For Better Smelling Hair
Medieval noblewomen used musk or clove in their hair for a pleasant fragrance. As the Trotula advises, “noblewomen should wear musk in their hair, or clove, or both,” while ensuring these substances remain unseen. They also infused their veils with cloves, musk, nutmeg, and other sweet-smelling substances for added aroma.
3) For Blonde Hair
To achieve blonde hair, medieval women cooked greater celandine, agrimony root, and boxwood shavings, tying them with oat straw. They then created a cleanser using “ashes of oat or vine” to wash their hair, resulting in lighter, golden locks.
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4) For Curly Hair
For curly hair, women ground danewort root with oil and applied it to their heads. According to the Trotula, they would “tie it on the head with leaves” to create natural curls.
Portrait of a Young Woman from the Workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio (1448–1494)
5) For a Beautiful Face
Beautifying the face began with a thorough wash using French soap and warm water. As described, “let her anoint it with oil of tartar,” followed by applying a depilatory made from Greek pitch, wax, and galbanum. This process refined the skin, removed hairs, and rendered the face clear and beautifully coloured.
6) For Whitening the Face
To whiten the face, eggs were placed in strong vinegar until the shells softened. The mixture was combined with white mustard and ginger. For an enhanced effect, “let lily root be ground vigorously” and mixed with the eggs. This paste was then applied before bathing, resulting in a brighter complexion.
Idealized Portrait of a Lady (Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci as Nymph), by Sandro Botticelli
7) For Better Lips
Medieval women used an ointment made from skimmed honey, white bryony, red bryony, squirting cucumber, and rose water. This mixture was boiled down and applied to the lips, as the Trotula states, “it solidifies the skin of the lips, refines it, and renders it extremely soft.”
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8) For Removing Wrinkles
To reduce wrinkles, women used juice from stinking iris (gladden), applying it in the evening. By morning, the skin would “erupt,” and after treating the rupture with an ointment containing lily root, the skin appeared delicate and rejuvenated.
9) For Freckles of the Face
For freckles, women used a powder made from bistort root, cuttlefish bones, and frankincense. This powder was mixed with water and applied, followed by rubbing with rose water or water of bran to gradually remove the freckles.
10) For Stench of the Mouth
To combat bad breath caused by stomach disorders, the Trotula recommends grinding myrtleberry tips and cooking them in wine. After purging the stomach, “let the wine be given to drink,” effectively reducing mouth odour.
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How effective were these recipes? Recent research on the cosmetic remedies found in the Trotula—including skin treatments, hair dyes, teeth whitening, eye and lip makeup, and body care procedures—has revealed many similarities with modern ones.
Curious about how women in the Middle Ages enhanced their beauty? The Trotula, a 12th-century medieval text from Italy, offers fascinating insights. This guide includes recipes and instructions that helped women clear their skin, colour their hair, and even eliminate bad breath! Here are 10 excerpts from The Trotula showcasing medieval beauty tips:
1) For Beautiful Hair
For shiny, golden hair, medieval women used a special cleanser. They combined “the ashes of burnt vine, the chaff of barley nodes, and licorice wood (so that it may the more brightly shine), and sowbread,” boiling the chaff and sowbread in water. After straining the mixture, they washed their hair with it and let it air dry, resulting in shimmering, radiant locks.
2) For Better Smelling Hair
Medieval noblewomen used musk or clove in their hair for a pleasant fragrance. As the Trotula advises, “noblewomen should wear musk in their hair, or clove, or both,” while ensuring these substances remain unseen. They also infused their veils with cloves, musk, nutmeg, and other sweet-smelling substances for added aroma.
3) For Blonde Hair
To achieve blonde hair, medieval women cooked greater celandine, agrimony root, and boxwood shavings, tying them with oat straw. They then created a cleanser using “ashes of oat or vine” to wash their hair, resulting in lighter, golden locks.
4) For Curly Hair
For curly hair, women ground danewort root with oil and applied it to their heads. According to the Trotula, they would “tie it on the head with leaves” to create natural curls.
5) For a Beautiful Face
Beautifying the face began with a thorough wash using French soap and warm water. As described, “let her anoint it with oil of tartar,” followed by applying a depilatory made from Greek pitch, wax, and galbanum. This process refined the skin, removed hairs, and rendered the face clear and beautifully coloured.
6) For Whitening the Face
To whiten the face, eggs were placed in strong vinegar until the shells softened. The mixture was combined with white mustard and ginger. For an enhanced effect, “let lily root be ground vigorously” and mixed with the eggs. This paste was then applied before bathing, resulting in a brighter complexion.
7) For Better Lips
Medieval women used an ointment made from skimmed honey, white bryony, red bryony, squirting cucumber, and rose water. This mixture was boiled down and applied to the lips, as the Trotula states, “it solidifies the skin of the lips, refines it, and renders it extremely soft.”
8) For Removing Wrinkles
To reduce wrinkles, women used juice from stinking iris (gladden), applying it in the evening. By morning, the skin would “erupt,” and after treating the rupture with an ointment containing lily root, the skin appeared delicate and rejuvenated.
9) For Freckles of the Face
For freckles, women used a powder made from bistort root, cuttlefish bones, and frankincense. This powder was mixed with water and applied, followed by rubbing with rose water or water of bran to gradually remove the freckles.
10) For Stench of the Mouth
To combat bad breath caused by stomach disorders, the Trotula recommends grinding myrtleberry tips and cooking them in wine. After purging the stomach, “let the wine be given to drink,” effectively reducing mouth odour.
How effective were these recipes? Recent research on the cosmetic remedies found in the Trotula—including skin treatments, hair dyes, teeth whitening, eye and lip makeup, and body care procedures—has revealed many similarities with modern ones.
You can read more of these beauty tips and recipes from The Trotula: A Medieval Compendium of Women’s Medicine, edited and translated by Monica H. Green (University of Pennsylvanian Press, 2001).
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