In the British Victorian era, a woman with makeup was considered a “makeup girl” or “prostitute”. Although the makeup of the white face and bright red lips was very popular before the Queen’s accession to the throne, Queen Victoria said that makeup was vulgar, which led many people in the UK to completely give up makeup, or try to a makeup more natural. As a result, many inventions that improved the natural characteristics of women emerged in the 19th century, but many of them made their bodies deformed or slowly killed by toxic chemicals.
Facial Bleaching
In the 19th century, having an extremely fair skin was very important for women. Women in the upper class want to prove that they are rich enough and do not have to work in the hot sun. They want their skin to be very white, “translucent” and even see the texture on their faces. The Victorian era was obsessed with death and thought that women who looked sick or dying were very attractive. S.D. Powers’ “The Ugly-GirlPapers” advises women to apply a small number of anesthetic lettuce leaves to their faces at night and wash their faces with ammonia in the morning to ensure that they look as fresh and pale as possible. Arsenic silicon wafers eliminate freckles and tanning, making women look younger and more attractive. Women are fully aware that arsenic is toxic and addictive. But in order to achieve their ideal beauty, they still choose to use it.
Burning Hair With Fire
In the 19th century, curls were very popular. Early curling tongs need to be heated in the fire. If the woman pulls the curling iron out of the fire and uses it directly on her hair, it is possible to burn the hair because the pliers are too hot. Therefore, baldness has become a common problem faced by Victorian women. Even if they have skilled curling techniques, there is still a lot of pressure on the scalp because of often change the style of curls. Women do not seem to draw conclusions based on facts, have tried many herbal and pharmaceutical treatments. Some even suggested that hair should be washed with ammonia to stimulate hair growth. Ammonia exposed to the air can cause breathing problems and burn skin. It can also cause blindness. S.D. Powers recommends using an equal amount of quinine sulfate and Incense tincture to treat eyebrows and bald hair lost in the fire. She also suggested that women should avoid direct contact between curling irons and hair, but many people realized this until late.
Purify Blood
In the Victorian era, many people died of lung disease (tuberculosis). And in society, there is a creepy fascination to the death. S.D. Powers claims that people in the early stages of consumption have the clearest, most beautiful skin tones. Women with lung disease often vomit blood, while Powers claims that it actually removes impurities from the body and makes their skin whiter. To emphasize this, she recommends that women eat as little as possible. This will enable them to maintain sufficient strength and also weaken their bodies. Powers proposed a diet plan that included eating only some strawberries for breakfast, half an orange for lunch, and only a few for dinner. If you really do, you can also drink some warm broth. Powers also believe that ammonium carbonate and powdered charcoal are essential for any cosmetic feminine. These toxic chemicals leave traces on women’s faces. In addition, every three months women take various drugs to “purify” their blood, even though they really make themselves sick to reach the face of death.