Beauty is a concept as old as human history.
Today, when we speak of beauty, mirrors, care products, scents and rituals may come to mind.
Yet the care people have shown themselves and their bodies began long before the modern world of cosmetics.
Since the day humans came to exist, they have built a relationship with themselves and their surroundings.
Sometimes with a scent.
Sometimes with a plant.
Sometimes with water.
And sometimes with nothing more than a few minutes set aside for themselves.
Beauty Was Not Always the Same
Beauty has never had a single definition.
Different societies, different eras and different geographies reinterpreted beauty within their own cultures.
In one era a certain complexion stood out, while in another a different sense of aesthetics gained value.
Hair, skin, scents, clothing and the appearance of the body changed along with the ways societies lived and their cultures.
This tells us something important:
Beauty is not fixed.
It changes with time.
It is shaped by culture.
It transforms together with people.
Care in the Ancient World
In ancient civilisations, care was one of the important parts of daily life.
Plants, oils, natural resources, scents and water were used in various care rituals across different cultures.
In ancient Egypt, fine scents and botanical sources were among the important elements of daily life.
In the Roman world, baths did not serve cleanliness alone. They were also places of social life, rest and gathering.
In Anatolia, the culture of water and the hammam remained an important part of care and social habits for centuries.
The care products we use today may have changed.
But one of the basic needs has stayed the same:
Caring for ourselves.
The Quiet Rituals of Care
Care did not always have to be elaborate.
Combing one’s hair.
Cleansing a face with water.
Breathing in the scent of a plant.
Applying an oil to the skin.
Sometimes all of this was just a small ritual of a few minutes.
Yet these small moments became part of the relationship people built with themselves.
Perhaps one of the oldest meanings of care is hidden here:
Making time for yourself.
Nature and Beauty
As humans observed nature, they also learned to draw on the resources it offered.
Plants became one of the important parts of care cultures.
Rose.
Lavender.
Rosemary.
Chamomile.
Aloe.
And many more plants...
Each carried different stories in different geographies.
Some through their scent.
Some through their traditional use.
And some entered people’s lives through their beauty alone.
The renewed interest in botanical ingredients today is not an entirely new story.
Perhaps it is the continuation of an old relationship in the modern world.
Modern Beauty
The world of beauty today is very different from the past.
Technology has advanced.
Formulation methods have diversified.
Ingredients can be examined in greater detail.
The safety of products and the experience of using them are evaluated more comprehensively.
We no longer ask only “what are we using?”;
“Why are we using it?”
“How are we using it?”
“Where does the ingredient come from?”
we can now ask questions like these as well.
This change is making our understanding of beauty more conscious too.
From Beauty to Healthy Beauty
Perhaps this is one of the most important transformations of the concept of beauty today.
Beauty is no longer only about outward appearance.
Knowing yourself.
Understanding the needs of your skin.
Caring for your hair and scalp.
Building the right care habits.
Making time for yourself.
And doing all of this in line with your own needs.
Beauty is becoming an increasingly personal experience.
Doroo’s Understanding of Beauty
For Doroo, beauty is a modern interpretation of the long relationship between nature and people.
We draw inspiration from nature.
We value botanical sources.
We make use of modern knowledge.
And we believe care is not only about outward appearance.
Because for us, beauty;
begins with understanding nature, knowing yourself and caring for yourself.
One Thing Unchanged in a Changing World
Much has changed over thousands of years.
The products we use have changed.
Rituals have changed.
Understandings of beauty have changed.
But the value of the time people set aside for themselves has not.
Perhaps today we have a bathroom instead of a hammam.
We make use of plants in different ways.
Our care products are more advanced.
But those few minutes we give ourselves in front of the mirror still say the same thing:
We are caring for ourselves.
And perhaps that is the simplest definition of beauty.
A Note from Doroo
Beauty is a long story reaching from the past into the future.
We take our place in a new chapter of that story.
Bringing the inspiration of nature together with the knowledge of today.
Because beauty can change.
But the care you show yourself is always your own.
Doroo Journal
To explore the stories of nature.
