The Victorians devoted plenty of time and money to beauty, but their ideas of looking fashionable were often very different from ours. Pale skin, tiny waists, elaborate hairstyles, and youthful appearances were all highly prized, sometimes at considerable cost.
Looking back, some Victorian beauty routines seem surprisingly familiar. Others are reminders of how far beauty standards and medical knowledge have come.
10. Sleeping in Hair Curlers
Creating fashionable curls wasn’t a quick morning task.
Many women slept with strips of fabric, paper, or other curling materials wrapped around their hair overnight in hopes of waking up with perfectly arranged ringlets.
9. Belladonna Eye Drops
Some women used eye drops made from belladonna to dilate their pupils.
Large pupils were considered attractive because they gave the eyes a wide, luminous appearance. We now know belladonna can be highly toxic and may cause blurred vision and other serious side effects.
8. Tight Corsets
Corsets were common throughout much of the Victorian era, although most were worn for support and shaping rather than dramatic waist reduction.
Still, extremely tight lacing became fashionable for some women, restricting movement and making everyday activities considerably less comfortable.
7. Arsenic Complexion Products
A pale complexion remained a fashionable ideal.
Some cosmetics and patent remedies containing arsenic were marketed as a way to achieve clearer, lighter-looking skin. Modern medicine recognizes arsenic as highly poisonous.
6. Heavy Hairpieces and False Braids
Victorian hairstyles could be remarkably elaborate.
Many women added false braids, curls, switches, or hairpieces to create fuller styles that required considerable time to arrange and maintain.
5. Homemade Face Masks
Victorian beauty books were filled with recipes for homemade skin treatments.
Ingredients like oatmeal, cucumber, egg whites, honey, cream, and rosewater appeared in various homemade complexion preparations. Some recipes remain surprisingly recognizable, while others have thankfully disappeared.
4. Mercury in Beauty Products
Before modern cosmetic safety standards existed, mercury appeared in some skin creams and complexion treatments.
Manufacturers promoted these products as ways to reduce blemishes or create smoother skin, despite the serious health risks we now associate with mercury exposure.
3. Hair Receivers
Many Victorian women saved the hair left behind in their brushes instead of throwing it away.
The collected strands were stored in decorative containers called hair receivers and later used to pad and add volume to hairstyles, among other household and decorative uses. It was an economical solution that seems unusual by today’s standards.
2. Elaborate Hair That Took Hours to Create
Fashionable Victorian hairstyles often required patience.
Washing hair was generally less frequent than it is today, and styling involved careful brushing, pinning, braiding, and arranging. A polished hairstyle could require considerable time, especially before a formal occasion.
1. Pale Skin at Almost Any Cost
Perhaps no beauty ideal defined the Victorian era more than pale skin.
Because a fair complexion suggested a life spent indoors rather than working in the sun, women used parasols, gloves, hats, powders, and a variety of complexion treatments to avoid tanning. While protecting skin from excessive sun exposure remains sensible, today’s beauty standards are generally more inclusive of a range of natural skin tones.
Read More:
- 15 Historical Etiquette Rules That Sound Absurd Today
- 10 Witchcraft Accusations That Changed History
- The 10 Deadliest Beauty Trends in History
