Exploring Indigenous Akwa Ibom Herbs and Other Materials to Process Alternative Makeup Materials for Theatre and Film Productions South-South Journal of Humanities and international Studies, Vol. 7 No. 3, Vol.7 No.3

Abstract

The Nigerian cosmetic market in the 21st century is fast growing by the day and becoming one of the most income-generating industries and employers of labour. Observably, increased appetite for foreign make-up materials is becoming the narrative in the cosmetic market and this has impacted negatively on the nation’s economy by expressly encouraging dependency on foreign makeup materials, thereby reducing interest in local production since the latter are comparatively low in demand. The possibility of exploring local materials by way of sourcing and selecting some indigenous Akwa Ibom materials to produce local alternative cosmetics for theatre and film makeup inspired this research. Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of innovation is explored in the analysis of this work. This study is experimental research; a few indigenous materials were selected and processed into makeup materials for theatre and film design. These materials were experimented on actors in a film production to ascertain their efficacies as makeup and the possible reactions on the actor’s skin. The primary source of data for this work basically comprised practical, experiments and participatory research experience. However, some research documents have equally testimonies regarding the potency of herbal cosmetics especially regarding their health safety. Hence, there is a need to look inwards to improve on indigenous materials found within the immediate local environment as safer options for cosmetic production. The research brings to knowledge an innovation; a new technology of combining and processing make-up materials from indigenous materials for theatre and film production. The production procedure followed to process these cosmetics as reported in this paper originates from the researcher’s discoveries. The study recommends that Nigerian film and theatre makeup artistes take advantage of the locally processed makeup materials to reduce the influx of importation in this sector, encourage local production and also reduce the cost of design.