Freak shows have a tangled past, offering both a stepping‑stone to independence and a trap of exploitation for the human curiosities who made the stages their homes. Some performers leveraged their striking differences to carve out a livelihood and a degree of freedom that would have otherwise been impossible, while others were reduced to property, bought and sold for the profit of their “owners.” Women, in particular, were often shackled by managers who married them to cement control, turning the performers into little more than captive attractions.

In recent decades, the word “freak” has been reclaimed, and many bearded ladies now run their own shows, using the internet to broadcast their stories and talents on their terms. Today, a bearded lady can be a symbol of gender‑bending confidence, a self‑made entrepreneur, and a performer who decides when and how to appear. The stage has shifted from a place of exploitation to one of empowerment, and there’s nothing hotter than a bearded woman who owns her narrative.

10 Helena Antonia

Historical records on Helena Antonia are scarce, yet her presence in the 1500s court of Holy Roman Empress Maria of Austria guarantees her a spot on this list. This enigmatic bearded dwarf was deemed valuable enough to be painted as a courtly figure, a rarity for anyone with such a distinctive appearance.

The portrait shows her dressed in the feminine fashions of the era, her full, dark beard unmistakable. Whether she was embraced as a fully fledged lady of the court or relegated to a jester‑like role remains a mystery, as does her personal perspective on her status.

All that survives is the portrait itself, a silent testament to a woman who lived at the crossroads of curiosity and royalty.

9 Julia Pastrana

Julia Pastrana’s tale is perhaps the most tragic chapter in the annals of show business. Born in 1834 in Mexico, she was labeled the “ape woman,” “bear woman,” and even the “ugliest woman in the world” because of her pronounced hypertrichosis and gingival hyperplasia, which gave her a thick, furry visage and protruding gums.

Despite these cruel monikers, Julia was a remarkably gifted individual. She was trilingual, could dance, and sang opera with remarkable skill. After being rescued from a Mexican orphanage by the governor of Sinaloa, she was whisked to New York to perform, quickly securing a manager and embarking on a world‑tour.

Her six‑year stint as the anti‑belle of the ball was marked by astonishing talent that shone even brighter against the backdrop of public prejudice. She married her manager, became pregnant, and gave birth to a child who inherited her condition but died shortly after. Tragically, Julia herself died five days later from complications related to childbirth at just 26. Her husband then turned their bodies into taxidermied exhibits, treating them as museum curiosities rather than human beings.

8 Josephine Clofullia

Born Josephine Boisdechen in 1831 Switzerland, she was covered in hair from birth and sported a full beard by the age of two. Uncertain how to raise such a child, her parents sent her to boarding school, where both her education and her beard flourished.

She began exhibiting alongside her father, who acted as her agent. During her travels she met Fortune Clofullia, a heavily bearded man, and the two wed. Their family grew when a second son survived infancy, inheriting a full beard of his own. Josephine and her husband joined P.T. Barnum’s troupe, showcasing their hirsute family.

Josephine’s fame surged when a court case alleged she was actually male. Three physicians testified, confirming her womanhood, and she was cleared of fraud. Though later years of her life have faded from the record, it’s safe to say she avoided the grim fate that befell Julia Pastrana.

7 Annie Jones

Annie Jones entered the world in 1865, already sporting a nascent beard visible in the womb. By a little over a year old, she earned the nickname “Infant Esau” and was exhibited by P.T. Barnum for a weekly salary of $150 – a fortune at the time.

Her mother moved to New York to support the venture, but a family emergency forced a return to Virginia. While there, a local phrenologist abducted Annie; she was later rescued in upstate New York, after which her mother never left her side again.

Transitioning from the “Infant Esau” to the “Esau Lady,” Annie toured the globe as a professional performer. She became an accomplished musician and grew her hair to a staggering 1.8 meters (6 feet). Annie married twice and died at 37, leaving behind photographs that capture a refined, well‑dressed woman with a luxuriously groomed beard.

6 Clementine Delait

Clementine Delait, a Frenchwoman from Lorraine, proudly displayed a double‑plumed beard from her teenage years. Married to a baker, she ran a café that soon became a local curiosity.

Initially, she shaved her beard, but after spotting another bearded woman, she challenged her husband to a contest: she would grow a superior beard. The wager turned the café into a tourist magnet, eventually renamed “Café of the Bearded Woman.” In 1904, she secured official permission to wear men’s clothing, though she preferred cycling in a skirt.

Clementine was a devoted wife and mother to an adopted child. Though she could not write herself, she dictated memoirs and expressed a wish to be buried with the inscription, “Here lies Clementine Delait, the bearded lady.”

5 Jane Barnell

Jane Barnell earned lasting fame as a bearded lady in the 1932 cult classic Freaks. Her early life was tumultuous: at four, her mother sold her to a circus while her father was away on business. The troupe soon traveled to Europe, and when Jane fell ill, she was abandoned in a German orphanage.

Her father eventually rescued her at age five. As an adult, Jane returned to the circus world, boasting the longest beard among bearded women of her era – a full 33 centimeters (13 inches). She performed under the monikers Lady Olga, Madame Olga, and Lady Olga Roderick, dazzling audiences on the trapeze until a railroad accident forced her retirement from that act.

Afterward, she pivoted to commercial photography. Jane married several times, outlived two children, and expressed disappointment with how Freaks portrayed its subjects.

4 Vivian Wheeler

Born in 1948, Vivian Wheeler entered the world intersex and later underwent surgeries to align her genitalia with traditional female anatomy. While her mother adored her, her father viewed her as a cash‑cow, pushing her into sideshow work from the tender age of five.

During tours, older bearded ladies mentored her, but at home she was forced to shave, a practice she despised. As she matured, she adopted the name Malinda Maxey, embraced her faith, and entered two marriages, also maintaining long‑term relationships with men.

Now retired, Vivian is the mother of a son she placed for adoption in her youth, later reconnecting with him on The Maury Povich Show. Her story underscores the complex interplay of identity, exploitation, and resilience.

3 Jennifer Miller

Jennifer Miller is a contemporary champion of the bearded lady identity. Unwilling to shave, she stepped away from mainstream expectations and forged her own path by founding Circus Amok, a traveling troupe where she stars as both performer and director.

Her artistry blends feminist activism, humor, and theatrical flair. By taking control of her own narrative, she reshapes the definition of beauty, proving that a beard can be a source of empowerment rather than shame.

2 Kore Bobisuthi

Kore Bobisuthi lives a seemingly ordinary life as a mother, yet she boasts a full, luxurious beard that she proudly showcases in beard‑contests traditionally dominated by men. Her beard’s vigor stems from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition that fuels excess hair growth.

Despite her confidence, Kore endures constant harassment when she appears in public without shaving. For her, the issue isn’t the beard itself but the societal intolerance that permits men to assault a woman simply for her appearance.

1 Harnaam Kaur

Harnaam Kaur has turned her beard into a social media phenomenon. Suffering from PCOS, she sports a full beard and uses Instagram to showcase vibrant looks—bold lipstick, bright turbans, and lavish jewellery—celebrating her unique beauty.

She refuses to hide, instead amplifying her presence as a model and influencer. Harnaam’s journey from bullying victim to confident advocate illustrates how embracing one’s natural features can inspire countless others to defy conventional standards.

