![]() A 1776 hair removal recipe called for potassium nitrate as one of its main ingredients. ![]() While today potassium nitrate is used in rocket fuel, fireworks and fertilizer, it used to be used for hair removal. Who knew that a women's doughy complexion wasn't a result of their improved skin but the red blood cells that the arsenic was destroying just below the skin's surface? Potassium Nitrate for Hair Removal Campbell's Safe Arsenic Complexion Wafers, they didn't just look sickly - they likely were. Women of the Victorian Era were sought after for looking sickly with pale and transparent skin, a sign that they rarely ventured outdoors doing the work of a commoner. Arsenic WafersĬomplexion can be a killer, and arsenic wafers are a great example. ![]() Move over Oxy and Neutrogena because bichloride of mercury is known to kill blemishes if it doesn't kill you first.Īdditionally, an 1874 Ugly-girl papers article described that "ointment of nitric oxide of mercury mixed with lard" used to be "rubbed at the edges of eyelids to restore lost eyelashes." Red-tinted makeup often used during the era was made of mercury sulfide and cold creams also likely contained the dangerous poison. Many of their trials and tribulations were documented in a Harper's Bazaar column called The Ugly-girl papers Or, Hints for the Toilet, one of which is the use of mercury. The Victorian Era was known to be a time when the elites were obsessed with the way they looked at whatever cost. There are even some indications that when she died at 69, it could have been at least partially due to lead poisoning. As a result, she lathered her face in a thick layer of white, lead-based makeup called Venetian ceruse, which according to a 1688 recipe, included a mixture of water, vinegar and lead. Queen Elizabeth I contracted smallpox in 1562 at 29, leaving her skin covered in pockmarks. Thousands of years later, we still hadn't learned our lesson. But the ancient Egyptians weren't the only ones to wear lead-based makeup.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |