Kohl (cosmetics)

Name

The Arabic name كحل kuḥl and the Biblical Hebrew כחל kaḥal (cf. modern Hebrew כחול "blue") are cognates, from a Semitic root k-ḥ-l. Transliteration variants of Arabic dialectal pronunciation include kohl or kuhl.

The Persian word for kohl is sormeh.

It is known as either surmah or kājal in South Asia.

In West Africa, it is also known as tozali or kwalli.

The English word alcohol is a loan of the Arabic word (via Middle Latin and French; originally in the sense "powder of antimony"; the modern meaning is from the 18th century).

The Russian word for antimony, сурьма, is a loan from the Persian term.

The Greek and Latin terms for antimony, stibium, στίβι, στίμμι, were borrowed from the Egyptian name sdm.

Middle East and North Africa

Kohl has been worn traditionally since the Protodynastic Period of Egypt (ca. 3100 BCE) by Egyptian queens and noble women, who used stibnite (the sulfide of antimony rather than of lead). The cosmetic palettes used for its preparation assumed a prominent role in the late Predynastic Egyptian culture.

Kohl was originally used as protection against eye ailments. There was also a belief that darkening around the eyes would protect one from the harsh rays of the sun.

Galena eye paint (later termed Kohl in Arabic from the Akkadian word for the cosmetic) was widely applied in Ancient Egypt. Upper eyelids were painted black and lower ones were colored green, as depicted in ancient texts that describe the use of both black galena and green malachite. Ancient graves from the pre-historic Tasian culture point to the early application of galena in Egypt, a custom stretching from the Badarian period through to the Coptic era. Although found locally, both black galena and green malachite were also imported from nearby regions in Western Asia, Coptos and the Land of Punt.

The 18th Dynasty Ancient Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut would also grind charred frankincense into kohl eyeliner. This is the first recorded use of the resin. The frankincense itself had originally been obtained during an expedition to the ancient Land of Punt in this New Kingdom dynasty (~1500 BC).

Additionally, the pioneering Muslim scholar Ibn Abi Shayba described in a legal compilation how to apply kohl to the eye, as narrated by earlier authorities.

Berber and Arab women in North Africa and the Middle East, respectively, also apply kohl to their faces. A vertical line is drawn from the bottom lip to the chin and along the bridge of the nose. Originally the line from the bottom lip to the chin shows whether a women is married or not. This form of using Kohl on the face originates from the Arabian Peninsula, and was introduced in the 7th century in North-Africa.

Horn of Africa

Usage of kohl eye paint in the Horn of Africa dates to the ancient Kingdom of Punt. Somali, Djiboutian, Ethiopian and Eritrean women have long applied kohl (kuul) for cosmetic purposes, as well as to cleanse the eyes, lengthen eyelashes, and to protect the eyes from the sun's rays.

West Africa

Kohl is also applied in parts of West Africa by the Fulani and the affiliated Hausa people. In addition, it is used by the Tuareg, Wolof, Mandinka, Soninke, Dagomba, Kanuri, and other predominantly Muslim inhabitants of the Sahel and Sahara regions. Kohl is used by both sexes, and by people of all ages, mainly during weddings, Islamic festivals (such as Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha), and trips to the mosque for the weekly Jumuah congregational prayer.

For women, kohl or black-henna is applied to the face as well in a similar manner as that practiced by communities in North Africa.

South Asia

Kohl is known by various names in South Asian languages, like surma in Punjabi and Urdu, kajal in Hindi, Bengali and Gujarati, kajal in Sanskrit, kajalh in Marathi, kanmashi in Malayalam, kaadige in Kannada, kaatuka in Telugu and kan mai in Tamil. In India, it is used by women as a type of eyeliner that is put around the edge of the eyes. In many parts of India, especially in Southern India, Karnataka in particular, women of the household prepare the kajal. This homemade kajal is used even for infants. Local tradition considers it to be a very good coolant for the eyes and believes that it protects the eyesight and vision from the sun.

Some Indian Ayurvedic or Ancient Indian Herbal medicines manufacturing companies add camphor and other medicinal herbs that are beneficial for eyes in their kajal. It can serve not only as a cosmetic but also as medicine for the eyes.

In Punjabi culture, surma is a traditional ceremonial dye, which predominantly men of the Punjab wear around their eyes on special social or religious occasions. It is usually applied by the wife or the mother of the person.

Some women also add a dot of kajal on the left side of the foreheads or on the waterline of the eye of women and children to ward off buri nazar. Buri nazar literally means 'bad glance' and is comparable to the 'evil eye', although it can be interpreted as ill-wishes of people or even lustful eyes, in the sense of men ogling women. It signifies that the person is not perfect, with them having 'black mark', and hence, people wouldn't be jealous of their beauty.

In the centuries-old Indian Bharatnatayam dances, the dancers apply heavy kohl to their eyes so as to draw attention to their eye gestures and movement. The kohl is then applied to eyebrows and eyelids to add further enhancement to the dancers.

Kohl and Islam

The Prophet Mohammed used kohl and recommended others to use it because he believed that it was beneficial for the eyes and it is used by Muslim men today during Ramadan as a sign of devotion. The Prophet "used to apply kohl to his right eye three times, and to his left eye twice. Modern day Salafi Muslims use kohl as it was the practice of Muhammed. Salafists (extreme reformed Muslims) mostly do not allow women to venture outside their homes wearing kohl as they believe it makes a woman more attractive.

