Women’s beauty standards change just like our taste in wallpaper. Some years one thing is in, another few years and bell bottoms have replaced skinny jeans. Same with beauty standards all over the world. If you know anyone from the areas of Tajikistan or Uzbekistan the people of today sing songs about the beauty of a woman’s thick black eyebrows.

Once upon a time in Iran, which was then known as Persia, women with light mustaches were considered beautiful. Here are some photographs from a period in history –– a time when a prince had 84 wives, and some of them had mustaches.

Nasir al-Din Shah and the Subtle Grace of the Persian Mustache

In the opulent courts of Qajar Persia Nasir al-Din Shah reigned as both a monarch and a connoisseur of beauty. Among his 84 wives, one stood above the rest: Anis al-Dawla, the Shah’s confidante and his favorite. Her charm was unmatched, but it wasn’t just her wit or elegance that captivated him—it was her adherence to a beauty ideal that, by today’s standards, might seem unconventional. Anis al-Dawla, like many women in the Shah’s harem, was said to have a delicate mustache, a feature celebrated as a mark of feminine allure in Persian culture.

Related: Use sugaring to remove your hair the Persian way

Born in 1842 she was the daughter of an impoverished shepherd from Amamme village in Lavāsān, northeast of Tehran, and was employed as a maidservant to Jeyrān, the wife of the Shah, in the Qajar harem in 1859. She became the favorite of the shah after Jeyrān’s death in 1860.

Anis was the only wife to take meals with Nāṣer-al-dīn, a unique privilege, and to join him regularly at bedtime after he received visits from other wives. She was also the one with the mind: to openly criticize him and organise political opposition to government policies that she disagreed with. The Shah granted the Shahrastanak Palace to her.

To the Western eye, this strange mustache aesthetic might appear strange. But in 19th-century Persia, where the natural world intertwined with art and philosophy, the light mustache held profound symbolism.

Persian poets, many who were Sufi, and whose words shaped the cultural landscape, compared this feature to a shadow upon the moon—a subtle enhancement that amplified, rather than diminished, its radiance. A line from the great Hafez captures this sentiment perfectly:

“Her lip, adorned with a shadow’s trace,
Holds a sweetness time cannot erase.”

Nasir al-Din Shah’s court was a world where beauty transcended mere physicality. The fine mustache represented vitality, refinement, and balance. Anis al-Dawla embodied this ideal. Her confident demeanor and understated grace left an indelible mark on the Shah and the empire.

Portraits from the era reveal women with bold features: expressive eyes, arched brows, and, often, faintly shadowed upper lips.

Anis al-Dawla, exemplified a harmony of qualities—strength tempered with softness, confidence paired with humility. The light mustache, far from being an imperfection, was a testament to their connection with the divine balance of nature.

Some sources suggest that the Shah forced the women in his harem to gain weight and did not allow them to shave their moustaches. Eventually Iranian women tried to look like the European women who began to adorn the dreams of Iranian men. Moustaches were shaved, eyebrows were thinned and women tried to lose weight.

Today, as global beauty standards often lean toward botox and homogenization of certain western beauty standards, the story of Nasir al-Din Shah and Anis al-Dawla invites us to reconsider our perceptions. That said, are you ready for Januhairy?

The post The Shah’s Harem and the Subtle Grace of the Persian Mustache appeared first on Green Prophet.

Save money and make yourself sugar wax at home with only three ingredients. All you need is granulated white sugar, water, and lemon juice. Sugar wax is less painful than traditional hot waxing because it does not remove hair follicles. Sugar wax is an excellent alternative for people with sensitive skin. 

My roommates and I decided to try sugar waxing, and to our delight, we successfully pulled it off using ingredients readily available in our apartment. The experience turned out to be enjoyable and surprisingly efficient. In just 30 minutes, we completed the entire process, saving both time and money compared to visiting a salon.

Not only was the home sugar waxing less painful than a salon treatment, but it also left our skin feeling incredibly smooth and with a delightful fragrance. Overall, it was a fantastic and rewarding experience that we would definitely repeat in the future.

Sugar wax originates in the Middle East and is fully biodegradable ! Though the exact origin of sugaring is hard to determine, most historians concur that this ancient hair removal method was already in use during the old civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece around 1900 BCE.

