Why did most elderly women lick their eyebrow pencil before applying?

zbeckabee

Possibly connected to the following, either by habit or by looking for the same outcome: In the old days the filaments used in pencils were made of different material than today's graphite which is charcoal colored and its particles separate easily on friction with the paper surface leaving clear marks. The old material did not leave much of a mark on the paper due to its high density. It was water soluble and if left in a water filled container, would dissolve completely. On contact with water it changes color from dark charcoal like color to violet blue. In order to leave a clear mark on paper it was necessary to actually moisten the tip of the pencil filament with your saliva, the resulting product behaved and flowed like ink. http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1999-11/941497627.Sh.r.html Sep 04 09, 10:05 PM

looney_tunes

I remember being instructed in the use of an eyebrow pencil by my mother, with the first step being to moisten the pencil to ensure it applied color smoothly. While I haven't used one for many years, I would probably still start by licking it if there was no sink handy! As this link says that the tip should be clean and dry, it seems that the chemical composition of eyebrow pencils has probably changed in the last 50 years! http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/how-to-apply-eyebrow-pencil-795.html Sep 05 09, 2:05 AM