Gross and Dangerous Makeup Through History
Throughout history, women have found creative ways to enhance their beauty. Some of the things women used ultimately ended up being poisonous or toxic, and others, well – just downright gross! Here are some of the surprising things women used in the name of beauty.
EVIL EYES
Kohl: The use of kohl dates back to 3100 BCE when Egyptian women such as Cleopatra and Nefertiti used it as eyeliner to create bold almond-shaped looking eyes. Throughout history, it was also used for eyeshadow and mascara. Kohl was made from a mixture of lead (from the mineral galena), crushed antimony (from the mineral antimony trisulfide), burnt almonds, charred frankincense, oxidized copper ochre, copper ores, ash, malachite, black manganese, iron oxide, and chrysocolla. Women who used kohl suffered a host of issues explicitly caused by the lead and antimony trisulfide. As lead built up in the bloodstream, it caused lead poisoning, resulting in health issues from anemia, blood disorders, developmental issues, low IQ, convulsions, and even death. The antimony trisulfide caused respiratory, heart, gastrointestinal, and developmental problems. Antimony trisulfide is used today in military ammunition, explosives, and fireworks. YIKES!
Crocodile Dung: Ancient Romans mixed crocodile dung with ash and used it as mascara. They also mixed in with mud to use for anti-aging facials, a relaxing bath, and also as a base for other cosmetics like blush.
Dean Animal Fur: Ancient Greek women believed that the ultimate statement of beauty and intelligence was the unibrow. Women who had light or patchy eyebrows would create brows out of goatskin, oxen hair, or mouse hair and stick the hair to their face using tree resin. Nothing like pasting dead animal fur to your face. Thank God for permanent cosmetics!!!
Deadly Nightshade: Having beautiful, dewy eyes in Renaissance Italy was fashionable. To achieve this effect, women used Deadly Nightshade (known as belladonna), a very toxic plant, to make eyedrops so that their pupils would dilate and create a wide-eyed and seductive look. The side effects caused by these poisonous eyedrops included blurred vision, headaches, hallucinations, vomiting, heart palpitations, vertigo, and eventual blindness. We’ll stick with the Visine, thank you very much!
LETHAL LIPS
Bug Guts: In the 10th century, Aztecs crushed up small bugs called Cochineals to create red dye. The female of the species feeds on red cactus berries, and when crushed, they produce a substance called carminic acid, which was used to create a deep red color for lipsticks. As if that wasn’t gross enough, Cleopatra was known for crushing beetles and ants to get the right shade of scarlet for her lips. Fact – carminic acid is still used today in many lipsticks. So if you want to avoid any bug juice in your lipstick, choose certified vegan products.
Toxic Plants: The Egyptians used a mixture of bromine mannite (a toxic chemical derived from plants) mixed with seaweed and iodine to make lipstick. The bromine mannite caused vomiting, psychosis, skin lesions, seizures, and death. Even a small amount of bromine mannite in the mixture was likely enough to accidentally kill both the women wearing it and the men kissing them. The phrase ‘Kiss Of Death’ was said to have been coined because of this highly toxic mixture.
FRIGHTFUL FACES
Lead and Arsenic: During the 15th and 18th centuries, it was fashionable for women to be as ghostly white and pale as possible. One way of achieving this corpse-like paleness was with cosmetics and creams that contained lead (which, of course, was toxic). But, during the Victorian era, another ingredient was also used to create white, blemish-free skin – arsenic. One incredibly popular product made using arsenic was “Dr. Campbell’s Safe Arsenic Complexion Wafers.” Made entirely from arsenic but touted as “completely safe,” it was said to alleviate freckles, blackheads, pimples, redness, rough, yellow or muddy skin, and other facial disfigurements, as well as deliver a silky, pure white complexion. What these women didn’t know was that exposure to arsenic could cause a host of health issues, including liver enlargement, damage to the nervous system, hyper-pigmentation, anorexia, keratosis, leukemia, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, dermatitis, and even death.