It was known as “sukkar” in the Middle East and “moun” in Persia. Since sugar was limited to the regions near Persia until 1,000 after CE honey served as the primary sugaring agent to create the waxing paste during that era.

Is sugar wax better than regular waxing?

Sugar wax is made of ingredients that break down easily when thrown away. Synthetic waxes are not biodegradable and are more harmful to the environment. 

Sugar wax can be made at home and uses inexpensive and common home ingredients instead of visiting a salon or using cosmetic waxing kits found at the store. 

Ingredients 

• 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar 
• ⅛ cup (30 ml) lemon juice
• ⅛ cup (30 ml) warm water 

Making your sugar wax

Put a medium-sized pot on your stove and add white sugar, lemon juice, and warm water. 

Mix frequently and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.

Turn the heat down to medium once the mix is boiling and bubbling. If the blend keeps bubbling, turn it down to low heat. 

When the mix becomes golden brown, remove the pot from the stove. Continue to mix the golden brown mix until it becomes smooth and has a deep brown color. 

The consistency should resemble hot syrup; if it appears thick, like honey, it must be heated for longer.

Pour the mix into a bowl or a jar and let it cool for 30 minutes. Sugar wax should be used at room temperature, unlike traditional hot wax.

Applying your sugar wax

Scoop a small amount of warm wax with your fingers and roll it into a ball. 

Put the wax onto a small skin area opposite to hair growth. Spread the wax to create a layer that is about 0.6 cm thick. Work on small sections, limiting their length and width to just a few inches. 

Pull!

Swiftly remove the wax in the opposite direction of hair growth, similar to pulling off a bandage. Make it quick to limit the pain. There is an option to apply paper strips on top of the wax to smooth it out and pull it off.

Apply the wax in small sections until finished. 

All leftover mix can be refrigerated and used at a later time. Use it within 4 to 5 weeks. 

Prepping your skin for sugar wax

• Wash your skin with soap and water and use warm water to open your pores and to risk your chance of infection
• Exfoliate up to two days before waxing to make the sugar wax stick better 
• Moisturize the night before, not the day off, because you want to wax with clean skin

Post-wax aftercare

• Moisturizer with natural oils, body butter, or serum to keep your skin soft and avoid ingrown hairs
• Wait two days to exfoliate again to prevent ingrown hairs and continue to do so every 2-3 days
• Do not use products that might irritate your skin

Risks of sugaring

Sugaring when done correctly does not have a lot of risks. People who have sunburns in areas they want to wax or have moles, warts, or varicose veins in places they want to wax should avoid waxing in total. Also people with preexisting skin conditions should speak with a doctor before sugaring. 

Any type of waxing presents risk of side effects such as It is also worth noting that any form of waxing can cause side effects such as:

Ingrown hairs: When hair grows back and curls back into the skin, causing raised and itchy spots.

Folliculitis: Inflammation in hair follicles, leading to tender bumps on the skin. It can occur anywhere on the body where hair grows, either on the surface or deep within.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation: Darkening of the skin after an injury. Even though sugar waxing is gentler, it can still cause some skin trauma, resulting in inflammation and possible discoloration. People with darker skin tones are more likely to experience this.

Infection: If sugar waxing is done incorrectly or with poor hygiene of the waxing tools and area, it can lead to skin irritation and infection.

The post Making DIY Sugar Wax! appeared first on Green Prophet.

One of Green Prophet’s most-read stories ever is our how-to article on sugar-waxing, an ancient method of hair removal that predates waxing. What is it about body hair that makes for riveting reading? Come learn what I’ve picked up about dealing with body hair in the Arab Middle East.

Feedback welcome: I’ve been knocking around the region for four years, happy to hear if I’m presenting “fake news”!

The Hairline Timeline

Humans first started removing hair from men’s faces, most likely for cleanliness, and the first “razors” were rock blades made of flint. Shaving got a boost by Alexander the Great who required his soldiers to be beardless in battle so as to gain an advantage in hand-to-hand combat. Many contemporary militaries still follow this practice.

Egyptians are also credited with inventing sugaring, believed to predate shaving. It’s similar to waxing, but uses a sugar-syrup paste that gets spread onto skin. When the mixture cools, it’s quickly peeled off, yanking hair out at the roots. You can eat the sweet pre-product if you use our recipe.

