Experts are of the view that similar to the use of herbal and natural medicines in ancient times to cure diseases, there are evidences that equal status was given for cosmetic products also.
Cosmetic products were used in olden days to enhance health and beauty of the people. Their use was directed towards developing an attractive external appearance, said Dr. S.K Mitra, research scientist in cosmeceuticals and CEO of the Bangalore-based research laboratory, Matxin Labs.
According to him, the whole range of cosmetic usage and its practice as conceived by the ancient Indians was based on natural resources. But, many of these practices of cosmetic use were depended on seasons and were subtly interwoven with daily routine. Today, referring researches in the area, he said research trends in cosmeceutical products are moving towards developing new plant extracts and botanical ingredients based on their traditional medicinal uses.
Dr. Mitra said this while presenting a paper on the subject, ‘Issues and challenges in the development of cosmeceuticals from plants’, at the ayurveda seminar organised as part of the Pharma Tech Expo 2016 held in Ahmadabad recently.
He said cosmeceuticals are topical cosmetic-pharmaceutical hybrids intended to enhance health and beauty through ingredients that influence the skin’s biological function. The various topical application products that delay the visible signs of aging are termed as anti-aging cosmeceuticals. In ancient India, it was documented that, people used all the potential cosmetic-pharmaceutical hybrids to maintain good health and increase beauty.
He pointed out that skin care procedures forming the daily routine described in ayurvedic literature consist of numerous formulae involving herbs and other natural ingredients. They were used as external applications in the form of packs, oils, herbal waters, powders, etc. Applications of these, as pastes, have been classified into several kinds based on the temperature, duration, thickness of application, effect of the application for healing, beautifying and anti-aging.
Dr. Mitra’s research paper stresses a historical fact that the origin of ayurvedic cosmeceuticals dates back to the Indus Valley civilization. According to his study, the use of cosmetics was not only directed towards developing an attractive external appearance, but towards achieving longevity with good health. There is evidence of highly advanced concepts of self-beautification, and a large array of cosmetics used by both men and women in ancient India.