Scary Beauty Facts

It is Halloween this week and historically beauty trends have been scary!

So we thought we would share some wacky and scary ones.

1. Coal tar used to be used by women in the Elizabethan-era as mascara and eye liner - many women went blind from this!

2. Being hairless was considered beautiful in the 1400’s. Women would shave their heads and pluck their eyebrows and eyelashes out completely

3. In the Second World War, Lipstick was considered an essential item for female nurses in the armed forces. This was to remind women that they were ladies first and as it was thought to have a calming effect on the male soldiers too.

4. Before L'Oréal launched the first mass market hairspray in 1960, women used greasy brilliantine or a mechanical sprayer to coat their hair with shellac dissolved in a solution of water and alcohol.

5. In Morrisville, Pennsylvania, a woman must get a permit before she can wear makeup (this still applies today).

6. Women used to bleed their skin using leeches to keep it pale.

7. The Ancient Mayans, used to press their skulls into a variety of shapes (this started 5 days after a babies birth)

8. The Unibrow was a sign of intelligence and beauty in Ancient Greece, and women used to close the gap with kohl, lampblack or even goat’s hair false brows.

9. Urine therapy (either rubbing on your face or drinking) has been used to stay healthy and beautiful (sometimes this is still used today!).
   
   And last but definitely not least:
   

10. For hundreds of years Japanese women dyed their teeth black for beauty standards (at least they didn’t need any tooth whitening).