Health and wellness routines in the 21st century are all about cleanliness, but people from ancient time periods relied on some rather disturbing beauty trends. Styles constantly change, though. And the things that are really popular right now (think dewy skin and thick eyebrows) could become faux pas in just a few years. For example, back in the early ’90s, everyone liked super thin brows that were over-plucked and tweezed like crazy. Today, that’s a major no-no.
Indeed, harmless trends come and go, but many of the most shocking beauty trends last for extended periods of time.
In fact, people from the past knowingly hurt themselves just to “look good.” Sometimes, they even risked death to adhere to their respective eras’ beauty standards. Beauty lovers did what was considered normal, just as modern individuals do today. But let’s hope the disturbing beauty trends below are truly remnants of the past.
1. People in Europe rubbed lead on their faces to look paler, and they eventually gave themselves lead poisoning.
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Many people from historical civilizations used lead to make their skin look paler. In ancient Greece, for example, men and women slathered their faces with lotions made of white lead. The mixture allegedly cleared blemishes and improved the color and texture of their skin.
Ancient Romans also used white lead to lighten their skin color.
They preferred to use a small amount of red lead to achieve a rosy glow.
Moreover, in the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, both men and women painted their faces with a mixture of white lead and vinegar. Some individuals even peeled their skin with white lead. As a result, many people got lead poisoning and eventually died.
2. Ancient Egyptians used harmful chemicals in their dark eye makeup.
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The ancient Egyptians are known for their heavy eye makeup, but they didn’t use liquid eyeliners to achieve the signature look. Instead, a mixture of malachite (green ore of copper), galena (lead sulfide), and lead-based kohl helped create their smoky cosmetics. All of those components were very dangerous.
3. Men rubbed pigeon droppings on their heads to cure baldness.
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Women weren’t the only ones who tried questionable beauty trends.
In ancient Greece, Hippocrates created a mixture of cumin, pigeon droppings, horseradish, and nettles in an attempt to cure baldness. And before that, in ancient Egypt, men blended iron-oxide, lead, onions, honey, alabaster, and fat from various animals into a paste and applied it to their hairless heads. Neither mixture worked.
4. In the 15th and 16th centuries, women removed their eyebrows and the hair along their hairlines.
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During the Elizabethan Age, most women preferred to forgo having any brows at all.
They wanted to look like Queen Elizabeth I, and the monarch had super thin, almost non-existent brows and a large forehead. Consequently, some women got rid of their eyebrows and much of their hairline. Apparently, they used walnut oil or bandages soaked in ammonia and vinegar as hair removal agents. Yikes! Moreover, women in the 15th century reportedly preferred higher hairlines because larger foreheads were thought to signify great intelligence.
5. In Japan, people used iron-based black dye to darken their teeth.
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Up until the late 1800s, people in Japan considered black teeth incredibly trendy. The practice, called ohaguro, helped indicate wealth and sexual maturity, especially for women.
To achieve the look, citizens drank a spiced dye.
Beauty scholar Victoria Sherrow explained the ohaguro “was primarily a means to hide a woman’s mouth expressions, something that was also achieved by graceful movements of the hand or a fan.”
6. In the 19th century, certain women broke their ribs while wearing corsets to look thinner.
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In the 19th century, trends dictated that women should have tiny waists. Corsets shaped with metal helped women achieve the look, but the cost was great.
The restrictive garments often caused digestive issues and even broke bones.
According to old X-rays, women who wore the corsets daily suffered from squashed rib cages and displaced organs. Unfortunately, waist training corsets are in style again, but at least modern ones aren’t made of metal!
7. Victorian women put deadly nightshade into their eyes to dilate their pupils.
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In the Victorian era, women strove to achieve what Brooklyn-based artist and researcher Alexis Karl called the “dying of tuberculosis” look.
The ladies in question wanted to appear weak and fragile and have “big, watery eyes.”
To achieve that particular look, they put deadly nightshade into their eyes in the evenings. Allegedly, they knew the compound could cause blindness, but they were willing to risk it. Now that’s terrifying!
