2700-year-old face cream was made from animal fat and cave ‘milk’

By Michael Marshall

Dr. Bin Han, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Some Chinese noblemen were using cosmetic face cream 2700 years ago. Archaeologists have found an ornate bronze jar containing the remains of a face cream, which was made from a mixture of animal fat and a rare substance called moonmilk that is found in caves.

The discovery is the earliest evidence of a Chinese man using cosmetics, although there is older evidence of Chinese women doing so.

In 2017 and 2018, Yimin Yang at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and his colleagues …