Social media is overflowing with wellness hacks and tips. While some should be avoided at all costs, others may actually be rooted in medicinal practices dating back to the Dark Ages, new research suggests.
After examining hundreds of medieval manuscripts and compiling their findings into a catalog, a new international research project sheds fresh light on early medieval medical practices—many of which wouldn’t be out of place on TikTok’s For You Page.
As the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) sect and wellness girlies gain traction both online and in the Oval Office, natural remedies are back in vogue. From beef tallow as skincare to castor oil in the belly button, these hacks could just as easily have been scribbled in the margins of a 5th-century manuscript as featured in an influencer’s get-ready-with-me video in 2025.
“A lot of things that you see in these manuscripts are actually being promoted online currently as alternative medicine, but they have been around for thousands of years,” wrote Meg Leja, an associate professor of history at Binghamton University. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on who you ask.
One medieval hack involves rubbing a mixture of crushed peach pit and rose oil on the forehead as a cure for headaches. Science now backs this up—a study from 2017 suggests rose oil may help relieve migraine pain.
Another 9th-century hair hack recommends covering the scalp with herbal-infused salt and vinegar to disinfect it, followed by a salve of oils mixed with the “ashes of a burnt green lizard” to enhance shine. Perhaps not one to try at home.
Other topical ointments and detox cleanses made from dried herbs and distilled alcohols share similarities with recent TikTok trends, like drinking “tadpole water” for debloating or eating dirt to reduce wrinkles.
Many of these medieval health and beauty hacks were found scribbled in the margins of books unrelated to medicine, suggesting a preoccupation with wellness that feels distinctly modern.
“People were engaging with medicine on a much broader scale than had previously been thought,” Leja told Science Daily. “They were concerned about cures, they wanted to observe the natural world and jot down bits of information wherever they could in this period known as the ‘Dark Ages.'”
Sounds like they would’ve loved TikTok.
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