Mule Urine: In Ancient Rome, women believed mule urine had anti-aging properties and used it as a makeup base and in their face masks. Urine was also believed to be a great whitening agent and was even used as a mouthwash to whiten teeth.
Mercury: Mercury sulfide (from the mineral cinnabar) was known to provide a gorgeous and vibrant red color and was wildly popular as a rouge. Unbeknownst to its users, mercury was extremely toxic and could damage the muscular and nervous system, causing tremors, memory problems, and inflammation of the liver, kidneys, and urinary tract,
Snail Slime: Snail slime (snail mucin) is the excretion from the snail that it leaves behind as it moves. Mucin has been used for thousands of years to treat various conditions. Women and men would slather the slime on their faces and bodies to treat ailments ranging from wounds, skin lesions, dermatitis, acne, warts, and calluses. It was also often mixed into a syrup to treat with gastrointestinal ulcers and coughs.
Recently snail slime has made a resurgence in skincare, showing up in serums, facial masks, moisturizers, and fading creams. It contains hyaluronic acid, elastin, glycolic acid antibiotics, antioxidants, and allantoin – all known for their anti-aging properties. You can find snail slime disked on your products labels as snail secretion filtrate on ingredient lists.
Words of Warning
Surprisingly, there are still some pretty disgusting and harmful ingredients in makeup and skincare products on the market that contain toxic ingredients, including lead, arsenic, mercury, formaldehyde, and other carcinogens. The laws governing cosmetics and personal care products are extremely limited. Many of the common products we use contain chemicals known to cause cancer, endocrine disruption, developmental and reproductive toxicity, organ-system toxicity, and other health issues legally allowed in personal care products in the United States. Check out the Campain for Safe Cosmetics‘ website to learn more about harmful ingredients and how to avoid products with them.
If you want to avoid poisons and aminal parts, you can always opt for all-natural, vegan cosmetics. The Ethical Elephant is an excellent resource to help find 100% vegan and cruelty-free beauty brands.
Throughout history, women have found creative ways to enhance their beauty. Some of the things women used ultimately ended up being poisonous or toxic, and others, well – just downright gross! Here are some of the surprising things women used in the name of beauty.
EVIL EYES
Kohl: The use of kohl dates back to 3100 BCE when Egyptian women such as Cleopatra and Nefertiti used it as eyeliner to create bold almond-shaped looking eyes. Throughout history, it was also used for eyeshadow and mascara. Kohl was made from a mixture of lead (from the mineral galena), crushed antimony (from the mineral antimony trisulfide), burnt almonds, charred frankincense, oxidized copper ochre, copper ores, ash, malachite, black manganese, iron oxide, and chrysocolla. Women who used kohl suffered a host of issues explicitly caused by the lead and antimony trisulfide. As lead built up in the bloodstream, it caused lead poisoning, resulting in health issues from anemia, blood disorders, developmental issues, low IQ, convulsions, and even death. The antimony trisulfide caused respiratory, heart, gastrointestinal, and developmental problems. Antimony trisulfide is used today in military ammunition, explosives, and fireworks. YIKES!
Crocodile Dung: Ancient Romans mixed crocodile dung with ash and used it as mascara. They also mixed in with mud to use for anti-aging facials, a relaxing bath, and also as a base for other cosmetics like blush.
Dean Animal Fur: Ancient Greek women believed that the ultimate statement of beauty and intelligence was the unibrow. Women who had light or patchy eyebrows would create brows out of goatskin, oxen hair, or mouse hair and stick the hair to their face using tree resin. Nothing like pasting dead animal fur to your face. Thank God for permanent cosmetics!!!
Deadly Nightshade: Having beautiful, dewy eyes in Renaissance Italy was fashionable. To achieve this effect, women used Deadly Nightshade (known as belladonna), a very toxic plant, to make eyedrops so that their pupils would dilate and create a wide-eyed and seductive look. The side effects caused by these poisonous eyedrops included blurred vision, headaches, hallucinations, vomiting, heart palpitations, vertigo, and eventual blindness. We’ll stick with the Visine, thank you very much!
