 Kohl is a mixture of soot and other ingredients used predominantly by Middle Eastern, North African, Sub-Saharan African, and South Asian women, and to a lesser extent men, to darken the eyelids and as mascara for the eyelashes. Kohl is also sometimes spelled kol, kehal (in the Arab world), or kohal, and is known as surma or kajal in South Asia. It is the etymon of "alcohol".
Kohl has been worn traditionally as far back as the Bronze Age (3500 BC onward). Kohl was originally used as protection against eye ailments. Darkening around the eyelids also provided relief from the glare of the sun. Mothers would also 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 an "evil eye".
Anthropology
Kohl was used in Egypt along with malachite and lipstick made from ochre oil.
Indian
Kohl is known by various names in Indian languages, like sirma or surma in Punjabi, kajal in Hindi,"Katuka" in Telugu, "Kan Mai" in Tamil and "Kaadige" in Kannada.In India, it is used by women as a type of eyeliner that is put around the edge of the eyes. Even now in southern rural India, especially in Kerala, women of the household prepare the kajal. This home-made 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".
Culture
In Punjabi Culture Kohl is known as Sirma or Surma it is a traditional ceremonial dye, which predominantly men of the Punjab apply to their eyes on special social or religious occasions. Usually the wife or the mother applies the dye onto the eyes of the male. The equivalent of the dye in western culture would be eyeliner.
Preparation
Preparation of kajal begins with dipping a clean, white, thin muslin cloth, about four by four inches square, in sandalwood paste or juice of Alstonia scholaris (Manjal karisilanganni), then dried in shade. This dip and dry process is done all day long. After sunset, they make a wick out of the cloth and use it to light a mud lamp filled with castor oil. A brass vessel is kept over the lamp, leaving a little gap enough for the oxygen to aid the burning of the lamp. This is left burning overnight. Next day morning, one or two drops of pure ghee(made by melting cow's butter) or castor oil is added to the soot on the brass vessel and 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 and they are still used in Indian therapies like ayurveda and Siddha medicines.
Some women also add a dot of kajal on the left side of the foreheads of babies and children, to protect them from '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 is passingly mentioned that way in 'Devdas', the movie starring Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit and others.) It is also applied at the nape a baby or child's neck so that it is not visible; at the same time it protects the child from the evil eye.
Health concerns
The content of kohl and the recipes used to make it vary greatly. While some kohl is a harmless, "natural" cosmetic, certain varieties can pose a serious public health concern. Galena (lead sulfide) used to be used in kohl preparations before the toxicity of lead became known, but now reputable 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.
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 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 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). The FDA issued a warning against lead-containing kohl products and affirmed that the sale and use of lead pigments is illegal in the U.S.
These banned products are different from lead-free cosmetics that only use the term "kohl" to describe its shade/color, rather than its actual ingredients. Consumers should verify that the product is lead free.
Pop culture- The film actress Theda Bara used kohl to rim her eyes throughout her career.
- Jack Sparrow, a character in Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy, wears kohl (or "guy liner") around his eyes.
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Essential
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