15 Strange Facts About Ancient Egypt That Can Stupefy Even History Buffs

Men used makeup.

Both women and men used makeup products in ancient Egypt. They had 3 reasons for this. First, makeup protected their skin from the sun. Second, they believed the gods Ra and Horus were kind to those who applied makeup. Third, makeup was believed to be healing. Here, we agree up to a point. An eyeliner containing lead helped to fight against conjunctivitis. Unfortunately, lead and cinnabar (mercury sulfide) did more harm than good.