Cosmetics for the non-elite 2000 years ago: affordable raw materials and a complex production process

The discovery of a grooming set, including two cosmetics, in a Han non-elite tomb, in Shandong, China, highlights the role of cosmetics as carriers of social cultures. This study employed complementary analytical methods, including SEM-EDS, XRD, FTIR, Raman, ELISA, GC-MS, and particle size analysis, to analyze these two cosmetics. The study reveal that one is a lead hydroxycarbonate powder probably used for whitening, while the other was a flesh-colored mica powder containing refined animal fat and plant extract, with an average size of 5μm. The latter was found enclosed in a lacquer container, which could have served as a medicated perfumed concealer. This is the first report of cosmetics used by the non-elite in China 2000 years ago. The use of affordable raw materials and a complex production process suggests that the use of cosmetics had spread from the elite to the non-elite, and the cosmetic industry had developed a regional raw material-workshop-product-consumer model by the Han dynasty at the latest.