Over the years, both men and women have done strange things to make themselves beautiful. But at the same time, this was also often extremely unhealthy and dangerous. And if we’re being completely honest, it was mostly women. Where women today worry about which mascara doesn’t irritate their eyes, they used to be much less strict in the early days.
From the ancient Egyptians rubbing their faces with a combination of copper, lead, and soot, to the Victorian-era women who wanted to look like they had tuberculosis. They didn’t care about the exact ingredients in their lipstick.
In their quest for the perfect appearance, the women of our history have endured a lot. These are five strange beauty trends from history, some of which are still happening today.
1. The dead look
People from the 18th century, and also the centuries before, were big fans of a pale face. However, the way they achieved that beauty ideal went beyond a cream or powder. With a mixture of white lead and vinegar, they painted their faces as make-up and as bleach. The white lead would not only color the skin white, but also smooth it and erase the freckles.
However, this heavy stuff isn’t made for faces, and it ended up chipping off the skin if done often enough. And it caused both scars and serious illnesses.
2. Stretched lips
In Africa, some cultures have a separate ideal of beauty. In some tribes, it is a tradition for women to insert a lip plate: a round disc of clay or wood which goes into a hole in the upper or lower lip. Because a larger disc is placed each time, the hole is slowly stretched and getting bigger.
With careful stretching, the lip plate can reach a diameter of more than six inches. For an outsider, such a lip plate is a form of body mutilation, but for a Mursi, Suri, Chai, or Tirma woman, it is an expression of female maturity and a sign that she is of childbearing age.
3. Lotus feet
Centuries ago, women in ancient China could not get married unless they had bound feet. Foot-binding was a gruesome practice that was not banned until 1911. Little girls’ toes were broken and their feet were tied so that they could not grow normally. As a result, the women could hardly walk.
The deformed feet were called “lotus feet”, a sign of sensitivity and prosperity. And all because the Chinese men at that time thought small feet were very sexy, that was the ideal of beauty that the women had to meet.
4. Long necks
If you find the Chinese foot binding strange, in neighboring Myanmar there is still such a tradition that mutilates a part of a woman’s body. The women of the Karen tribe, also referred to as the “long neck tribe,” wear copper neck rings around their necks, respecting their ancestral traditions and the tribe’s ideal of beauty.
Traditionally, young girls, only those born in a certain monthly period, are given neck rings to wear. This gives the appearance of an extra long neck, while actually pushing the shoulders down. The girls start with five rings around their neck and then receive one or more rings every year. The woman with the most rings is considered the most beautiful.
5. Ohaguro’s black teeth
Ohaguro is the name of a Japanese tradition in which women paint their teeth black. The characteristics of beauty are determined by society, and in Japan “blackened teeth” were a sign of that. Until the late 19th century, this was a popular beauty ideal women wanted to meet.
The traditional method of getting black teeth was through the intake of a dye. To keep the teeth black, the process had to be repeated once a day or every few days. The results appear to have been permanent, as skeletons from this period have been found whose teeth are still black due to Ohaguro.
