Our Ancestors' Killer Fashion Trends, Part I: What We Do for Vanity!

Over the centuries, fashion trends have come and gone, as have humans’ need to follow them. People have coated their faces in makeup, ingested all kinds of materials “guaranteed” to make them look and feel better, and worn clothing and accessories made from a wide assortment of materials. In doing so, they have also exposed themselves and the people who created all these products to an array of toxic chemicals, some of which eventually killed the makers, some the users, and some, both.

It is thought that the ancient Egyptians were the first to begin poisoning themselves with cosmetics. That exaggerated eye makeup we can see on the paintings they left behind was made of ground malachite, a copper ore; galena (lead sulfide); and kohl, “a paste made of soot, fatty matter, and metal (usually lead, antimony, manganese, or copper)." All those chemicals on and around their eyes often led to chronic eye inflammation, but after time, the chemicals could also leach into their mucous membranes and then into their bodies, leading to mood swings, insomnia, and a decrease in mental ability. (Egyptian funerary mask at the Louvre, image from Wikimedia Commons, public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ancient_Egyptian_funerary_mask_Louvre.JPG)

Ancient Greeks began to use white lead face cream “to clear complexions of blemishes and to improve the color and texture of the skin.” It worked so well, face masks made of lead became very popular. The ancient Romans used white lead to lighten their faces and then red lead for a nice rosy glow. Of course, today, we know that they were painting themselves into skin eruptions, infertility, and eventual dementia. It didn’t help that they also used lead to line their water pipes, pots and pans, and wine jugs.

By the time of Queen Elizabeth I, who had to disguise smallpox scars as well as the wrinkles of aging, white lead makeup was in heavy usage, among both men and women. They painted their faces to get as pale as possible with white lead and vinegar (cerussite or lead carbonate, which came to be called Venetian ceruse). They used a face peel of white lead and mercury and also used lead sulfate to try to remove freckles. In addition to lead, some of what they painted on their faces contained arsenic and mercury. Over time, the chemicals literally corroded their skin, requiring thicker applications, and, thus, more damage. Some think that Queen Elizabeth I might actually have died of lead poisoning from years of slathering her face with those deadly mixtures.

Surely, our immediate ancestors knew better . . .

Lest you think it was just long-ago royalty that fell prey to these toxic cosmetics, take a look at some of the techniques and products recommended for health in the nineteenth century. During Victorian times, you could purchase a pack of Dr. James P. Campbell’s Safe Arsenic Complexion Wafers, advertised as “Guaranteed Absolutely Safe and Harmless to Anybody.” The wafers were meant to cure you of a variety of skin problems including freckles, pimples, and “vulgar redness” as well as malaria, rheumatism, low spirits, hay fever, etc. We know today that arsenic destroys red blood cells and can cause damage to the kidneys, nervous system, and skin as it slowly kills a person. (Dr. Campbell's Arsenic Wafers image c. 1890, public domain, from Smithsonian: https://www.si.edu/object/dr-james-p-campbells-safe-arsenic-complexion-wafers:nmah_1339217)

The Ugly-Girl Papers; or Hints for the Toilet, written by Susan Dunning Power and published by Harper’s Bazaar in 1874, contains almost 300 pages of horrifying suggestions for face, body, and hair, most of which rely on caustic chemicals, like ammonia, cadmium (which she declares is “harmless”), and sulphur. Ms. Power’s well-intentioned but potentially deathly advice for bathing, scrubbing, and applying a multitude of poisons to all parts of the body in the name of beauty makes one wonder how anyone survived to adulthood. If you are interested, you can read the entire book in the Internet Archive’s Open Library. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7021515M/The_ugly-girl_papers

If your ancestors did not fall victim to the potent and lethal cosmetics of the time, perhaps they were affected by the clothing they wore. More on that coming up soon!

Want to learn more?

“Death by Vanity––The History of Makeup Poisoning,” by Fleur-de-Gigi, 24 November 2014 https://fleurtyherald.wordpress.com/2014/11/24/death-by-vanity-the-history-of-makeup-poisioning/

“When Looks Kill: 6 Deadly Cosmetics in History,” posted 26 September 2021 in Lavender and Lab Coats, https://lavenderandlabcoats.com/when-looks-kill-deadly-cosmetics-in-history/