When we talk about the 10 dangerous beauty practices of Victorian England, we’re diving into a world where glamour often meant peril. From porcelain‑white skin to waist‑shrinking diets, women of the 1800s were willing to risk health, sanity, and even life for a fleeting glimpse of societal approval.

10 Dangerous Beauty Trends Unveiled

10 Face Bleaching

Having an extremely pale, fair complexion was important to women in the 1800s. Upper‑class women wanted to show that they were wealthy enough to not have to work in the hot sun. They wanted their skin to be so pale that it was “translucent,” as in you could see the veins in their faces. Victorians had an obsession with death and actually thought that it was attractive for women to look sickly or dead.

The Ugly‑Girl Papers by S.D. Powers recommended that women coat their faces in trace amounts of opium from lettuce leaves overnight and wash their faces with ammonia in the morning to ensure that they would always look as fresh and pale as possible.

Arsenic wafers were supposed to remove freckles and tans, making women look younger and more attractive. They were fully aware that arsenic was poisonous and addictive but chose to do it anyway for the sake of achieving their ideal of beauty.

9 Burning Hair

In the 1800s, curly hair was popular. Early curling irons were tongs that needed to be heated in a fire. If a woman pulled the curling iron out of the fire and applied it to her hair too quickly, it would be so hot that her hair would literally burn off.

As a result, baldness became a common problem for women in the Victorian era. Even if they became skilled at curling their hair, it was still a lot of strain on the scalp to constantly style it in tight curls.

Women did not seem to put two and two together and tried multiple remedies of teas and medicines. It was even suggested that hair should be bathed with ammonia and water to stimulate growth. Exposure to ammonia can cause respiratory problems and burn the skin. It can also cause blindness.

S.D. Powers suggested a mixture of equal parts sulfate of quinine and aromatic tincture for baldness and loss of one’s eyebrows in a fire. She also advised women to avoid having their curling tongs make direct contact with their hair, which many people did not realize until it was too late.

8 Blood Purification

During the Victorian era, many people died of consumption (tuberculosis) and the society had a creepy fascination with death. In The Ugly‑Girl Papers by S.D. Powers, she declared that the clearest, most beautiful complexions were seen on people in the earliest stages of consumption. Women with consumption were constantly vomiting blood, and Powers claimed that this was actually purging the impurities from their body, which made their skin clear and white.

To replicate this, she advised women to eat as little as possible. This allowed them to maintain just enough strength to function while also weakening their bodies. Powers suggested a meal plan that consisted of a handful of strawberries for breakfast, half an orange for lunch, and cherries for dinner . . . and, if you really must, it was okay to have some warm broth, too.

Powers also believed that ammonia carbonate and powdered charcoal was a must in any woman’s beauty regime. These toxic chemicals were supposed to sit on women’s faces. In addition, women were instructed to take a variety of medications every three months to “purify” their blood, although they were really making themselves sick to achieve the look of being close to death.

7 Nose Machines

During the Victorian era, many men and women were unhappy with the noses that they had been born with—just like today. Years before plastic surgery existed, there were a variety of companies that manufactured “nose shapers” or “nose machines.” These metal devices were strapped to a person’s face to squeeze the soft cartilage of their nose to be smaller or straighter than it was before.

Over the years, nose shapers continued to be sold. Heather Bigg invented a spring‑loaded contraption with straps to hold the metal around the patient’s face while they slept overnight and occasionally throughout the day. This trained the person’s nose to begin taking a more attractive shape.

Dr. Sid, a surgeon from Paris during the Victorian era, reported to his English colleagues that he had created a metal, spring‑loaded contraption that squeezed a 15‑year‑old patient’s large nose for three months until she was happy with the results.

6 Tapeworm Dieting

Corsets were popular during the Victorian era to make women’s waists as tiny as possible. To lose weight, some women would swallow a tapeworm pill on purpose. The slithery little creature would hatch inside the stomach and devour any food eaten by the woman.

After she was done dieting, the woman would take pills to kill the tapeworm. But it was also believed that sitting in front of a bowl of milk with your mouth open would entice the worms to crawl out on their own. However, tapeworms are known to grow as long as 9 meters (30 ft), so even if that method worked, people could choke in the process.

Dr. Meyers of Sheffield invented a device that was supposed to remove tapeworms from people’s stomachs. It was a metal cylinder filled with food that he would slide down the patient’s throat. They were instructed to avoid eating for several days, which would force the tapeworms into the cylinder to eat the food.

In theory, once the worms were in the tube, he could pull the tube out of the patient and remove the tapeworms from their stomachs. Sadly, many of his patients choked and eventually died from his invention.

5 Deadly Nightshade Eyedrops

Along with the near‑dead color of their faces, women with tuberculosis were known for having dilated pupils and watery eyes. When someone is in love, their pupils dilate as well. In Victorian era England, women with large pupils were considered extremely beautiful. To achieve this look, they would use eyedrops containing nightshade from the belladonna plant.

The belladonna plant is one of the most poisonous plants in existence. Consuming a couple of berries or a leaf can be fatal. In smaller doses, the poison may cause irritable bowels, rashes, swelling, and even blindness. Women of the Victorian era knew of these dangers and continued to use this poison anyway.

In her later years, Queen Victoria used belladonna drops in her eyes in an attempt to get rid of her cataracts. Although the drops did not cure her condition, the pupils dilated, improving her eyesight, so she continued using them and refused surgery.

4 Poisonous Dental Hygiene

In The Ugly‑Girl Papers, S.D. Powers recommended swallowing a teaspoon of poisonous ammonia mixed in a glass of water to improve the breath and prevent the decay of teeth for someone with an “acid stomach,” which we now call acid reflux. For toothpaste, she recommended using burned bread or charcoal twice a day to clean your teeth.

In the guide Personal Beauty: How To Cultivate and Preserve It in Accordance with the Laws of Health, the author recommends that if someone’s teeth are beginning to rot, they should use a mouthwash made with brandy, spirits of camphor, and myrrh. Swallowing spirits of camphor can lead to death, although it is used for infections and healing in vapor rubs.

For toothaches, cocaine lozenges were easily available for purchase at a local pharmacy. They were also believed to cure coughs and colds. Obviously, these lozenges must have been popular because people became unwittingly addicted to them.

3 Chemical Hair Removal

S.D. Powers published in The Ugly‑Girl Papers the age‑old myth that plucking a hair will cause three rougher and darker hairs to sprout in its place. This myth is actually false, and it is still told to young girls to this day. Instead of using tweezers or shaving, Powers had a variety of suggestions, including a seemingly harmless practice of drying out the skin with a paste of wood ashes so that hair would simply rub off.

However, not all of her hair removal ideas were so innocent. She also suggested killing two birds with one stone by whitening your forearms and removing hair at the same time. For this, she advised her readers to use chloride of lime, which is a chemical used to bleach cotton, followed by a vinegar rinse. At the very least, she told women to do this by an open window and even admits that the chemical can eat away your skin if left on for too long.

2 Mercury And Lead Eye Shadow

Fine Victorian women did not wear eye shadow. Since women wanted to look as natural as possible and did not want to be pegged as fallen women, they mainly focused on their complexions.

They used little eye makeup and focused more on sculpting and filling in their eyebrows. However, they could get away with homemade creams above their eyes, just to make them stand out. Some women would make light brown eye shadow out of cold cream and crushed cochineal beetles.

It was rare for anyone to wear eye shadow purchased from a store, which was called “eye paint” in the Victorian period. However, when a prostitute or a daring Victorian lady decided to try eye paint on a special occasion, she was slathering on cosmetics made from deadly chemicals.

These included red and white lead to color the paint as well as mercuric sulfide. The cosmetics also contained antimony, cinnabar, and vermilion. These chemicals poisoned the body, and mercury is even known to cause insanity.

1 Arsenic Baths

Lola Montez, a famous actress during the Victorian era, gave much more practical beauty advice than that in S.D. Power’s The Ugly‑Girl Papers. Montez wrote her own book called The Arts of Beauty, Or, Secrets of A Lady’s Toilet.

According to her book, as she was traveling in Bohemia, she learned that it was common for women to take baths in and drink out of arsenic springs. She admitted that it was extremely dangerous, but at the same time, she admired how wonderful their skin looked as a result. She also explained that if women did not continue with the habit on a regular basis, they would die.

Arsenic is commonly used as a poison to kill rats, and it was easily attainable at pharmacies during the Victorian era. Women were not the only ones to see arsenic as potentially appealing. For years, it was seen as a primitive version of Viagra that increased male sexual potency. In small doses, it caused a euphoria or delirium, which made people addicted in both a chemical and psychological sense.

Shannon Quinn is a writer and entrepreneur in the Philadelphia area. You can see the rest of her work at shannquinn.wordpress.com.

1 FAQs: The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem

The hit drama beauty queen jerusalem has sparked countless curiosities, and we’ve gathered the most frequently asked questions to satisfy your intrigue. Below, you’ll find clear answers about characters, story origins, and behind‑the‑scenes details that fans love to discuss.

Explore these answers and more as you dive deeper into the world of beauty queen jerusalem.

2 Swell Ariel Or

Swell Ariel Or, the luminous talent behind Luna Ermoza, has turned heads since her debut. Born on October 2, 1992, she entered the acting arena early, quickly earning a reputation for versatility and emotional depth.

Her embodiment of Luna Ermoza in beauty queen jerusalem earned critical praise. Luna, a central figure, navigates love, family obligations, and identity against Jerusalem’s vibrant backdrop. Ariel Or captures Luna’s fragile moments and fierce resilience, delivering a performance that resonates with viewers.

Beyond the hit series, Ariel Or’s résumé spans film and television, showcasing a range that moves from drama to light‑hearted fare. Her commitment to storytelling continues to captivate audiences, confirming her status as a rising star in Israeli entertainment.

Delve into Ariel Or’s journey and discover why she remains a compelling presence on screen.

3 The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem Actresses

The 2021 Israeli series beauty queen jerusalem showcases a stellar ensemble of female talent, each bringing distinct flavor to the intricate tapestry of the Ermoza family saga. Below is the full roster of actresses and the characters they embody across the show’s run.

1. Swell Ariel Or as Luna Ermoza (27 episodes, 2021‑2023)
2. Hila Saada as Roza Hermosa (26 episodes, 2021‑2023)
3. Irit Kaplan as Mercada Ermosa (26 episodes, 2021‑2023)
4. Eli Steen as Rochelita Ermoza (26 episodes, 2021‑2023)
5. Mali Levi as Victoria Franco (19 episodes, 2021‑2022)
6. Yuval Scharf as Rochel (12 episodes, 2021‑2023)
7. Luna Mansour as Aisha (8 episodes, 2021‑2022)
8. Miki Kam as Gilda (7 episodes, 2021‑2022)
9. Shely Ben Joseph as Matilda Franco (6 episodes, 2021‑2022)
10. Yarden Toussia‑Cohen as Gisele (5 episodes, 2021)
11. Kim Or Azulay as Aamalia (5 episodes, 2023)
12. Maya Thomas as Stephanie Parker (5 episodes, 2023)
13. Shiri Maimon as Miriam (4 episodes, 2023)

These performers infuse the narrative with authenticity, enriching the series’ portrayal of Jerusalem’s cultural mosaic and the inter‑generational drama that defines the Ermoza lineage.

How far are you willing to go for that coveted glow? The quest for a flawless look has driven humanity for centuries, and the lengths some people will go to are downright shocking. Welcome to the world of 10 disgusting beauty treatments that push the gross factor.

10 Disgusting Beauty Treatments Unveiled

10 Eel Exfoliation Bath

Imagine a high‑end bubble bath that leaves you feeling more slime than silk. Manufacturers may tout it as “moisturizing,” but for a certain Chinese craze the word “slimy” is spot on. Patrons submerge themselves in a tub teeming with tiny eels, hoping the critters will scrub away dead skin and reveal a fresh, radiant layer beneath.

Each eel measures about the length of a pencil and scuttles over the body, gently nibbling away the outermost skin. In theory this leaves youthful skin exposed, but the eels don’t distinguish between outer epidermis and sensitive internal membranes.

One unfortunate gentleman, dressed only in loose underwear, felt a sudden sting and discovered an eel had made a very unwelcome detour into his penis. The creature required a three‑hour surgical extraction, prompting health officials worldwide to warn against importing these slippery exfoliators.

9 Radiation Therapy

When a scientific breakthrough hits the spotlight, entrepreneurs scramble to find a commercial spin. In the early 20th century, the luminous glow of newly discovered elements like radium and polonium seemed the perfect ingredient for a radiant complexion, and the beauty industry jumped on board.

Radiation was infused into face creams, soaps, rouges, powders, and even toothpaste marketed for a sparkling smile. The novelty quickly faded as users began to develop severe health problems—cancers, hair loss, and painful sores—directly linked to the radioactive compounds.

Workers handling radium suffered bone necrosis and incurable cancers, and the public’s horror at these outcomes forced the fad to die a swift, luminous death.

8 Lead, Arsenic, And Mercury

In eras when a pale complexion signaled wealth and leisure, people turned to white lead to achieve that coveted ivory hue. The toxic metal ate away at the skin, necessitating ever‑greater applications to mask the damage, ultimately causing the skin to thin, crack, and bleed.

Later, “Dr. James P. Campbell’s Safe Arsenic Complexion Wafers” promised to erase freckles and spots. Ironically, arsenic attacks the very organ it claims to heal—your skin—causing hair loss, vomiting, bloody vomit, diarrhea, and convulsions.

Today, modern skin‑lightening creams often hide mercury, an element notorious for kidney damage. Users may end up with a bright, Western‑style complexion but a far less glamorous need for dialysis.

7 Bee Stings

Celebrity endorsements can be a double‑edged sword. Gwyneth Paltrow once bragged about “apitherapy,” a centuries‑old practice where bees sting you to reduce inflammation and scarring. She called the method “incredible” despite the obvious pain.

While Paltrow swore by the benefits, the procedure carries real risks. One documented case linked apitherapy to liver failure, and the sting itself can be excruciatingly painful.

If you’re too squeamish for live stings, you can still buy cosmetics infused with bee venom—though they do little more than drain your wallet and contribute to declining bee populations.