LETHAL LIPS
Bug Guts: In the 10th century, Aztecs crushed up small bugs called Cochineals to create red dye. The female of the species feeds on red cactus berries, and when crushed, they produce a substance called carminic acid, which was used to create a deep red color for lipsticks. As if that wasn’t gross enough, Cleopatra was known for crushing beetles and ants to get the right shade of scarlet for her lips. Fact – carminic acid is still used today in many lipsticks. So if you want to avoid any bug juice in your lipstick, choose certified vegan products.
Toxic Plants: The Egyptians used a mixture of bromine mannite (a toxic chemical derived from plants) mixed with seaweed and iodine to make lipstick. The bromine mannite caused vomiting, psychosis, skin lesions, seizures, and death. Even a small amount of bromine mannite in the mixture was likely enough to accidentally kill both the women wearing it and the men kissing them. The phrase ‘Kiss Of Death’ was said to have been coined because of this highly toxic mixture.
FRIGHTFUL FACES
Lead and Arsenic: During the 15th and 18th centuries, it was fashionable for women to be as ghostly white and pale as possible. One way of achieving this corpse-like paleness was with cosmetics and creams that contained lead (which, of course, was toxic). But, during the Victorian era, another ingredient was also used to create white, blemish-free skin – arsenic. One incredibly popular product made using arsenic was “Dr. Campbell’s Safe Arsenic Complexion Wafers.” Made entirely from arsenic but touted as “completely safe,” it was said to alleviate freckles, blackheads, pimples, redness, rough, yellow or muddy skin, and other facial disfigurements, as well as deliver a silky, pure white complexion. What these women didn’t know was that exposure to arsenic could cause a host of health issues, including liver enlargement, damage to the nervous system, hyper-pigmentation, anorexia, keratosis, leukemia, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, dermatitis, and even death.
Mule Urine: In Ancient Rome, women believed mule urine had anti-aging properties and used it as a makeup base and in their face masks. Urine was also believed to be a great whitening agent and was even used as a mouthwash to whiten teeth.
Mercury: Mercury sulfide (from the mineral cinnabar) was known to provide a gorgeous and vibrant red color and was wildly popular as a rouge. Unbeknownst to its users, mercury was extremely toxic and could damage the muscular and nervous system, causing tremors, memory problems, and inflammation of the liver, kidneys, and urinary tract,
Snail Slime: Snail slime (snail mucin) is the excretion from the snail that it leaves behind as it moves. Mucin has been used for thousands of years to treat various conditions. Women and men would slather the slime on their faces and bodies to treat ailments ranging from wounds, skin lesions, dermatitis, acne, warts, and calluses. It was also often mixed into a syrup to treat with gastrointestinal ulcers and coughs.
Recently snail slime has made a resurgence in skincare, showing up in serums, facial masks, moisturizers, and fading creams. It contains hyaluronic acid, elastin, glycolic acid antibiotics, antioxidants, and allantoin – all known for their anti-aging properties. You can find snail slime disked on your products labels as snail secretion filtrate on ingredient lists.
Words of Warning
Surprisingly, there are still some pretty disgusting and harmful ingredients in makeup and skincare products on the market that contain toxic ingredients, including lead, arsenic, mercury, formaldehyde, and other carcinogens. The laws governing cosmetics and personal care products are extremely limited. Many of the common products we use contain chemicals known to cause cancer, endocrine disruption, developmental and reproductive toxicity, organ-system toxicity, and other health issues legally allowed in personal care products in the United States. Check out the Campain for Safe Cosmetics‘ website to learn more about harmful ingredients and how to avoid products with them.
If you want to avoid poisons and aminal parts, you can always opt for all-natural, vegan cosmetics. The Ethical Elephant is an excellent resource to help find 100% vegan and cruelty-free beauty brands.