WHAT DID THE ROMANS USE INSTEAD OF SOAP?

 

Strigilus

Hygiene among the Romans was something very important. It could not be otherwise, since a good part of the day was spent in the hot springs. One of the rooms of the baths was, precisely, the arena, where various exercises were practiced. What today we would call a gym or fitness room.

After the exercises of the arena, it is logical that the sweaty athletes needed a good shower. To clean themselves well, they anointed their bodies with oil, more or less perfumed. The cost of the oil was diverse (as is the case today with cosmetics) depending on its quality and aroma. In general, each one carried his oil, in a kind of spherical containers, called aríbalos, which they used to carry hanging at the waist. If they belonged to a modest social class and did not have their own oil, they could resort to a basic oil, which was provided by the coach of the baths, the magister. It was neither scented nor of extreme quality, but at least it was good for cleaning.

After smearing themselves with the oil, they rubbed their body with fine sand, with an abrasive purpose. Presumably there were quality differences in this as well. Then the mixture of sweat, dirt, oil and sand (occasionally the sand was replaced by ashes) was removed with a special device, the strigilus.

The strigilus was a long, thin metal scraper. It was shaped like a sickle, but without a sharp edge. It was equipped with a handle and a ribbed metal part, a kind of semicircular curved spatula.

Rubbing the skin with the strigilus removed the remains of dirt. The fat-soluble materials were dissolved by the oil and the water-soluble materials by the water. The sand performed a fine abrasion, a peeling, loosening the dead epidermal cells. On the other hand, the oil restored the cutaneous acid mantle and had emollient purposes. In addition, if it was perfumed, it had a deodorant purpose. The result, apparently, was not bad.

Written by Dale P. Lee in "Quora" June, 16,2022. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa