Caring for the body

What did you do when you woke up this morning? Each of us care for our body using tools designed for a specific purpose, like toothbrushes or hair wraps. The V&A collects objects used in daily rituals as they give us insights into how cultures treated the body across time.

We can transport ourselves into the past when we imagine the sensations of these objects: how would it feel to scrape one of these ceramic bath rasps across your skin? Would that comb glide or stick in your hair?

Written by: Georgia Haseldine, Senior Curator of V&A East Storehouse
Published: May 2025

Collecting Stories