From natural resources to packaging, an interdisciplinary study of skincare products over time

The human skin is our largest organ and envelops our entire body. It is a continuously regenerating barrier that protects us from our external physical environment but it is also the habitat of the skin's microflora. It can be seen as a 'lived environment' on which some microorganisms are commensal and others are opportunistic pathogens that can engender undesirable skin conditions including discolouration, discomfort and even disease. It is also a lived environment through which humans experience life through.
Since antiquity (if not earlier) and as attested by ancient literary and archaeological evidence, the health and overall appearance of an individual's skin has consistently been used to judge their health, hygiene and social status. The formulation of skincare products evolved over time but their role remained the same i.e. for general hygiene and aesthetics. Ancient civilisations realised the beneficial properties of the natural resources available to them but over time, the use of some of these substances declined or ceased entirely. Some of these disused substances could still have beneficial properties, and this is particularly pertinent now that the modern cosmetic industry is looking at utilising the skin's microflora and natural resources as an inspiration for new products. There is therefore an interest from academics and the industry in studying the natural substances that were used in the past, which is the main focus of this project.
This scoping project will start with the study of the collections of the Boots Archive and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Museum, concentrating on skincare products produced in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that contained natural substances and were sometimes marketed as being inspired by antiquity. Due attention will be given to both the ingredients used in the formulation and also to the packaging and the commercial advertising of these products. In ancient societies, during which levels of literacy were low, apothecaries realised that containers play a role that goes beyond protecting and preserving the product. The packaging has also a psychological impact on customers.
By analysing trends of the use of natural substances, packaging and advertising, results of this project will be an important resource for academics studying healthcare and for the industry formulating new cosmetic products using natural substances. This project will also raise the interest of the general public about skincare through communication and public engagement events.

This research will benefit a wide range of academics, non-academic stakeholders and members of the general public.
This interdisciplinary research focuses on the evolution of skincare products over time and will be an important resource of information for academics working in a wide range of different disciplines (i.e. pharmacognosy, botany, biochemistry, food technology, medicine, cosmetics, classics, ancient history, archaeology, anthropology etc.) and our research findings will contribute to the development their own research and/or inspire them to develop new interdisciplinary projects.
Boots and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Museum (non-academic institutions) will be actively engaged in this research and will benefit significantly from our research findings which will have commercial interest and will add value to their collection.
The Boots Archive will be a primary beneficiary, as their collection is currently an underutilised source of information with respect to the development of skincare products from the nineteenth century to the present. This project will help the company to promote and further enhance the visibility of the archive collection to a wider audience and reveal some of its academic potential. As a business with a long history in the development and marketing of skincare products, Boots is interested to understand more about the ingredients chosen for those products and learn of the social drivers behind them. One of the long term aims of the company is also to create a heritage and learning centre focused on the development of health and beauty, to which this project could significantly contribute.
For the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum this research will improve the knowledge of their collection, increase the visibility of the collection and attract new members of the general public thanks to the organisation of a conference and a workshop towards the end of the project and to the hosting of an exhibition related to the findings of the project. More generally, this research has the potential to benefit different industries through the rediscovery of natural resources, their composition and properties.
This project also includes activities which are going to be of interest to the general public. These includes the conference and workshop planned at the RPS Museum towards the end of this project. We will also participate in May Fest 2017 (University of Nottingham) which will be an opportunity for the general public, patients, support groups such as the National Eczema Society and the Psoriasis Association and members of the healthcare sector to engage with us. These activities may also allow the general public to act as informed citizens. During these events, we will aim to explored the skin as a 'lived environment' through which human experience life through and alter using skincare products. This will give economic and societal impacts to our public engagement activity.