It might be only a cosmetic today, but in ancient times, kohl was considered to have magical powers. This deceptively simple beauty product may be one of the oldest known ophthalmological therapeutics. Cosmetics and other toiletries were highly valued by the ancient Egyptians. Both men and women wore eye makeup, which served to protect the eyes from the bright sun and from blowing sand and dust. (American football, baseball, softball, and lacrosse players in the United States smear a line of eye black underneath their eyes to mitigate the effects of bright sunlight or stadium floodlight.) The pigment, mostly concocted from either black galena, gemstones, and lampblack, was kept in a powdered form known as “Kohl.”