Hair removal by “threading” started in India 6,000 years ago using thin cotton thread to wrap and tug hair out in a rapid rolling motion. Called fatlah or khite in Arabic, Middle Eastern men and women both partake as a method to highly define brow shape. Fingers and toes also get plucked as part of the routine regime in most gender-segregated beauty salons.

Below-the-chin hairlessness now seems the norm for women, while men tend towards judicious man-scaping. If you’re dealing with a forest of fur (see our lead image), electrolysis may be the answer. Performed by licensed technicians, a needle-like probe is inserted into each individual hair follicle, zaps it with heat or chemicals, and the hair is removed with tweezers. Multiple treatments are needed, but your hair will be history.

To grow a beard or shave?

According to a hadith of Ibn ‘Umar’s (a hadith is a collection of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad which, with accounts of his daily practice (the Sunna), constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims apart from the Koran), Muslim men are obligated to keep their beards as a means to differentiate them from non-believers, advising men to, “Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the mustaches short.”

But what about all the hipster beards we see today?

Or those that can’t grow can knit one instead. Pattern is here.

Most Islamic scholars agree that the mustache should be trimmed to ensure hygienic practice so the hair does not touch the lip, and that beards are kept at an appropriate length, which is generally a fist length.

What About the Hairy Head?

According to Islamic scholars, there are only several kinds of head shaving that are permissible: when performing Hajj, Umrah, shaving a child’s head on the seventh day after birth, when a man converts to Islam, and shaving the head as a remedy for disease.

Pubic Hair and Shaving for Women

Women are not permitted to shave their heads or eyebrows, but everything else is fair game including the pubic region, armpit and forearm hair, and thighs.

When showing the above image to local Arab men in Aqaba, Jordan, they didn’t see the gorgeous face, instead recoiled from the naturally hairy arms!

Curiously, removing a unibrow is permissible as it is not exactly part of the eyebrows. Although in some countries and regions like among Bukharian Jews, a woman is revered for her unibrow.

It is widely advised for Muslim men and women to remove pubic hair and armpit hair as a way to remain clean; pubic hair is shaved with a razor,  while armpit hair is tweezed (ouch!), but what matters is the removal, and in modern times depilatory substances (even edibles ones like sugar wax!) are permissible.

Make your own sugar wax

In an increasingly challenging sociopolitical and geopolitical climate, the symbols and meanings attached to fatwas are rapidly changing. Which hair removal method you choose and on which part of your body seems less important in comparison to very real and pressing issues the Muslim world is facing.

Curious about a new movement to keep body here? Follow Januhairy.

The post Muslim shaving: the halal and the haram appeared first on Green Prophet.

Sugar wax, sugaring or Persian waxing, whatever you want to call it there is an old, tried and true way to wax, naturally. Many beauty regimens do more harm than good as many products contain harsh chemicals including toxins, hormone disruptors and even pesticides!  That’s why we have scouted out an ancient Arabic beauty regimen that does not threaten your body or your bank account for that matter.

It’s an attractive recipe. This all-natural sugar wax is most popular in Egypt and Lebanon.  There are plenty of videos which present efficient instructions on how to proceed with the depilatory “cooking.” But we like the video better below.

Sugar wax sugaring recipe

Sugar, white or brown (1 cup)

Water (2 Tbsp)

Lemon juice (1.5 Tbsp)

Salt, optional (1 tsp)

Sugaring Wax Method

Combine these above natural ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on low heat. Allow the mixture to thicken and turn golden-brown.  (Just like freshly baked cookies you know it’s good when it’s golden-brown.)

Stir the mixture with a spoon, making sure the sugar crystals dissolve.  Within roughly eight minutes, it will thicken considerably and take on a syrupy consistency.  Be careful not to let it burn.

Watch as the mixture turns a darker brown, turn off the heat, and let the forming wax cool for a couple of minutes.

And voilà (as this is also called Persian waxing), there you have your wax.  Apply where desired and pull in the opposite direction of hair growth.

The wax is totally reusable so stick the leftover portion in plastic and put it in the fridge.  10 seconds in the microwave will be enough when you want to use it later.

The sweetness of this sugar wax cannot be denied: it’s sticky, like toffee, and the color of caramel.

It’s also effective, cheap, and non-harmful.

Great for sexy legs. So try it at home. I know I will!

UPDATE: Link here for my trial and error attempt (and part success making my own sugar wax). Or go in the reverse and do a Januhairy.

The post Make your own sugar wax appeared first on Green Prophet.