Ancient Egyptian Hygiene Secrets That Still Amaze Us
Ancient Egyptian hygiene has long been the envy of archaeologists, historians, and frankly anyone who’s ever sat next to a particularly fragrant commuter on the Central line. These people lived thousands of years ago, yet somehow they managed to develop a grooming routine that would put many modern wellness influencers to shame. Forget your expensive serums and eucalyptus-scented candles — the Egyptians were already on it with oils, scrubs, wigs, and even breath mints, long before Instagram was a thing.
The first thing to know is that cleanliness wasn’t just about smelling nice. In the blistering Egyptian climate, hygiene was survival. Imagine walking around in 40-degree heat wearing layers of linen and hauling water from the Nile — you’d sweat like a marathon runner in a sauna. Bathing became less of a luxury and more of a national pastime. Wealthy Egyptians built bathrooms in their homes, with stone basins where servants would pour water over them. The less wealthy took a more DIY approach, splashing themselves down with water carried in jars. Soap as we know it didn’t exist yet, but they came up with their own version using natron, a naturally occurring soda ash, mixed with oils. This concoction worked as a body scrub, deodorant, and disinfectant in one handy package. It’s almost unfair how efficient they were.
Hair also had its own elaborate set of rules. Lice was a recurring problem, so shaving your head was a common choice, especially for men and priests. But bald didn’t mean boring. To compensate, they wore wigs — grand affairs made of human hair, sheep’s wool, or plant fibres, often drenched in scented oils to keep them glossy. Women in particular treated wigs like status symbols, stacking them up with braids and beads that would have made Marie Antoinette jealous. Children often had their heads shaved too, save for one decorative lock of hair, which acted as a sort of ancient Egyptian “signature look.” If nothing else, it made them easy to spot in a crowd.
Cosmetics blurred the line between beauty and hygiene. Kohl wasn’t just there to make your eyes pop dramatically like Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra. It also protected the eyes from harsh sunlight and infections. Green malachite and black galena powders doubled as both style statements and medical aids, proving once again that the Egyptians were the ultimate multitaskers. Even the gods seemed to demand eyeliner — temple carvings show deities painted with the same smoky look. It wasn’t vanity; it was health and spirituality rolled into one.
Mouthwash, believe it or not, was another Egyptian invention. They concocted mixtures of herbs, spices, and honey to freshen their breath, a clear attempt to avoid halitosis before Tinder dates existed. Archaeological finds even suggest they chewed little lozenges made of frankincense and myrrh, which probably left them smelling more like a church at Christmas than a garlic-heavy kebab shop. Still, it worked, and the evidence shows that Egyptians cared deeply about their smiles, despite dentistry being primitive at best. Ancient papyri detail treatments for toothaches, loose teeth, and gum infections. Spoiler: some remedies involved stuffing mashed beans into cavities. Not quite Colgate, but points for creativity.
Clothing, though not “hygiene” in the modern sense, played its part. Linen was the fabric of choice because it was light, breathable, and easy to wash. White linen especially showed cleanliness, so much so that priests were expected to wear freshly laundered robes multiple times a day. Imagine keeping up with that laundry load without a washing machine. Natron once again came to the rescue, this time as a detergent. They basically invented OxiClean millennia before infomercials.
The obsession with hygiene was tied closely to religion. Purity was a recurring theme in Egyptian rituals. Priests shaved their entire bodies to remain ritually clean, and they bathed several times daily to stay fit for service to the gods. Offerings in temples weren’t just food and drink — perfumes, scented oils, and incense were part of the package too, as if even the gods had olfactory preferences. Being clean was a way of showing respect to divine powers, as much as it was about comfort or health.
Perfume, in fact, deserves its own mention. Egyptians mastered the art of perfumery, blending oils, resins, and flowers into complex fragrances. They believed scents had protective qualities, warding off evil spirits and diseases. Some perfumes were so valued that amphorae filled with oil and fragrance were buried in tombs, presumably so the dead wouldn’t have to put up with the musty smell of eternity. One can imagine an Egyptian nobleman insisting, “I may be dead, but at least I smell fabulous.”
Public spaces reflected this dedication to hygiene too. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of communal baths in larger settlements, where people could wash, gossip, and catch up on local news — an ancient equivalent of the gym locker room or perhaps even the pub. Except instead of pints, they swapped oils and grooming tips. Markets sold combs, tweezers, razors, and mirrors made of polished bronze, catering to the booming beauty industry that thrived under the desert sun.
Animals weren’t excluded from this ritual of cleanliness either. Cats, sacred and adored, were often groomed and adorned. Dogs wore collars, sometimes engraved with their names, which tells us pets got more attention than some humans. Clearly, hygiene in Egypt wasn’t just about self-preservation; it was also about identity, community, and symbolism.
The irony, of course, is that despite all these efforts, ancient Egypt was still rife with disease, parasites, and dental disasters. No amount of natron scrub could save them from malaria or the misery of abscessed molars. But that doesn’t diminish their ingenuity. If anything, it highlights how far ahead they were in understanding that caring for the body mattered, whether for survival, spirituality, or sheer vanity.
So next time you’re spritzing on deodorant, brushing your teeth, or moaning about the price of shampoo, spare a thought for the Egyptians. They were mixing toothpaste from burnt eggshells, scrubbing with natron, and perfecting the smoky eye long before Boots opened its first shop. Hygiene wasn’t just part of life in ancient Egypt — it was an art form, a science, and a religion all rolled into one. And if history teaches us anything, it’s that smelling good never goes out of fashion.