In the health regimens that became popular all over Europe in this period, women and men were urged to spend about half an hour cleansing their heads in the morning, to purge the body of what in the Renaissance they called ‘excrements’ that had built up in the stomach overnight – Spit! Cough! Blow your nose! Sneeze! Remove sleepy dust! Scoop out your earwax! Clean your teeth! These ablutions served both health and beauty.25
