On the Internet, you can find mysterious black and white photographs. To a modern person, they may seem creepy. The pictures show cosmetic procedures that were popular in the 30s and 40s. They look pretty weird these days. After all, since then, cosmetology has stepped far forward. We will tell you about the sacrifices women made for the sake of beauty in those early years.
Fighting freckles
In the 1930s, freckles were frozen with carbon dioxide. During the procedure, the eyes and nostrils were closed with plugs. The beautician's client had to breathe through a special tube inserted into her mouth. Despite these inconveniences, this method of dealing with freckles was very popular.
Before the invention of sunglasses, women wore special "freckled" capes. They looked like a long cloak with a cap that completely covered the face from the sun. The slits for the eyes were covered with sun glasses.
Hair beauty
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Drying your hair in those days was far from an easy procedure. The hair dryers were very large and heavy. They looked like huge aggregates and consisted of a set of pipes. Moreover, their heating power was much weaker than that of modern hair dryers.
Hair curling was a very complicated procedure. A special machine was used to create curly curls. The hair was twisted on long and heavy rods and attached to an electrical apparatus. The curling process took about 5 hours.
Face masks
The photo of a woman in a scary mask has long remained a mystery to historians. Subsequently, it turned out that the picture captures a cosmetic procedure popular in the 1940s. The mask was heated to increase blood circulation in the skin. This gave the face a fresh look and prevented the appearance of wrinkles.
To combat skin aging, women were advised to wear thick rubber masks on their faces. This helped smooth out wrinkles. However, they had to wear a tight and uncomfortable mask for several days.
In the 1930s, natural nourishing masks were also actively used. However, in those days, special cosmetic preparations were not yet produced. For the masks, ordinary food was used. The woman had to lie motionless with pieces of fruit on her face.
Everyone knows that excess alcohol has a negative effect on the condition of the skin. For such cases, Max Factor has developed a special "hangover" mask. It consisted of plastic cubes filled with ice. Cold caused vasoconstriction and eliminated redness and swelling from the face.
Hardware procedures
A special sealed unit was used to give the skin a fresh pink color. It looked like a hood that was worn over the head. A reduced atmospheric pressure was created in the unit, which caused a rush of blood to the skin.
Apparatus with vacuum and rubber hoses were used to combat acne. With their help, acne was removed from the skin. However, the pressure in these machines was very difficult to control and the procedure was quite painful.
Fighting excess weight
In the 1940s, slimming salons were established. They used different weight loss methods. One of the ways to combat obesity was special chairs. They were equipped with metal rollers for foot massage.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that cosmetic manipulations in those days caused a lot of inconvenience to clients. However, women went to them for the sake of beauty. Nowadays, visiting a beauty parlor has become much more comfortable. However, it is possible that modern cosmetic procedures will seem to our descendants just as strange and frightening.
Evdokimova Irina