Preparation

Preparation of homemade kajal begins with dipping a clean, white, thin muslin cloth, about four by four inches square, in sandalwood paste or the juice of Alstonia scholaris (Manjal karisilanganni), which is then dried in the shade. This dip and dry process is done all day long. After sunset, a wick is made out of the cloth, which is then used to light a mud lamp filled with castor oil. A brass vessel is kept over the lamp, leaving a little gap, just enough for the oxygen to aid the burning of the lamp. This is left burning overnight. In the morning, one or two drops of pure ghee (clarified cow's butter) or castor oil are added to the soot which now lines the brass vessel. It is then stored in a clean dry box.

All the ingredients used in this preparation (sandalwood/Manjal karsilanganni, castor oil, ghee) are believed to have medicinal properties. They are still used in Indian therapies like ayurveda and Siddha medicines.

In rural Bengal, kajal is made from the "Monosha" plant, a type of succulent spurge (Euphorbia neriifolia). The leaf of Monosha is covered with oil and is kept above a burning diya (mud lamp). Within minutes the leaf is covered with creamy soft black soot which is so safe and sterile that it is even applied to infants.

Health concerns

The content of kohl and the recipes to prepare it vary greatly. In North Africa and Middle East, homemade kohl is often made by grinding galena (lead sulfide). In the west, manufacturers use amorphous carbon or organic charcoal instead of lead. Plant oils and the soot from various nuts, seeds, and gum resins are often added to the carbon powder. Unfortunately, the non-lead products are considered to be of inferior quality to the older, traditional varieties and therefore there has been an increase in the use of handmade, lead-based kohl.

For decades various conflicting reports in the literature have been published relating to kohl application to eyes being responsible for causing higher blood lead concentration, which may cause lead poisoning. While at the same time, a number of research studies and reports have also been published refuting any such links with increased blood lead level upon kohl (surma) application.

A group of researchers in China tried to find some scientific basis of this claimed property of lead sulphide (galena) relating to absorption of sun rays when applied into the eyes in the form of kohl. The authors reported the ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectra of a thin film of lead sulphide prepared on “Indium Tin Oxide” (ITO) substrate. The spectra showed that lead sulphide thin films had higher absorption and lower transmittance in UV light band which further increases with the increased deposition voltage.

The drive to eliminate lead from kohl was sparked by studies in the early 1990s of preparations of kohl that found high levels of contaminants, including lead. Lead levels in commercial kohl preparations were as high as 84%. Kohl samples from Oman and Cairo, analyzed using X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, found galena. One decade later, a study of kohl manufactured in Egypt and India found that a third of the samples studied contained lead, while the remaining two-thirds contained amorphous carbon, zincite, cuprite, goethite, elemental silicon or talc, hematite, minium, and organic compounds.

Lead-contaminated kohl use has been linked to increased levels of lead in the bloodstream, putting its users at risk of lead poisoning and lead intoxication. Complications of lead poisoning include anemia, growth retardation, low IQ, convulsions, and in severe cases, death. Anemia from lead poisoning is of special concern in Middle Eastern and South Asian countries where other forms of anemia are prevalent, including iron deficiency anemia (from malnutrition) and hemoglobinopathy (sickle cell anemia, thalassemia).

These banned products are different from lead-free cosmetics that use the term "kohl" only to describe its shade/color, rather than its actual ingredients. Some modern eye cosmetics are marketed as "kohl", but are prepared differently and in accordance with relevant health standards.

In January 2010, French researchers reported that the particular heavy eye makeup that ancient Egyptians wore may have had medical benefits. At low levels, the specially made lead compounds helped the immune system by stimulating production of nitric oxide.

"Blue" Kohl is a dark-bluish black pigment composed of both lead-based compounds as well as a compound of antimony. The lead-based compounds in kohl are galena (PbS) – dark grey and gloss laurionite ( PbCl(OH)) – white phosgenite ((PbCl)₂CO₃); cerussite (PbCO₃) – blue. The antimony-based compound in kohl is stibnite (Sb₂S₃) - blue. Stibnite has antimony (stibium) in it. There is evidence that submicromolar concentrations of lead (Pb²⁺) can elicit overproduction of nitrous oxide (N₂O), which in turn can trigger an enhancement of the immune response.

The ancient Egyptians, documented in the Ebers Papyrus (~ 1550 BCE), discuss these compounds within kohl as protective for the eyes. Indeed, kohl was used an eyeliner and cosmetic. There are a number of endemic ocular disease in the Nile region including trachoma, a chlamydial organism which can cause corneal scarring and conjunctival cicatricial disease, with visual loss. Kohl was used not only as a cosmetic but also as a medicinal collyrium (from Gr. kollurion). Two of kohl's lead compounds — the lead chlorides laurionite and phosgenite — were not natural to the Nile valley. It is believed they were intentionally synthesized by the ancient Egyptians for this purpose. The widespread use of kohl across the Mediterranean and the Mid-east attests to its ability to protect the eye from infectious disease and be used as a cosmetic.

Legal status

Kohl is illegal to import into or sell in the United States, because it is not on the list of color additives approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which considers kohl unsafe for use.

In popular culture