6 Fish Pedicure

Garra fish love a good dead‑skin buffet. Submerge your feet in a tank of these tiny, toothless swimmers, and they’ll graze away the rough, flaky layer on your soles, leaving a smoother surface behind.

Despite the novelty, health officials have flagged the practice as unsanitary. Shared water can spread fungal infections, and the fish have been known to bite too deep, causing bleeding. Some jurisdictions have even shut down fish spas for violating hygiene standards.

5 Tapeworm Diets

Weight loss is simple in theory—burn more calories than you consume. When the taste buds rebel, some turn to a parasitic shortcut: ingesting a tapeworm that siphons off a portion of your meals, keeping the scale from climbing.

Historical “tapeworm pills” have given way to modern daredevils who actually swallow live worms. While the parasite can indeed cause weight loss, it also brings a laundry list of horrors: abdominal pain, severe malnutrition, diarrhea, blindness, convulsions, and even death.

4 Placenta

The placenta, a nutrient‑rich organ that sustains a fetus, is a delicacy in many animal kingdoms. Some humans have taken the extra step of incorporating it into skincare, hoping its youthful aura transfers to the user.

Most commercial placenta products source the organ from sheep, though a few luxury lines boast human‑derived placenta. Scientific evidence supporting any skin‑benefiting effect is virtually nonexistent.

Nevertheless, the hormone‑laden organ can wreak havoc. In hair‑care applications, it has been linked to premature sexual development in infants as young as 14 months, a side effect that reverses once the product is discontinued.

3 Snails

Snail facials involve live snails crawling across the face, leaving behind a slimy trail of mucus that’s rumored to combat aging. Proponents claim the secretion reduces scars, acne, and stretch marks, though the scientific community remains skeptical.

If the idea of a garden snail slithering over your skin feels too unsettling, you can opt for creams infused with snail‑derived gel. The production process allegedly stresses the snails to increase secretion, a practice that raises ethical concerns.

2 Bull Semen

In a market saturated with exotic ingredients, some brands have turned to bull semen, touting its high‑protein content as a miracle for hair thickness and shine. The formula is kept chilled, claims the creator, and supposedly leaves no odor.

Products labelled BSP (Bull Seminal Plasma) now appear on shelves, offering consumers a way to experience the touted benefits without confronting the more vivid imagery of actual sperm.

1 Foreskin Facials

“As smooth as a baby’s buttocks” might sound cute, but some cosmetics have taken that phrase literally, harvesting foreskin tissue from circumcised infants to extract growth‑factor‑rich cells for anti‑ageing creams.

The foreskin contains stem cells; a single sample can be cultured to produce enough material for thousands of treatments. While the science sounds promising, the practice sparks fierce debate over ethical and cultural concerns surrounding circumcision.

For those seeking a direct injection, labs now offer foreskin‑derived fibroblast cells at roughly $1,000 per vial—a pricey gamble for anyone hoping to rewind the clock.

When it comes to 10 strange beauty rituals, the annals of history are brimming with bizarre practices that would make modern spa‑goers wince. From aristocratic maidens who bathed in sour milk to queens who swore by vinegar, the lengths these women went to for flawless looks are both shocking and oddly fascinating.

Beauty has never been a simple affair; it has always demanded dedication, odd ingredients, and, at times, downright grotesque methods. Below, we count down the most outlandish regimens ever recorded, each one as extravagant and unsettling as the next.

10 Empress Elisabeth: A Face Mask Lined With Raw Veal

Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the 19th‑century darling of European high society, was famed for her luminous complexion and a cascade of chestnut hair that reached her feet. Yet achieving that ethereal glow required more than vanity.

She kept her skin immaculate by crushing fresh strawberries onto her hands, face, and neck, soaking in warm olive oil, and—most notably—sleeping beneath a mask stitched from raw veal. This peculiar veil was as close as she got to ingesting food; her favorite sustenance was a pressed extract of chicken, partridge, venison, and beef, a concoction that resembled a spice blend more than a meal. Even then, she would bind herself in a corset so tight her waist measured a mere 49.5 cm (19.5 in).

Every day, she devoted three hours to letting her hair down, a necessity because its extraordinary length caused constant tangles and, when tied, heavy ribbons that gave her pounding headaches. Consequently, Elisabeth often remained indoors, fearing the wind would ruin her elaborate coiffure. In the quest for perfection, she sacrificed simple pleasures, even the freedom to step outside.

9 Cleopatra: Bathing In Donkey Milk

Queen Cleopatra, renowned for ensnaring the most powerful men of her era, combined charisma with a suite of exotic cosmetics. While many of her contemporaries relied on beetle‑gut lipstick and powdered crocodile dung beneath their eyes, Cleopatra’s regimen ventured far beyond the ordinary.

The Egyptian monarch could afford a truly opulent treatment: a daily immersion in sour donkey milk. Her attendants milked seven hundred donkeys each day, filling a tub that, once left to ferment, became a rich lactic‑acid bath. The sour milk was believed to smooth wrinkles, as the lactic acid gently exfoliated the outer skin layer, revealing a fresher, more even complexion.

In short, the queen’s dedication to this seemingly cruel method—essentially “burning” her skin to achieve youthful radiance—was the ultimate secret behind her legendary allure.

8 Nefertiti: Wearing Enough Makeup To Kill You

Egyptian queen Nefertiti, whose name translates to “the beautiful one has come,” captivated the world even millennia after her death. Her striking visage sparked a sensation when a 1920s bust was uncovered, and her timeless beauty continues to dominate headlines.

Her flawless appearance was no accident. While her tomb remains undiscovered, the burial goods of her contemporaries reveal a meticulous beauty routine. Nefertiti kept her entire body—head, torso, and limbs—shaven clean, opting for a wig atop a completely hairless scalp. She accentuated her eyes with kohl made from galena, a lead‑rich ore, meaning each application introduced a dose of lead into her system.

Moreover, her lipstick contained bromine mannite, another toxic compound, suggesting she may have been slowly poisoning herself with every cosmetic touch‑up. Nonetheless, the lethal ingredients did not prevent her from achieving an iconic, immortal beauty.

7 Queen Elizabeth I: Coating Your Skin In Lead

Poisonous beauty trends were not a Renaissance novelty; even Tudor England embraced them. Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, relied heavily on “Venetian ceruse,” a white paste composed of lead dissolved in vinegar, to achieve a porcelain complexion.

After contracting smallpox at age twenty‑nine, Elizabeth was left with unsightly scars. Mortified, she cloaked every inch of her skin in the toxic white makeup, effectively masking her imperfections. The ceruse was applied so liberally that without it she would have been unrecognizable.

One contemporary, the Earl of Essex, famously quipped that beneath the flawless veil lay a “crooked carcass,” underscoring how deeply the queen’s identity had become intertwined with her lead‑laden cosmetics.

6 Marie Antoinette: Stewed Pigeon Water

French queen Marie Antoinette, forever linked with the phrase “let them eat cake,” was equally obsessive about her appearance. Her nightly routine began with a decadent face mask blending cognac, eggs, powdered milk, and lemon—more akin to a celebratory banquet than a skincare product.

She washed her face each morning with a concoction dubbed “Eau Cosmétique de Pigeon,” a cleanser purportedly brewed from eight stewed pigeons. This bizarre potion was marketed as a premium beauty elixir, promising radiant skin for the aristocracy.

