7 Harsh Beauty Trends From the Past That Reveal Looking “Perfect” Used to Be Pure Torture

Beauty has always had a powerful pull, but the lengths people once went to achieve it were truly alarming. Many old beauty practices were so extreme and dangerous that they could make your skin crawl. Luckily, those days are behind us, replaced by much safer and more convenient ways to look and feel our best.

1. The tape worm diet

Most of us desperately want to shed some pounds, and people from the past were no exception. The point of the diet is to swallow a pill with a tapeworm egg inside. The tapeworm then disrupts your digestion as well as nutrient absorption. In the end, you can eat more calories and still lose weight.
This way of slimming down is extremely dangerous and has multiple complications.

2. Ice masks

A makeup artist, Max Factor, in the 1940s designed the ice cube mask. The cubes were attached to a sheet mask. It was originally used by Hollywood actresses who spent a lot of time under warm spotlights. Plus, it also did a great job of decreasing puffiness.

3. UV protection face masks

That sun-kissed glow has not always been popular. Pale skin was considered the epitome of beauty — the paler, the better. Some people still wear full-faced masks, like the face-kini, to protect their faces from the harmful effects of the sun. The masks still look the same.

4. Animal fat for styling

In the 19th century, elaborate wigs came with their own hazards. Often made with false hair, they could be so heavy that people developed sores on their scalps. They were also prone to lice infestations and were highly flammable due to the animal fats used for styling.

However, nineteenth-century wigs brought more than just physical risks — they also carried social consequences. For men, wearing a wig was increasingly seen as a ridiculous display of vanity. Women who wore wigs, meanwhile, were accused of deceptive behavior in their attempts to attract husbands. As a result, Victorian-era wigs were advertised in coded language, described as “gentlemen’s invisible perukes” or “ladies’ imperceptible hair coverings.” It was common for only the hairdresser to know when someone had been fitted with a wig.

5. A perm machine

A German hairdresser created a bulky machine for getting elegant curls. A group of curlers was connected to the machine, which heated up the cylinders with the help of an electric current. Sodium hydroxide was applied to the hair, and it would take several hours to finally get nice curls.

6. Radium skincare products

At one time, radium wasn’t considered to be radioactive. Marie Curie discovered the ingredient and claimed it had magical healing properties. Later, her husband introduced a makeup line that used radium as the main ingredient. Although radioactive creams didn’t cause much harm, people still suffered terrible side effects.

7. Urine as a mouthwash

Romans used urine as a mouthwash, toothpaste, and even as a laundry detergent until the 1700s. While the idea is nearly unbearable by today’s standards, it was surprisingly common in Roman times. The main reason was that urine contains ammonia, a powerful cleaning agent. Because of this, Romans believed it could be used to clean clothes and even whiten their teeth.

Be sure to check out our other article, where we’ve collected harsh truths about aristocratic life and revealed just how brutal it really was.