STUDY AND PREPARATION OF ANCIENT COSMETIC AND PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATIONS IN A PRESENT PRESPECTIVE

The study of ancient cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations involved the examination of several recipe books starting from the classical age till to the beginning of scientific chemistry and pharmacology. The study of the same formulation in subsequent times has shown the evolution and the adaptation to the age. Many ancient books and manuscripts reporting recipes concerning the subject in the period between 1597 and 1872 have been considered. Study of the ancient remains found inside unguentaries and of the raw materials used in the recipes has been necessary. Not all the raw materials could be bought, some needed to be prepared in the laboratory, such as the rose-water and the turnip juice, two ingredients used in the preparation of many ointments.The ointments to be prepared were chosen as a function of the remains found in the containers, but mainly on the basis of the analytical results coming out from ancient remains analysis. Those reproduced in the laboratory were many, sometimes the preparations have been made in double or triple, according to the sources of different historical periods. The total number of the ointments reproduced was fourteen.