11 Weird Beauty Methods Of The Past

From Ancient Rome to 1930s Hollywood, people have come up with some insane aesthetic remedies. Like pee.

1. Pee

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In Ancient Rome, urine was often included as an ingredient in facial masks used by women, while it was also used by both men and women to whiten teeth.

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2. Man Sweat

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This is nasty: Apparently gladiator sweat, along with the fats of the animals they killed, was collected and sold at the arenas. The ingredients were thought to make complexions glow. (However if Ancient Rome is anything like today, what do you bet these offerings were...shall we say...doctored?)

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3. Lead

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During the Elizabethan era, ladies followed after Queen Elizabeth I and her "Mask of Youth" which included white lead as an ingredient. While the result might have been a paler, lighter complexion, the mixture was pure poison.

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4. Crazy-Ass Wigs

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A must if you were a member of the French aristocracy in the 18th century? An insanely elaborate wig, which would have weighed a ton.

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With the wig, you'd also have to get it doused with boatloads of powder. Which looks supremely unpleasant.

5. Vapor Baths

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Step inside this Victorian era bath cabinet, which was used more to "cure" ailments, although it did claim to help pimples, oily skin, and bad complexions.

6. Toilet Masks

Another Victorian invention. Toilet masks or "face gloves" (haha!) were meant to be worn overnight.

7. This Hilariously Named Cream

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An 1897 product: Bust cream...or food. Feed your boobs!

8. 1930s Perm Machines

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OK, so the concept of a perm isn't so weird (or maybe it is...depending), but what is pretty crazy is the apparatus and setup used to achieve it.

9. Radioactive Ingredients

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In the 1930s, a popular beauty trend included products made with Radium, which, clearly, is a radioactive element, and not at all good for you.

10. The Beauty Calibrator

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This was actually a tool used by Max Factor in the 1930s, which was meant to help makeup artists in the movie industry measure a subject's face to see where improvements could be made. Still, looks scary, no?

11. Beauty Vacuum Helmets

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Put this 1940s invention on and your head will be surrounded by a lower atmospheric pressure...which will make you look amazing?