Beyond her skincare, Marie adhered to an extravagant wardrobe schedule, dressing three times daily and spending the equivalent of roughly $4 million (120,000 livres) each year on clothing. Some fashionable women of the era even traced their veins with blue pencil, striving for a translucent look that suggested extreme thinness.

5 Mary, Queen Of Scots: Bathing In Wine

Mary, Queen of Scots, was not born with conventional beauty; a pronounced nose and a sharp chin set her apart. Determined to refine her image, she turned to a luxurious, albeit unconventional, treatment.

Mary’s servants filled a bathtub with white wine, and she would soak for extended periods, convinced the fermented grapes would brighten her complexion. While the notion sounds indulgent, it mirrors a modern practice known as vinotherapy, wherein post‑winemaking grape pomace—essentially the skins and pulp left over—infuses baths with antioxidant‑rich minerals without intoxicating the user.

Thus, the queen’s historic wine‑bath ritual lives on today, offering a sophisticated, non‑alcoholic spa experience for those seeking a touch of regal pampering.

4 Empress Zoe Porphyrogenita: Starting Your Own Cosmetics Lab

Byzantine empress Zoe Porphyrogenita was celebrated not only for her political acumen but also for her seemingly ageless beauty, even into her sixties. Legends claim she resembled a twenty‑year‑old woman well past her prime.

To preserve her radiant appearance, Zoe commissioned an entire cosmetics laboratory within the imperial palace. This private factory churned out bespoke beauty products exclusively for the empress, rivaling the scale of modern national supply chains.

Though the operation was costly, Zoe was said to “exhaust a sea teaming with gold‑dust in a single day.” Contemporary observers noted that she was as firm and well‑conditioned as a perfectly roasted chicken, a vivid metaphor underscoring the efficacy of her lavish regimen.

3 Lucrezia Borgia: Spending Multiple Days Washing Your Hair

Lord Byron famously declared Lucrezia Borgia’s hair “the prettiest and fairest imaginable,” a sentiment he proved by stealing a lock and keeping it beside his bed. While romantic, the admiration masks a labor‑intensive grooming routine.

Lucrezia’s signature blonde tresses were not natural; the Borgia family bore dark hair. To achieve her luminous locks, she soaked her hair for hours in a mixture of lye and lemon juice, then left it to dry under the sun for an entire day. This exhaustive process often forced her to cancel travel plans.

Correspondence from her attendants reveals polite apologies for delayed arrivals, citing the need to “put her clothes in order and wash her head.” The dedication to her hair regimen underscores the lengths she went to maintain her famed beauty.

2 Helen Of Troy: Bathing In Vinegar

Helen of Troy, whose face allegedly launched a thousand ships, is perhaps the most legendary beauty in Western mythology. While some argue she is a fictional construct, the ancient texts attribute to her a surprisingly practical beauty routine.

According to the Iliad, Helen’s attendants prepared a bathtub filled entirely with white vinegar, a potent acid. She would immerse herself daily, allowing the vinegar’s pH‑balancing properties to cleanse and tighten her skin, effectively peeling away dull surface layers.

Modern interpretations often assume a diluted apple‑cider mixture, but the original legend suggests she bathed in undiluted vinegar—an uncomfortable, pungent experience that nonetheless exemplifies the extreme measures taken for timeless allure.

1 Simonetta Vespucci: Arsenic, Leeches, And Human Urine

Simonetta Vespucci, the Renaissance muse immortalized in Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, epitomized the era’s obsession with pallid perfection. Women across Italy emulated her ethereal complexion through a series of unsettling practices.

To achieve a ghostly pallor, they attached leeches to their ears, allowing the insects to draw blood and render the facial skin deathly white. Those unwilling to endure leeches could apply a mask of bread crumbs, egg whites, and vinegar—a mixture that doubled as a recipe for crisp fried chicken.

Eyebrows were removed using arsenic and rock alum, then polished with gold, while hair color was enhanced through a bizarre bleaching process involving human urine. Though grotesque, these extremes were deemed essential for attaining the coveted ideal of beauty.

10 Strange Beauty Secrets Unveiled

From veal masks to vinegar baths, the world’s most celebrated women proved that true glamour often demands the strangest of sacrifices. Dive into each ritual and discover how far they went to secure their place in the annals of beauty.

10 images capture the awe‑inspiring beauty of Africa, a continent where wildlife roams vast savannas, sunsets paint the sky in fire, and thunderstorms rumble over ancient dunes. From pristine beaches to towering peaks, from shimmering deserts to thunderous waterfalls, Africa’s landscapes are as diverse as its 1.2 billion people. Below, ten stunning photographs illustrate just a slice of this magnificent tapestry.

10 images capture: A Visual Tour of Africa

10 Preserved Piece of History

Nestled within an 11th‑century caravansary in Ouadane, Mauritania, the remarkably intact Ouadane Mosque stands as a testament to centuries of trade and faith. Scholars agree that Ouadane rose to prominence in the 11th century, serving as a bustling hub along a major trans‑Saharan route, while the mosque itself was erected in the 15th century as the settlement swelled.

The surrounding walls hint that “Old Ouadane” functioned as a fortified village. Evidence suggests the mosque fell into disuse during the 19th century, with sections of its clay‑plastered walls still clinging stubbornly to the stone.

Just a stone’s throw away, Ouadane lies nearest to the Richat Structure—better known as the Eye of the Sahara—a colossal circular formation so massive it can be spotted from orbit.

9 Lakes of Ounianga

Chad, as locals warn, isn’t for the faint‑hearted; recurring conflict has rendered large swathes a no‑go zone, and it ranks among the world’s poorest nations.

Yet the country also boasts some of Earth’s most spectacular natural scenery. Hidden within the Sahara, the Lakes of Ounianga form the sole UNESCO World Heritage site in Chad. Receiving a mere 2 mm of rain annually, these lakes survive on ancient underground fossil water, with a mix of salty and fresh bodies among the 18 that dot the desert.

8 Wildlife in Kenya

If encountering iconic wildlife tops your bucket list, Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve delivers the goods. Here the famed “Big 5” mingle with wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, hippos and crocodiles across a sprawling 583‑square‑mile canvas.

The reserve is world‑renowned not only for its conservation pedigree but also as the stage for the Great Wildebeest Migration, the planet’s largest animal trek. Each year, over two million wildebeest, zebras and antelope surge from Tanzania’s Serengeti into the Mara, braving crocodile‑laden river crossings in a dramatic showdown.

Established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1961 and upgraded to a game reserve in 1994, the Maasai Mara sits along the Great Rift Valley, an area celebrated for its ancient lakes and volcanic highlands.

7 For the Love of Nature

The Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo shelters a third of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas. Founded nearly a century ago, the park safeguards these precious primates—of which only about 1,000 remain—as well as active volcanoes, dense rainforests and towering mountains.

Roughly 800 rangers dedicate their lives to defending the park’s fauna, especially gorillas and elephants, a role often described as one of the most perilous worldwide. Amidst a nation plagued by civil war, these guardians have faced tragic losses; in the past twelve months, more than twenty rangers fell victim to rebel attacks, including six slain in a January 2021 assault.

Despite the danger, the rangers persist, living near the gorillas, feeding and playing with them, and caring for orphaned individuals that require constant attention. Their unwavering commitment keeps the park’s precious inhabitants safe.

