It's been a big deal since at least the Renassiance period.Look up the Books of secrets which were collections of recipes concerning health,alchemy and cosmetics.They were extremely popular.Recipes promising anti-ageing qualities were common.Caterina Sforza was extremely involved in this area and her manuscript of over four hundred recipes included one with talc that she claimed would make a sixty year old woman seem twenty.Ray's Daughters of Alchemy can give you background.