While most people run screaming for the hills to get away from lead in this day and age, French researchers at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris, France have discovered that lead salts could have a positive effect in very low doses. Nitric oxide, which is produced from the salts at very low levels, boosts the immune system to fight off bacteria, which can cause eye infections.
The scientists were able to test makeup that has been preserved at the Louvre Museum, dating back to the time of the pharaohs. The lead-based substances seemed to activate the immune system which helped protect from bacterial eye infections such as conjunctivitis. Eye infections would have been a common problem to people living along the tropical marshes of the Nile.
Ancient Makeup
Ancient Egyptian manuscripts show that Egyptians believed the eye makeup had a magical role, and they would always be protected against many illnesses. Every man, woman, servant and queen wore the black, and sometimes green, powders thickly around their eyes on a daily basis.
The study, published in Analytical Chemistry, found that based on the amount of lead-based substances found in the ancient makeup, a person wearing it would have nitric oxide levels that increased by almost 240 percent.
Makeup Took Time to Create
Chemical analyses of the powder residue from ancient makeup containers showed four lead-based compounds, two of which do not occur naturally. According to scientist Christian Amatore, it would have taken the Egyptians thirty days of hard work to create. National Geographic News reports that in Amatore’s opinion, “… [the ancient Egyptians] were aware that these compounds brought good health, and they were making them on purpose.”
Researching Laurionite
Philippe Walter, the scientist who co-headed the research team along with Amatore, told AFP, “We knew ancient Greeks and Romans too had noted the makeup had medicinal properties, but wanted to determine exactly how.”
The mineral laurionite is contained in the lead-based substances that were cultured on human skin cells. This mineral is what helped boost the production of the nitric oxide. To look at the effect of laurionite on a single cell, researchers used an electrode no bigger than 1/10th the thickness of a human hair.
The Eyes Have It
The study shows that not only did Egyptians like Cleopatra know how to create the perfect smoky eye, but they knew the heavy makeup protected its wearer from eye disease in a place where eye infections could have run rampant.
Kathleen Strelow - Certain she was born in the wrong era, Kathleen is passionate about preserving our country’s history and is a member of the National ...
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