6 Strange Island

While Botswana’s Okavango Delta steals much of the spotlight as the world’s largest inland delta, the landlocked nation offers far more: the Kalahari Desert, the planet’s biggest salt pans, iconic baobab trees and sweeping sand dunes.

One of Botswana’s most extraordinary gems is Kubu Island, a granite outcrop enveloped by a white‑salt sea from the Makgadikgadi Pan. Archaeologists have unearthed Stone‑Age artifacts, and some experts believe the island once hosted rain‑making ceremonies. Estimated at 2.7 billion years old, Kubu Island holds deep spiritual significance for local peoples.

5 Lazy Day at the River

Zambia is famed for the “Smoke that Thunders,” better known as Victoria Falls, and takes its name from the Zambezi River—the continent’s fourth‑largest waterway. The nation also boasts the world’s biggest man‑made reservoir, Lake Kariba, which fuels commercial fishing and supplies hydro‑electric power to both Zambia and neighboring Zimbabwe.

Victoria Falls cascades along the Zambezi, a river teeming with hippopotamuses. A leisurely cruise often yields a close‑up of a yawning hippo lounging in the water, or perhaps a sleepy individual perched at the river’s edge, just as captured in the accompanying photograph.

4 Highest Mountain Peak in Africa

Off the coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania, lie powder‑white beaches, turquoise seas and traditional dhows drifting lazily across gentle waves. The nation’s interior, however, is home to iconic wildlife and world‑renowned parks such as the Serengeti.

Dominating the Tanzanian skyline is Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s loftiest summit. Formed over a million years ago by volcanic activity along the Great Rift Valley, its three volcanic cones emerged roughly 750,000 years prior. The mountain’s slopes host an astonishing array of ecosystems—from rainforest to alpine meadow—supporting buffalo, elephants, leopards, monkeys and a kaleidoscope of birds. Kilimanjaro’s ecological tapestry spans heath, alpine desert, an arctic‑like summit and cultivated lands.

3 Historic Twyfelfontein

Twyfelfontein, loosely translated as “doubtful fountain,” houses one of Africa’s most extensive rock‑art collections. Situated in Namibia’s Kunene Region, the site has been inhabited for roughly 6,000 years, first by hunter‑gatherers and later by Khoikhoi herders. UNESCO recognized its petroglyphs as a World Heritage Site in 2007.

The red‑rock boulders bear engravings estimated to be six millennia old, likely crafted by San shamans. Among the most celebrated motifs are a giraffe, a lion‑man with a hand extending from its tail, and a dancing kudu. Remarkably, a seal has also been etched—an oddity given the nearest ocean lies over 100 km away.

2 Roman Influence in Africa

In El Jem, Tunisia—known as Thysdrus during Roman times—stands a colossal amphitheatre capable of seating 35,000 spectators, making it the third‑largest such structure ever built. Constructed around 238 AD, the arena mirrors Rome’s famed Colosseum in grandeur.

Beneath the arena floor lies an intact basement, uncovered in 1904, stretching 65 m and divided into two vaulted galleries. These subterranean chambers once housed cells and rooms for wild beasts and gladiators awaiting their turn in the arena’s brutal spectacles.

Today, the El Jem amphitheatre draws countless visitors and enjoys protection as a UNESCO World Heritage site, preserving a vivid slice of ancient Roman influence on African soil.

1 The Splendor of the Lowveld

South Africa dazzles with iconic landmarks: Table Mountain, Robben Island, the Namaqualand Flower Route, the Garden Route, the Valley of a Thousand Hills, and the Drakensberg range, to name just a few.

Within Mpumalanga province lies the Blyde River Canyon—recently renamed Motlatse River Canyon—ranked as the world’s third‑largest canyon. Its dramatic cliffs host famed viewpoints such as the Three Rondavels, God’s Window, Pinnacle Rock and Bourke’s Luck Potholes, all part of the scenic Panorama Route that stretches from Long Tom Pass to the border between Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

Nowadays, it’s very easy to look at current beauty fads and be pretty confused as to why they’re so popular. Things were no different in times gone by. It’s both fascinating and shocking when you realize the things people did to appear attractive to others. With an array of bemusing and dangerous beauty trends throughout recorded history, it’s clear that women (and men) have always been looking for ways to alter their appearances to look and feel better.

Let’s take a look at some of the fascinating and odd things that people used to do to be considered more attractive by their society’s standards.

10 The Greek Unibrow

While early ’90s pop stars championed the “barely there” over-plucked brow, the ancient Greeks went crazy for the unibrow. A woman wasn’t considered attractive or of high status unless her shapely brows met in the middle of her forehead. Regarded as a symbol of purity and intelligence, the unibrow was the must-have look of the time.

When you were lucky enough to already have a slight unibrow, you could rub soot onto the middle to enhance the area. If you weren’t so blessed with a natural monobrow, you could easily imitate the trend with a few simple tricks. Dedicated fashionistas would dye goat hair and stick it to the area with resin to emulate the desired brow.^[1]

9 The Bulging Blue Veins of the French Pre-Revolution Era

In the strange, royal world of pre-revolution France, white skin was revered among rich people for a variety of racist and classist reasons. Marie Antoinette is a prime example of a royal who favored the ultra-white skin aesthetic. She and her upper-class friends would powder themselves white to appear even paler.
Since deathly-pale skin often causes blue veins to stand out more, a fashion was born. Coloring in your veins with blue pencil to make them really pop!

Bright blue veins and faux-white skin weren’t even the weirdest trends of the time. The higher the status, the higher your hair. If you didn’t have enough hair to have a hairstyle as tall as the height of your face, a huge, wobbling wig would do the job.

You only have to look at a painting of Marie Antoinette or another of her Versaille entourage to see the over-the-top and frivolous style of royalty and gentry at the time. Their towering, lard-smeared wigs sit atop pinched, white faces. Bodies appear uncomfortably and unnaturally stuffed into ridiculous dresses that dwarf the figure inside them. ^[2]

8 The Prevalence of Codpieces in England

It wasn’t just women who subscribed to ridiculous fashion and beauty trends. For 500 years, the codpiece went in and out of style, in varying sizes, for high-status men in England and throughout Europe. The male fashion style during the 1400s comprised tight linen leggings and a tunic, which didn’t leave much to the imagination.

Unsurprisingly, this tight pant style drew criticism from moralists and religious leaders at the time. Eventually, under Edward IV’s rule, men were ordered to cover their private parts, so the concept of the codpiece was born.

They gradually evolved to symbolize both masculinity and power due to the armor-style protective function. Codpieces grew and grew to ridiculous proportions, offered in velvet, silk, and cotton, often heavily bejeweled and embroidered. Henry VIII’s codpiece can still be seen at the Tower of London!^[3]

7 Gladiator Sweat Face Cream and Aphrodisiac

If the idea of smearing someone else’s sweat all over you makes you retch, it’s probably best to stop reading now! The Ancient Romans did many strange things, and collecting and using gladiator sweat run-off was one of them.

The general idea was that the better the gladiator fought in the arena, the more potent and powerful their bodily fluids. Women could buy little glass vials of the sweat to use as a face cream intended to improve their complexions. The gladiator’s sweaty grime was scraped off the men’s bodies with a special tool called a strigil. This was then mixed with olive oil to create a better consistency and used like a moisturizer all over the body.

Men and women also believed the sweat and blood of gladiators to be a powerful aphrodisiac and often consumed it mixed with wine! Each to their own.^[4]

6 The Tuberculosis Look of the Victorian Era

The Victorian era was a prime time for hazardous and horrible beauty fads. We’re all aware of the corset, the undergarment created in the 1800s, that was used for crushing a women’s figure into a more desirable form. High-status Victorian women and men liked the “tuberculosis look,” which inflicted you with pale skin, a fragile form, and red lips.

Some fashion victims began to contract the horrible disease on purpose because the illness was said to enhance the natural beauty of a woman. Men were reported to have loved the sparkling, dilated eyes that the fever inflicted. The slow, gradual march toward death was romanticized, as was the thinning of women’s bodies as they progressed with the disease.^[5]

5 The Extremely Long Nails of the Chinese Aristocracy

In Ancient China, many high-status people grew their nails long to symbolize their wealth and power. While it demonstrated that they didn’t need to do manual labor, it also may have originated from ideals that revered the importance of the physical body. Not wanting to harm or alter your physical form may have included the idea of keeping your nails intact by growing them long.

Because nails were considered so precious by the rich, protecting them became paramount. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, specially adorned nail guards were used by upper-class women to protect and decorate their long nails. Jade and other precious stones were embedded in these long, sparkling nail accessories to add extra glitz.^[6]

4 Baldness “Cures” of Ancient Egypt

It’s not only in recent times that some men have been reluctant to go bald gracefully. In Ancient Egypt, it was a well-known baldness remedy to mix lead, onions, iron oxide, honey, and animal fat to create a paste. This grim concoction was applied to hairless heads in the vain hope of re-stimulating hair growth.

They were also known to blend down animal hooves and dog paws with date juice and leave that on the scalp. Needless to say, neither mixture worked, and they probably caused bad rashes and awful smells.^[7]

3 Black-Dyed Teeth in Japan

Ohaguro was an ancient custom in Japan that involved blackening your teeth with a mixture of iron, vinegar, and tannins. One of the main reasons for this preference for black teeth was that pure black objects were regarded as extremely rare and beautiful.

While it was usually a trend favored by rich, married women, it was also common to see geishas with jet-black dyed teeth. It symbolized maturity, status, and beauty. It was mainly practiced throughout the 1600s until the mid-1800s, when it was dropped in favor of natural pearly whites.^[8]

2 The “Baby Look” of Medieval Times

Hair removal, and addition, is still a huge part of modern beauty obsessions, so it comes as no surprise that it was a common theme in recent history too. Plucked-off eyelashes and eyebrows were combined with shaved foreheads to give medieval women that weird baby alien look. Large foreheads were revered and considered extremely attractive by men.

This odd trend included plucking away all of your facial hair and ensuring that your hairline was as far back as possible. Hairlessness was considered pure and innocent, creating a popular look that, by today’s standards, definitely wouldn’t be considered so beautiful.

This prominent forehead and bald-faced ideal remained popular throughout the Renaissance period. It was even adopted by Queen Elizabeth I, who removed her own brows for the large-faced look. [10] ^[9]

1 Gargling with Portuguese Urine

Dental care has certainly been questionable throughout the ages. While nowadays there’s an obsession for too-white teeth, in Ancient Rome, they gargled with human urine! According to historians, the Romans used to import Portuguese pee to gargle and rinse their teeth with. They apparently believed the Portugueses’ stuff to be higher in potency than their own—who knows why!

The ammonia in urine was used to disinfect the mouth and whiten teeth, which actually works, but it just sounds gross. It became such a popular part of their hygiene routine that Emperor Nero taxed the bottled urine trade, and it was a known mouthwash ingredient well into the 18th century.^[10]

When it comes to beauty products, the term “non-toxic” can be difficult to decipher. And it’s not regulated by any governing body, like the FDA. Now, many products also use the term “toxic-free” to indicate that the product “has been created without the use of any potentially toxic, carcinogenic, or poisonous ingredients that could be questionable in safety.” While this term is also not federally regulated, it is backed by the ToxicFree Foundation.

Even with these unregulated labels, we tend to ignore the ingredients or harmfulness of some of our favorite and most used beauty products—to our own detriment. So let’s look at 10 of the most dangerous beauty products we still use every day.

10 Skin Creams That Contain Mercury

Mercury is a normal occurring metal in nature. However, whenever delivered into the environment, it tends to be harmful. In California, over the past ten years, there have been more than 60 poisonings connected to unknown, unlabeled, or homemade skin creams that contained the harmful mercury, usually listed as mercurous chloride, calomel, or others. You should keep away from handcrafted or unlabeled creams and other brand-name containers that are not sealed when purchased. Unsealed containers might have been altered and may contain mercury or other contaminants. Individuals utilize these kinds of creams for blemishes, freckles, flaws, age spots, and treating skin inflammation and acne. These creams are typically sold in local shops, at flea markets, by individuals, or on the web. When there is no list of ingredients on the product, simply don’t use it.

Many of these products are made outside of the U.S. and are imported. In prior poisonings connected with imported skin cream, a few kids and infants—who obviously weren’t the intended user—became extremely ill from contact with the mercury tainting their homes or through contact with relatives who used the items. Kids and pregnant women are particularly sensitive to the harmful impacts of mercury. Symptoms of mercury poisoning include tremors, memory issues, numbness and tingling, and changes in vision or hearing. So be mindful when choosing your favorite beauty product or trying new brands.^[1]

9 Mascara

Your mascara wand gets contaminated when you use it! Bacteria grows and thrives in the dark, moist environment of your mascara tube. Even though many cosmetics contain preservatives that slow germ growth, bacteria will build up over time. This can result in certain bacterial diseases like eye cysts or pinkeye.

Pay attention to expiration dates! Also, throw away the mascara after four to six months (max) from when you first opened the tube. Do it sooner if you notice clumping or any change in texture, color, or smell. Mascara should be disposed of and replaced, no matter the amount left in the tube or how much you paid for it!^[2]

8 CC Creams

For those like myself who prefer the no-makeup or low-maintenance look, CC creams—also called color-correcting or complex-care creams—are a natural choice. CC creams generally act as a three-in-one, with sunscreen, moisturizer, and foundation. Other creams may also make formulas that advertise concealers, anti-aging cream, bronzer, highlighter, or oil absorbers—or some combination of these attributes. Used to address any discoloration like redness, dullness, and dark circles, CC creams have lured over many tinted-lotion supporters with their feathery surface and covering capacity. Tragically, that is the place where the greatness of CC creams ends, particularly for certain brands.

Some major CC cream brands like Olay Total Effects 7-in-One Pore Minimizing (Fair to Light) are dangerous because of the presence of acrylamide. Acrylamide occurs in certain plant foods like potatoes, some grains, and coffee. It forms when these products are cooked for long periods or at high temperatures. However, it is also added to items like cosmetics and plastics and has been linked to cancer! (Which is the reason it’s not shocking that it additionally crops up in cigarettes smoke!)

