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Some might say that modern beauty standards have reached their apex. Others would argue that we’re flying too close to the sun. In a reality full of BBLs and GLP-1s, it’s only natural to wonder how we arrived here. These 10 beauty trends from human history are wildly unbelievable, and yet, so are the standards that society still upholds.
1.Painted their faces with lead.
Lead is a pivotal and lethal ingredient in the history of beauty. Women in Ancient Rome used lead to lighten their skin. Centuries later, so did royalty and aristocrats of the Elizabethan era. Queen Elizabeth and many others painted their faces white with a substance known as Venetian ceruse. The makeup was a mixture of lead carbonate and vinegar, applied directly to the skin. Side effects of lead exposure included hair loss, tooth decay, and skin discoloration. It was nothing that a little more lead couldn’t cover up.
2.Consumed arsenic.
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Another method for making the skin paler, even if it did mean approaching the brink of death, was swallowing arsenic. This pretty poison was all the rage from the late 1800s up until the 1920s. Arsenic would lighten the skin by killing off red blood cells. The drug was popularized by Dr. Mackenzie, who marketed the toxin as an “improved harmless arsenic complexion wafer.” Ingesting arsenic resulted in blindness and death amongst many. After the wafers were taken off the market, people resorted to soaking arsenic out of flypaper to get their fix. This D.I.Y. beauty hack was a common way to D.I.E.
3.Dilated their pupils with “deadly nightshade.”
Speaking of poisonous beauty hacks, berry juice from the toxic belladonna plant was used throughout the Italian Renaissance to dilate the pupil. Achieving that doe-eyed, dark-centered look was associated with seduction, magnetism, and allure. Belladonna actually means beautiful woman in Italian. That’s how twistedly entangled the roots of this poisonous plant were in the practices of beauty. Behind the dilated eyes of an Italian Renaissance woman, there was also a fury of symptoms. From a rapid heartbeat to convulsions, to hallucinations, to death, the belladonna trend was often to die for.
4.Slathered themselves in oil before tanning.
In ancient times, pale skin was a symbol of status because it meant that a person didn’t have to work out in the sun. During Victorian times, paleness was a coveted feature of the tuberculosis chic aesthetic. Everything changed in 1923 when a sun-kissed Coco Chanel was photographed on a yacht in Cannes.
Tanning booths, known as “solariums,” took off along with beach culture and a habit of sunbathing. In the 1970s, tan lines were seen as a statement of ****** freedom and autonomy. Tanning was practically a competitive sport in the 1980s. Beach-goers would cover their skin in oil or Coca-Cola to attract more sunlight.
The pursuit of being tan has reached new extremes thanks to social media. Trends like “tanmaxxing” (getting as tan as possible without using sun protection) have taken over the internet. Tanning beds and oils have long been linked to DNA damage and melanoma. Despite these proven harmful side effects, it seems this chapter in beauty history is far from over.
5.Laced themselves up in electric corsets.
Electricity was a cultural phenomenon that people became infatuated with before they fully understood how it worked. This infatuation was capitalized on in the late 19th century and pumped out to the masses as modern, utilitarian products like the electric flesh brush or Dr. Scott’s electric corset.
In her book, When Old Technologies Were New, Carolyn Marvin writes, “Electrical corsets were available for women, less to augment their sexuality than to control it.” Corsets have an extensive and troubled history in the realm of beauty. Side effects of lacing up included muscular atrophy, organ displacement, and reduced lung capacity. Electricity at large was a stride toward the future, but in many ways, society was still stuck in the standards of the past.
6.Accessorized with hats soaked in mercury.
The concept of being “mad as a hatter” dates back to the Industrial Revolution. Hat makers were exposed to dangerous levels of mercury, which led to hallucinations, speech impediments, and tremors, which were fittingly coined as “hatter’s shakes.” The felt on the top hats was created by soaking animal fur in mercury nitrate for extended periods. These toxic fumes filled the factories and seeped through hairlines, affecting workers and hat wearers alike.
7.Wore skirts made of steel, wood, and horsehair, which caught on fire wayyyy more often than you’d expect.
On top of the top hat, the cage crinoline skirt was another hazardous fashion norm of the mid-1800s. These stiff and heavy hoop skirts were a staple of Victorian culture. In 1858, The New York Times reported that an average of 3 deaths per week occurred from cage crinoline combustion. Not just one, but both of Oscar Wilde’s sisters died after their skirts caught on fire. At the peak of their popularity (between 1850 and 1860), an estimated 3,000 deaths transpired due to cage crinolines. The style only lasted a decade, but it sparked a lot of conversation and skirt bottoms.
8.Bathed and covered their faces in crocodile dung.
Crocodile dung was a miracle cure-all ingredient throughout the ancient world. Egyptians would mix it with honey to create a natural contraceptive (don’t try this at home). In ancient Egypt and Rome, crocodile **** was used in baths and face masks to combat the effects of aging. Who knew a creature with scales could give you the softest skin?
9.Tried urotherapy, a.k.a. a good ‘ol “pee facial.”
Urine was a valuable substance in ancient Rome, where it was distributed and taxed for its high ammonia content. Used as a healing agent throughout ancient Greece, Egypt, and Rome to treat skin conditions, urine was regarded as liquid gold. A sort of pee renaissance occurred in 2016, when urine-based skincare routines became a breakout trend. Used to treat eczema, acne, and psoriasis, urotherapy was rumored to tighten the pores and clear the skin. Others who tried it developed uncomfortable facial rashes. Sometimes, you mark your territory, and other times, it marks you.
10.Shot themselves up with peptides.
The history of beauty has led us to the apex of obsession that we’re up against at present. Looksmaxxing is a movement that was popularized within the incel (involuntary celibacy) community, emphasizing becoming as attractive as possible by any means necessary.
Propagated by influencers like Clavicular and cultural characters like Patrick Bateman of American Psycho, looksmaxxing has infiltrated the mainstream. Changing the way you look through leg-lengthening surgery or an injectable peptide is smiled upon by looksmaxxers. Peptides are chains of amino acids that trigger a response throughout the body. While some synthetic peptides (like GLP-1s) are FDA-approved, many are not. The side effects of these rogue peptides can’t be predicted since they haven’t undergone clinical trials. Despite the uncertainty, looksmaxxers continue to up their dosage and spread mass hysteria across our FYPs.
Do you have a historical beauty fact that is totally off the wall? I want to hear it! Let me know in the comments or fill out the anonymous Google form below.
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