Lecture: Golden hair dye and white leaden aftersun:

When you think about the medieval period, you don’t immediately think about hair dye and makeup. A Middle Dutch manuscript, Hattem C5, has several recipes for both removing and colouring hair.

Not only are there seven different recipes for foundation in the Trotula, a different Latin recipe book, but they also had wax strips and lipstick, and even a teeth-whitener!

In this lecture, Paula Hage will talk through examples and ingredients taken from medieval sources to answer the question: What medieval cosmetics did women have access to? Warning: Do not try these at home!