Smooth and shiny legs, hairless armpits, and a trimmed intimate area? What is an important aspect for many people today to feel good was already a real must for the ancient pharaohs. Even in Ancient Egypt, the body had to be as hairless as possible to be perceived as attractive. While today you mainly remove hair for yourself, back then it was common to conform to a general beauty ideal. This applied to both men and women.

However, hair removal wasn’t as relaxed back then as it is today. In fact, people used beeswax to remove their hair in this way. Over time, a paste was also developed with which the hair could be removed. Comparable to today’s hair removal cream, a paste was mixed from water, lemon juice, olive oil, and sugar. Interestingly, this variant is known today as Halawa and is considered an Arabic invention. However, records show that it was first developed in Egypt.

Painful: The paste was first applied to the body, then removed with the help of cloth strips. For great success, the cloth strips had to be placed on the paste and then quickly pulled off again. This was just as painful as today’s waxing.

As early as 4000 BC, a special paste was also used in the Middle East when it came to removing hair. This bore the name Rhusma Turcorum. The paste was mixed with starch, orpiment, and slaked lime. The effect was based on this mixture being particularly caustic and thus removing the hair. Rhusma Turcorum was used even until the 19th century. It is even still used in some places today – for example in India. Here, the removal of pubic hair and chest hair has long been an important part of body care.

The ancient Romans are still a real inspiration for people in many areas. In fact, even back then they knew that hairless skin feels particularly pleasant. If you look at one picture or another of Caesar, you might even notice that he didn’t have a beard. Supposedly, he plucked his beard hairs to stay hair-free longer. Good thing it’s easier today. Hair removal was also a topic in ancient Greece. Those who had body hair were assigned to the barbarians. Therefore, many people were hairless. This is shown not only by records but also by sculptures and paintings from that time.

To this day, the Middle Ages are considered one of the times in history that is perceived as rather gloomy. However, this did not apply when it came to hygiene in relation to body hair. There are records from the 12th century which already made it clear that pubic hair was cut or plucked at this time. In addition, there were the so-called bathhouses in the Middle Ages. Hair removal was already offered and carried out here. Rhusma Turcorum was also used for this – a real wonder remedy of that time.

With the beginning of the 20th century, there were many changes in various areas of life – including in the field of beauty. But one thing remained: the desire to remove body hair. For example, at the beginning of the 20th century in the USA, there were movements that made shaving legs and underarms trendy. This was related to the fact that fashion also allowed more skin to be shown. But even at that time, it was necessary to improvise as much as possible to get smooth skin – at least for women. A razor specifically for women didn’t exist until 1915.

It would take another 30 years for this hair removal trend from the USA to reach Europe. Here, however, people were still much more cautious. Primarily, the hair on the legs was removed. With the beginning of the 1960s, interest in hair removal in Europe grew significantly. Armpits without underarm hair were seen more and more often. Ten years later, the trend also discovered the intimate area.

While for a long time hygienic aspects and strongly shaped beauty ideals exerted a certain pressure regarding body hair removal, today we have the fortune to decide for ourselves. But one thing is a fact: Hair removal is not a new trend that has only developed in recent years. Even the ancient Romans liked to go “naked”.