The Palestinian Hadia Qudaih sits in front of a flame and olive oil, pouring it on a piece of natural cloth, to soak it in, before setting it on fire, and gradually turning into the ashes of dark black.
About this process, she says, she makes traditional Arab eyelashes that are beneficial to eye health and more attractive than modern eyeliner.
The old traditional Arab eyeliner is popular throughout the Middle East and North Africa because of what women see as making their eyes more beautiful, in addition to the health benefits that stem mainly from one of its main components, which is olive oil.
Arab eyelashes have a special charm when applied over and under the eyes.
Hadia Qudaih, 64, from Gaza, says the traditional kohl technique, which she inherited from her grandmothers, can help protect eyes from germs, and relieve bloating and redness caused by seasonal allergies.
A spokeswoman told Reuters from her booth in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, "This Arab eyeliner is made by hand because it is made of oil and natural cloth, then this is beneficial to the eye, killing the germs in the eye and the spring ophthalmia in the eye, redness and allergy."
Hadia Kohl is made by burning olive oil and natural cloth together in a large iron skillet until they end up turning into a black crust scraping it with a metal spoon from the surface of the pan.
This black ash is the kohl that is then packed into small, decorated bottles called ankles and sells them.
On this, the Palestinian lady says: “This eyeliner is a heritage of our forefathers and mothers from ancient times. They used it better for the eyes, and for a healthy and medicinal condition than Kohl today. ”
Another Palestinian who uses traditional Arab kohl, Siham Qudaih (66 years old), says that her mother and grandmother used to make the traditional kohl eye by themselves at home.
"They were a time, which means our mothers, a time, and our ancestors, a hidden time, who knew kohl. Finger prints today. It was all done at home. They answer a rigid black cloth and cover it in the heart of the oil, and this continues to evaporate the ammunition, followed by the oil of the cloth, and this evaporates, so that when it is saved, the kish is finished. The cloth is followed by the oil.