The roots of our modern obsession with hair removal can be traced back to ancient Rome, according to A The latest discovery made by a team of archaeologists In the Roman town of Worcester, Shropshire, England. The find included more than 50 pairs of tweezers, making it one of the largest collections of its kind in the entire UK. This discovery reveals the ancient Romans’ fascination with beauty and grooming.
The finds, which date from the second to fourth centuries AD, include not only tweezers but also skin scrapers, perfume bottles, jewelry, and make-up applicators. The variety and quantity of these artifacts shows how important personal hygiene and beauty were to Roman culture.
English Heritage, an organization concerned with English heritage, noted that waxing practices were common among both men and women. Surprisingly, men who engage in sports such as wrestling generally expect to remove their body hair.
Cameron MoffittWroxeter Roman City’s curator of English Heritage commented that a flawless appearance was essential, and that the appearance involved a lack of hair, particularly in the underarm area. “The advantage of tweezers was that they are safe, simple and inexpensive, but unfortunately they are not pain-free,” Moffitt added.
Waxing was generally carried out at that time by slaves, as evidenced by a letter shared by English Heritage from Roman author and politician Seneca. In the letter, Seneca expresses his discomfort with the screams emitted by people who have been waxed, a practice that, though painful, was highly regarded in Roman society.
This archaeological find in the Roman city of Wroxeter adds another chapter to our understanding of daily life in ancient Rome and the enduring magic of waxing.
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