2026_09_cosmegram-rev2 - Flipbook - Page 25
Hiÿory of Ocean Based Ingredients
I trust everyone had a great summer!! Much like many of you, I am always excited about one week
out of the summerÉShark Week! While enjoying the many weird shows, including Sharknado, I
decided to write about the history of using ocean based ingredients in our industry.
The history of ocean-based beauty products likely began when someone living near the coast
noticed that seaweed felt surprisingly slippery and thought, "This could either make my skin glow or
result in a conversation with the village healer."
Ancient civilizations across Asia, Europe, and the Pacific Islands used seaweed, sea salt, and marine
mud for cleansing and skincare. The logic was refreshingly straightforward: fish seemed healthy,
seals had shiny coats, and the ocean looked expensive. Therefore, the ocean probably contained
beauty secrets.
Egyptians soaked in mineral-rich waters. Greeks enjoyed sea baths. Romans built elaborate bathing
complexes and turned marine-inspired wellness into a full-time hobby. If there had been social
media in Ancient Rome, half the posts would have been pictures of sea-salt scrubs accompanied by
captions like, "Living my best imperial life."
Seaweed became one of the earliest marine beauty ingredients. Conveniently abundant and
impossible to ignore once it washed ashore, seaweed was easy to collect and offered numerous
minerals and nutrients.
Of course, convincing people to put beach vegetation on their heads wasn't always easy.
Imagine the first salesperson:
"Would you like shinier hair?"
"Certainly."
"Excellent. Apply this damp pile of sea plants."
"What?"
"Trust the process."
Against all odds, the process often worked. Seaweed contains compounds that help condition skin
and hair, and over centuries it earned a reputation as one of the ocean's most useful beauty
resources.
