The simple act of creating something from nothing has been the catalyst for using everyday household products beyond their regular purposes. In fact, beauty hacks that are revered today were often put in place by the ancestors who had nothing else to use, but remained committed to looking their best, as some even call it—casket sharp.

From skincare rooted in survival to multi-purpose products, those who came before us used ingredients from the earth as a means of protection against environmental factors, or in spiritual practices to shield against negative spirits. Today, ingredients such as African black soap, shea butter, and baobab oil are used throughout beauty items like shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer and more, but it’s important to understand other ways natural ingredients were incorporated by the ancestors for daily life.

As Maya Angelou once famously said, “You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been,” so Madamenoire has compiled a list of standard—and perhaps not so well-known—ways that natural ingredients were, and can still be, used to enrich our everyday lives. Moreover, it is essential to know this information to continue passing it down to future generations.

Source: Our Ancestors Did It First: How Natural Ingredients Shaped Beauty