With Halloween just around the corner, we thought we would take a look at these beauty standards and routines carried out the ages. It will make your next eyebrow wax look feel like a tickle with a feather!

White Lead 

In ancient Rome, lead was all the range. Romans would rub white lead all over their faces and sometimes bodies. This was because having a pale look was all the range; it showed a sense of wealth as paler people would not toil outside doing chores.

The practice caused skin ruptures, infertility and in some cases, even bringing on madness! 

Tapeworms

In the victorian era, the average woman wanted a look that was described as a look that resembles a person suffering from tuberculosis. Large dilated pupils, sickly white skin and thin frames were idealised. Tapeworms then became the newest addition to this scary trend. Tapeworms were ingested in the hopes they would take away calories that were consumed. 

16th Century Cosmetics

If you were into any kinds of beauty trends in the 16th century, it would be best to keep your practicings and looks in the confinement of your home. If any woman in England was spotted wearing any cosmetics in the 16th century, they were seen as a witch and almost instantly sentenced to death. Tough break!

Hair Bleach

In the 1930s, it was a big trend to look like Hollywood stars. Women would aspire to have bleached blonde looks like most of the celebrities of the era. Jean Harlow, starlet of the time, nicknamed ‘The Blonde Bombshell’ would meticulously dye her hair using a combination of Clorox, peroxide, ammonia, and Lux flakes.

The gas created by the mixture would ultimately be the cause of Harlows death. 

Hair Removal

Hair removal via X-Ray was in the range in the very late 1800s. When the X-Ray was first invented, beauticians marketed the machines as a new revolutionary way to remove hair fast. The procedures would leave patients ultimately exposed to the radiation, many developing fatal cancer.

Plucking 

Continuing the theme of hair removal, the woman of the renaissance period would often be very handy with a set of tweezers. Eyebrows, eyelashes and even hairlines were plucked until little to no hair was visible. A receding hairline on a female in that time was considered the height of elegance!

Are there any trends you can think of that are carried out in today’s era that could make this list in the future?