7 Popular Beauty Trends From the Past That Show How Eerily Creative Fashion Once Was

Beauty holds such great power, it’s terrifying. However, we bet it’s no more terrifying than the methods used to achieve it. Some of these old beauty treatments are so sophisticated they can make your hair stand on end or curl, even without any tools. Thankfully, they’re all gone now, and we’re lucky to have safer and more convenient ways of enhancing our beauty.

1. 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.

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. A heated face mask

In the 1940s, these types of masks weren’t available on every corner like they are today. However, a beauty expert named Ann Drew found a solution. The helmet heated the scalp electrically, and the mask warmed the face.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. An anti-freckle treatment

Back in the day, freckles were something to be ashamed of, and everyone tried to get rid of them. Freezing them with carbon dioxide was thought to be effective in the 1930s. When the CO2 was applied, patients’ eyes were covered with airtight plugs, and they had to breathe through a tube because their nostrils were filled.

7. 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.

What is the weirdest beauty procedure you’ve ever undergone? How often do you change your look?