Zarish Tahir
The contrasting beauty trends which keep changing every now and then have made us women a little insecure about our natural outlooks. Longer lashes, spotless skin, shiny nails, hairless bodies, and bigger curves top the list. Well, everybody has a right to look good and groom themselves. However, we just are a little naive in adopting beauty trends that often are pointless and yet cost a top dollar!
Beauty has no standards but it’s something which is only said, never really got implemented. Women have been considered as the true definition of beauty, but they have adopted some absurd beauty standards over time which apparently made no sense. There have been customized beautification treatments in almost every era.
Beauty comes with pain and beauty has a price, was true in the past days and still is pretty compliant to the present. Nothing much has changed over the years, there still are a lot of procedures that apparently are performed to enhance the overall appearance but are they really worth it? That still remains a mystery and we women just go on spending a bunch, we aren’t even sorry for that; are we? hehe…
We took ourselves a little back in time to see the true evolution of these beauty treatments and their origins, it sure is interesting but a little embarrassing too. Scroll down and check them out;
1. “A Traditional Japanese Sign Of Beauty- Black Teeth, 17th – 19th Centuries.”
It was also thought that this ritual brought good luck
2. “A Full-Faced Swimming Mask Helped Protect Women’s Skin From The Sun, the 1920s”
That’s thoughtful I must say!
3. “Portable Hair Dryer, 1940s.”
This hairdryer must have been a lifesaver for someone who loves beach waves
4. “Faceless Beauty Contest In Cliftonville, 1936.”
We women, nature’s greatest creation, are just a little crazy sometimes.
5. “A Young Woman Holds Her Arms And Legs In Four Water Bathes With Electric Current, To Improve Blood Circulation, Circa 1938.”
For bright glowing and plump skin! Just a conventional way to nourishing skin with microcurrents
6. “Woman Tans Using A Suntan Vending Machine, 1949.”
Never knew there are vending machines for that!
7. “You Have A Beautiful Face But Your Nose?”
Better fix it!
8. “The Bra Claimed To Develop And Strengthen The Bust And Was Designed To Vibrate While The Person Wearing It Was At Work. Brussel, 1971.”
When silicone implants were nowhere near to have been existed
9. “French Breast Washer, the 1930s.”
Yes, your breast? We have a washing machine for that!
10. “Rita Perchetti And Gloria Rossi Try Out Their New Portable Bathhouse So They Can Change Their Clothes After Sunbathing On Coney Island Beach, 1938.”
That’s convenient, no more waiting in the lines outside the shower cabins
11. “X-Ray Of Female Torso With Corset (Left) And Female Torso Without A Corset (Right), 1908.”
Beauty at the cost of health? No, sir!
12. “Rubber Beauty Masks Used To Get Rid Of Wrinkles In The 1920s.”
The standards are just too high!
13. “A Perm In Germany In 1929.”
Damn those wires, we do it with a single wire these days…
14. “Contestants In The Miss Lovely Eyes Beauty Pageant In Florida Wearing Masks To Obscure The Rest Of Their Faces, 1930.”
Beauty comes in all shapes
15. “Dimple Machine In 1936.”
Did you know? Dimples are actually muscular anomalies!
Some of the above beauty treatments are self-explanatory, they illustrate what results would they yield pretty clearly. However, some of these things women followed around in the name of beauty, are pretty futile. Such as wooden swimsuits and breast washers? I need a break, brb while you guys go through the rest of the history.
16. “Ironing” Hair, 1964.”
Every early 90s kid knows the struggle too
17. “Freckle Removal. A Complicated Apparatus Is Employed. Eyes Are Covered With A Special, Air-Tight Piece, And The Nostrils Filled In. Breathing Is Done Through A Special Tube. Sensitive Parts Of The Face Must Be Treated Separately, 1930.”
Whereas nowadays, ladies get freckles on purpose. They’re considered as beauty marks!
18.”Taking Precise Measurements Of A Beautiful Young Woman’s Head And Face With A Contraption Like An Instrument Of Torture, 1933.”
Setting the bar high…
19. “Wooden Swimsuits, 1929.”
And how do we swim in those?
20. “Facial Warming Mask, 1940.”
Why..?!
21. “Max Factor’s 1931 Ice Mask.”
wave the open pores a goodbye!
22. “Customers Have Their Legs Painted At A Store In Croydon, London, 1941.”
Just going to make it seem like you’re wearing stockings!
23. “Tape Worm Diet, 1900s.”
I need to throwup
24. “Hair Dryer, 1920s.”
More like a blower…
25. “A Woman Having A Seam Painted Onto Her Leg, To Make It Appear That She Is Wearing Stockings, 1926”
See we are the smartest creatures on earth, we have a solution for everything!
26. “Women Who Had Just Given Birth To A Baby Weren’t Prohibited To Smoke In The Hospital. the 1940s.”
But just… don’t?!
27. “A Fruit Mask From The 1930s.”
Fresh out of the fridge!
28. “A Policeman Judges An Ankle Competition At Hounslow, London, 1930.”
Why would a police officer judge an ankle competition?
29. “Before The Invention Of Sun-Screen In The Mid 1940s, Bathers Wore Garments Like This Freckleproof Cape To Protect Themselves From The Sun. The Cape Also Features Built-In Sunglasses.”
Necessity is the mother of all inventions
30. “10th Century Chinese Tradition – Foot Binding.”
These bound feet were thought to be a passport to a better marriage and a better way of life. Doesn’t make any sense, though…
We all love self-grooming and self-pampering. Getting a relaxing massage and mani-pedi is a treat we all deserve at the end of the week, for working so hard!
However, In the world of fakes let’s be an original! Not forget how truly beautiful every woman is no matter how she appears to be. Buying beauty at the cost of health is a little toxic… We all are exceptional and the world nods in acknowledgment!
What are your thoughts about these conventional beauty trends and those of today, do let us know in the comments section below!