8. Women bathed in arsenic to get “perfect” skin.
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Also during Victorian times, Bavarian women submerged themselves in arsenic to achieve milky white skin. Apparently, the toxic bath made them look ethereal. Unfortunately, the women were also poisoned, so it wasn’t really worth it.
9. In ancient China, foot-binding was extremely popular and encouraged.
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From the 10th century to the 20th century, women in China participated in foot-binding, “one of the most dangerous fashion trends in history.”
Many Chinese women desperately wanted tiny, curved feet, which were seen as symbols of beauty.
To get them, women underwent an incredibly painful process. They broke the bones in their feet, bound them, and then walked on them for two years, creating a whole new shape using tiny lotus shoes. Foot-binding wasn’t just painful; it caused a lot of medical problems and some fatalities.
10. In the 19th century, women made wigs out of lard.
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Victorian women didn’t just want big, watery eyes.
They also wanted towering piles of hair, like Marie Antoinette’s. So, they fashioned elaborate wigs using, among other things, animal lard. The hair pieces had frames of wood and wire and were stuffed with cotton, wool, and straw. Hair draped over the frames, and beef lard or bear grease held everything in place. A layer of powder covered the entire construction. Incredibly hazardous, the wigs gave people scalp scars. Some individuals even acquired lice. Additionally, the animal fat was highly combustible.
11. Ancient Greeks and Romans bathed in crocodile dung to get better complexions.
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Today, mud baths are the luxurious beauty treatments that restore and rejuvenate the skin. But back in ancient Greece and Rome, people preferred crocodile dung.
They thought the animal feces had restorative and beautifying properties, so they bathed in it often.
The smell must have been awful.
12. During the Renaissance, women bled themselves with leeches to look paler.
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Many women from the Renaissance era wanted to look as pale as possible. At the time, wealthier people didn’t work outdoors and acquire tans, so anyone with paler skin was presumed to be privileged. Accordingly, women found leeches in the forest and let the insects suck their blood. The blood loss made them paler, so they endured the pain.
13. In the 1930s, women used a dimple machine to create dimples.
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In 1936, Isabelle Gilbert invented a machine that allegedly created dimples. Marketed to women, the machine had two knobs that pressed into the wearer’s cheeks.
The device was painful, and it didn’t even work.
Plus, the American Medical Association said it could potentially cause cancer. Luckily, this trend didn’t last long.
14. Georgian women put acid on their teeth to achieve whiter smiles.
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This one sounds painful and uncomfortable; women used dangerous tooth powders to whiten their teeth.
The ingredients included cuttlefish and bicarbonate of soda, which is now called sulphuric acid.
The powders worked, but they also completely stripped teeth of their enamel, leading to pain and infections.
15. People in the 1800s used tapeworms to lose weight.
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Obsessed with their figures, Victorian women purposefully ingested tapeworms.
They let the parasites grow in their bodies and consume nutrients.
Consequently, the women lost weight quickly. To get rid of the tapeworms, they took pills or used special devices. In fact, Dr. Meyers of Sheffield created a cylindrical, food-stuffed tool to remove the creatures. But the device was inserted through the digestive tract, and it often choked patients to death.
16. Ancient Romans used Portuguese urine as mouthwash to make their breath smell better.
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Before the invention of conventional mouthwash, people got creative… a little too creative.
The Romans, for example, obsessed over white teeth and even brushed their teeth with urine. They also used the liquid body waste as a mouthwash, preferring Portuguese urine over any other kind. Even though urine does contain ammonia, a natural cleaning agent, we’ll pass!
17. People ingested arsenic wafers to get clear skin.
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Back in the early 1900s, Sears sold Arsenic Complexion Wafers.
The tablets supposedly got rid of things like freckles, blackheads, pimples, and rough skin.
Arsenic wafers did help people achieve clear complexions. However, it also had the potential to poison people or even cause death. And it was sold at Sears! This makes us slightly worried.
Many of these disturbing beauty trends might seem odd now, but back then, they were pretty normal.
It makes you wonder; is there anything we do now that will seem disturbing a hundred years in the future?
