Kohl (cosmetics)

Kohl ( ar, كُحْل, kuḥl), kajal or kajol is an ancient eye cosmetic, traditionally made by grinding stibnite (Sb₂S₃) for use similar to that of charcoal in mascara. It is widely used in the Middle East, Caucasus and North Africa, South Asia, West Africa, and the Horn of Africa as eyeliner to contour and/or darken the eyelids and as mascara for the eyelashes. It is worn mostly by women, but also by some men and children. The content of kohl and various ways to prepare it differ based on tradition and country. Several studies have questioned the safety of kohl due to the dangers of lead poisoning.

Name

The Arabic name formed the Arabic root ''k-ḥ-l, “to apply kohl”''. Transliteration variants of Arabic dialectal pronunciation include ''kohl'' or ''kuhl''. The Arabic word cognates with Syriac-Aramaic word ܟܘܚܠܐ/כוחלא ''kuḥla''. Both words derived from Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 ''guẖlu(m)'' meaning stibium.

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 Persian word for kohl is سرمه ''sormeh'', from Azerbaijani ''sürmə'' "drawing along", which has led to Bengali and Urdu ''surma'' ( সুর্মা, سرمہ) as well as Russian . In some South Asian languages, the term ''kājal'' or ''kajol'' is used.

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

In Hausa, it is also known as ''tozali'' and ''kwalli''.

Middle East and North Africa

Kohl has been worn traditionally since the Protodynastic Period of Egypt (c. 3100 BCE) by Egyptians of all social classes, originally 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 as old as the Badarian period through to Greco-Roman 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.''Studies in Ancient Technology'', Volume III, (Brill Archive), p.18.

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). Cosmetic ingredients such as cinnamon bark and other spice components – used for fragrances – alongside copper kohl sticks were exported from Tamraparni (ancient Sri Lanka) towns Pomparippu and Kadiramalai-Kandarodai to ancient Egypt.

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

Berber and Semitic 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 showed whether a woman was married or not. This form of using kohl on the face originated from the Arabian Peninsula, and was introduced in the seventh century in North Africa.

Kohl has also been used in Yemen as a cosmetic for a long time. In addition, mothers would apply kohl to their infants' eyes soon after birth. Some did this to "strengthen the child's eyes", and others believed it could prevent the child from being cursed by the evil eye.Hardy A, Walton R, Vaishnav R., Int J Environ Health Res. 2004 Feb;14(1):83–91. ''Composition of eye cosmetics (kohls) used in Cairo.''

Eye paint was worn in ancient Israel as well; one of Job's daughters had the name Keren-Happuch ("horn of eye paint") (Job42:14). Among the Israelites, the eye paint was frequently associated with women of ill repute or evil intent: "When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; she painted her eyes with kohl ("''wattāśem bappûk''"), and adorned her head, and looked out of the window" (2 Kings 9:30). For Jeremiah, Jerusalem can be personified as a prostitute: "And you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in crimson, that you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with kohl ("''tiqrĕ'ĭ bappûk''") ?" (Jer. 4:30). Similarly, Ezekiel portrays unfaithful Jerusalem as the prostitute Oholobah: "They even sent for men to come from far away, to whom a messenger was sent, and they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted ("''kaḥal''") your eyes, and decked yourself with ornaments" (Ezek. 23:40).

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.Katheryne S. Loughran, ''Somalia in word and image'', (Foundation for Cross Cultural Understanding: 1986), p.166.Sergew Hable Selassie, ''Ancient and medieval Ethiopian history to 1270'', (Printed by United Printers: 1972), p.26.

West Africa

Kohl is also applied in parts of West Africa by the Fulani, the Hausa people, and the Tuareg.Alan Donovan, ''My journey through African Heritage'', (Kenway Publications: 2004), p.62. In addition, it is used by the 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, Sylheti and Urdu and Gujarati, ''kajol'' in Bengali, ''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 medicine 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'', also known as ''buri nozor''. ''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 Bharatanatyam and Odissi

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