The quest for eternal youth and flawless looks is nothing new, but the methods used a century ago were far more… industrial. In the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s, the burgeoning beauty industry embraced what can only be described as mad science, designing contraptions that look less like a relaxing facial and more like tools for a medical interrogation. Before the era of gentle serums and non-invasive treatments, people willingly endured these bizarre devices. Think vacuum-pumped masks for removing wrinkles, elaborate heating helmets for hair perms, and strange electrical currents for curing acne. These 23 gadgets offer a fascinating, slightly terrifying glimpse into a time when the pursuit of beauty was a truly mechanical, often painful, ordeal.
#1 Rubber Beauty Masks Used To Get Rid Of Wrinkles In The 1920s
Image source: Wellcome Collection
#2 Facial Warming Mask, 1940
Image source: Courtesy Everett collection
#3 A Perm In Germany In 1929
Image source: Everett Collection
#4 Dimple Machine In 1936
Image source: Unknown
#5 Special Mask That Guaranteed A Rosy Complexion Reducing The Air Pressure And Allegedly Substituted For A Walk In The Mountains, 1940
Image source: gajitz.com
#6 Max Factor’s 1931 Ice Mask
Image source: International News Soundphoto
#7 Woman Tans Using A Suntan Vending Machine, 1949
Image source: ahtisham-ahmed
#8 A Full-Faced Swimming Mask Helped Protect Women’s Skin From The Sun, 1920s
Image source: Hulton Archive
#9 “Ironing” Hair, 1964
Image source: Marty Zimmerman
#10 Freckle Removal Device, 1930
Image source: Mansell
#11 Beauty Treatments At The Helena Rubinstein’s Salon, 1940s
Image source: imgur.com
#12 Rita Perchetti And Gloria Rossi Try Out Their New Portable Bathhouse So They Can Change Their Clothes After Sunbathing On Coney Island Beach, 1938
Image source: Unknown
#13 Portable Hair Dryer, 1940s
Image source: Easyart/PA
#14 Taking Precise Measurements Of A Beautiful Young Woman’s Head And Face With A Contraption Like An Instrument Of Torture, 1933
Image source: Hulton Archive
#15 Vacuum Face Massage For Smooth Skin And Nice Complexion, 1932
Image source: ModernMechanix.com
#16 In 1949, The Breathing Balloon Promised To Help You “Develop Your Form”
Image source: ModernMechanix.com
#17 Profile Chin Strap Masque – 1930’s
Image source: alexarose1470
#18 Radioactive Makeup Products, 1930s
Image source: ORAU
#19 Arsenic Wafers
Image source: The Helena Independent (newspaper)
#20 Snake Oil Scalp Tonic, 1940s
Image source: ebay
#21 You Have A Beautiful Face But Your Nose?
Image source: Unknown
#22 Glamour Lips Lipstick Applicator, 1940s
Image source: Glamourdaze , Booklets Project
#23 Fish Scale False Eyelashes
Image source: James Bennett, Rajesh dangi
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