Other ingredients to watch for in CC creams are oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate (vitamin A). Oxybenzone, found in about 20% of CC creams, is a widely used sunscreen ingredient that can penetrate the skin, cause allergic skin reactions, and may disrupt hormones. Studies have also reported an increased risk of endometriosis and lower birth weight in daughters. While indoor or night-only creams often contain retinyl palmitate or other vitamin A derivatives, using CC creams with prolonged exposure to the sun can result in excess skin growth and spur the development of skin tumors and lesions. It’s best to skip CC creams with these ingredients—do your homework before buying.^[3]

7 Nail Polish

If you’ve ever wrinkled your nose when having your nails done (or do them yourself), you know the smell of nail polish and acetone remover is not the most pleasant. Do you think that may be because your polish is trying to tell you something?

Nail polishes contain harmful chemicals that can potentially do damage, from simply discoloring nails to causing thin and brittle nails to something a bit more harmful. In Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Tone, high levels of styrene were found. Essentially used in the production of plastics and rubbers, styrene has been associated with irritation of the skin, eyes, and upper respiratory tract. Long-term exposure to styrene in humans can adversely affect the central nervous system, causing headache, fatigue, weakness, depression, hearing loss, and nerve damage.

Many brands market themselves as five-free. This refers to polishes that do not contain five specific ingredients: formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde resin, and camphor. And removers do not fare much better. Nail polish remover generally contains things like isopropyl acetone, which can irritate the eyes and lungs, and ethyl acetate, which acts as a respiratory system and eye irritant. Another possible ingredient, methyl ethyl ketone, may be a neurotoxin. Oh, goody! So, in addition to the polish, the remover can prove harmful, with long-term use even developing into myeloma. I think I’ll stick with natural nails from now on.^[4]

6 Perfume

Perfume is something that we’ve been utilizing for centuries, giving little consideration to how unsafe it may be to our health. Many famous people release their own line of perfume or are compensated for using their name, including Halle Berry, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, and a lot more. These celebrity scents are finding a comeback after an oversaturation—pardon the pun—of the market in the early 2000s. Even with their namesakes’ hands-on involvement and rash of social media followers, are these perfumes really safe?

Even the most wonderful eye-catching, stunning perfume bottles are simply…chemicals. Perfume ingredient chemicals are complex combinations of synthetic and/or natural substances which are added to products to give them a distinctive scent. They are loaded with synthetic substances like coumarin, BHT, citral, benzyl salicylate, oxybenzone, and lilial. The last ingredient, lilial, is also known as butylphenyl methylpropional and is linked to cancer. The EU has prohibited its use beginning March 2022. So check out what your favorite scent is made of before shelling out your hard-earned money!^[5]

5 Setting Powder

Nobody likes to have an oily face. Hey, neither do I. After all that time and work we’ve done to get that flawless look for the day, we need to do something to keep it looking good. Which is the reason setting powders and sprays are so popular. Yet, you might be placing yourself in harm’s way when attempting to conceal your shine.

These popular products include ingredients like talc, titanium dioxide, and polytetrafluoroethylene. Talc is a naturally occurring substance, but it shouldn’t be inhaled or swallowed; both can prove harmful and cause eye and lung irritation, chest pain, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, and coma. Titanium dioxide is a UV filter that should not be in your pressed or loose powders (in lotions and creams, it’s low risk). And that last ingredient— polytetrafluoroethylene—well, that’s Teflon. Yep, that stuff that keeps your eggs from sticking to the pan! After all that, a little shine doesn’t seem like a terrible thing, right?^[6]

4 BB Creams

Another lazy girl cosmetics staple, BB Cream, surprised the world when it came out about a decade ago, flying off the shelves when it hit the western markets. Many beauty brands then jumped on the BB bandwagon, hoping to cash in on the abundance of customers vying for the product. Like CC creams, they are marketed as an “all-in-one” beauty product that acts as a serum, moisturizer, primer, skin repairer, foundation, and sunblock. Sadly, BB creams can be a no-no for individuals who choose options like Aveeno Clear Complexion BB Cream, Maybelline Dream Fresh BB 8-in-1 Skin Perfector, and e.l.f. BB Cream.

Besides the scents and oxybenzone (already mentioned in this list), these items all contain methylisothiazolinone, which just means it’s bad for you! Methylisothiazolinone is a widely used chemical that causes hypersensitive responses and irritates the skin, eyes, and lungs. This is another substance that is restricted in Europe from being used in leave-on items —like the BB cream you keep on your skin all day. One more warning for this terrible substance is that, in lab tests, it was deemed a potential neurotoxin. Besides their chemical makeup, these creams really don’t do as they promised as many of them are made with cheap and synthesized ingredients and really not designed to nourish your skin.^[7]

3 Lip Gloss

On the off chance that you thought lip shine or lip loss was only a nuisance when getting your hair stuck to it on a blustery day, you haven’t heard anything yet. Sephora’s fave brand, Philosophy, has lip shine products that are drool-worthy in how great they smell, with aromas like Pink Frosted Animal Cracker, Peppermint Stick, and Senorita Margarita. All things considered, it shouldn’t be surprising that these scrumptious flavors have a lot of aroma to them. But they are both drying and irritating. And that’s just the beginning.

The Senorita Margarita flavor additionally contains citral. Even though citral is a natural ingredient derived from plant sources, it can still lead to potentially serious allergic reactions. Symptoms of an allergic reaction to citral may include rashes, blisters, itchy skin, and swollen eyes and lips. It’s important to be aware that just because something is natural doesn’t mean it is completely safe or without side effects. Often the opposite is true. In addition, some lip glosses contain lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum, and five other toxic metals.^[8]

2 Blush

Blush should bring life and color back to your face, isn’t that so? So why do so many blushers contain formaldehyde? Found in CoverGirl Cheekers Face Blush and CoverGirl Instant Cheekbones Contouring Blush (in an assortment of tones), it’s really horrible to imagine that such a chemical is being used on the face. Showing up as a few different substances in these items, you will find them under two names: polyoxymethylene urea and quaternium-15.

Polyoxymethylene urea is a synthetic polymer used by the cosmetic industry as a bulking agent and to form the outer shell of microcapsules (that hold the color in this case). It is also a formaldehyde releaser that—you got it—releases formaldehyde over time. It’s been connected to organ damage and viewed as an allergen. Quaternium-15 is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative. It’s likely a wise option to leave any products containing these chemicals on the shelf.^[9]

1 SPF Foundation

With the information we have now about skin disease and tanning, an ever-increasing number of brands have been adding SPF to the items that are used all over the face. From foundations to BB creams to concealers, added SPF gives us the feeling that we’re shielding ourselves from harmful UV rays

Then again, actually, we’re not.

To get the SPF advantages of sunscreen in a foundation, we’d need to apply much more than we really do, which is something that major beauty care product companies don’t tell us. For CoverGirl’s Outlive Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation with SPF in any available shade, the EWG found that the SPF protection was insignificant—and definitely not what was being advertised. For most makeup containing SPF, the actual amount of sunscreen applied to the face is minimal, leaving the skin exposed. So it’s best to use regular sunscreen first, then apply any makeup containing SPF, if you prefer. Oh, but don’t think that your 30 SPF sunscreen and 18 SPF foundation means you have 48 SPF coverage—sunscreen is only as strong as the highest SPF from a single product.^[10]