The Odd Beauty Inventions Women Once Used

Let’s face it; many of us go to all kinds of lengths to get the most out of our beauty routine. Long gone are the days when we scrub our skin with an exfoliator and only put on a slather of moisturizer when our skin starts to feel a little dry. Skincare routines have come a long way throughout the years, with cleansers, serums, toners, and everything else filling many of our lives.

Still, there are beauty trends that come and go each year. Freckles are huge right now, with people going to extreme lengths to try and give themselves delicate freckles at home. What about the trends of the past? Things were no different. Still, the off beauty inventions women once used go to show how far people used to go to achieve their ultimate beauty goals.

The beauty micrometer allowed women to see where to apply makeup

The idea of using makeup goes back thousands of years. Still, that doesn’t mean everyone knows everything there is about how to get the most from their makeup look. What if there was an invention to make things easier? Believe it or not, but there once was: the beauty micrometer. Max Factor was the one behind the device, which was placed over a woman’s head. From there, screws were tightened until they touched someone’s face, showing women where they needed to be applying makeup. Apparently, it was most commonly reserved for actors.

The hair permer caused plenty of accidents and injuries in the 1920s

If you have curly hair, you might want straight hair. If you have straight hair, you might want curly hair. No one ever seems satisfied with their locks, but what about plugging yourself into a machine to get that bounce? That’s what women in the 1920s did, as they lined up to get their hands on one of the oddest beauty inventions. The permer machine was made by Charles Nessler, who allegedly used his wife as a guinea pig. In the end, and after losing a lot of hair, Charles realized that suspending the perming rolls from the ceiling meant people were less likely to get burnt. Of course, accidents still happened - especially as the ultra-hot curlers were applied to wet hair.

The freckle-proof cape saw women go to extreme lengths

Each new decade brings about a set of new trends. Still, one that rolled over from the 1930s to the 1940s was the idea that women didn’t want to have freckles. That’s how several odd beauty inventions made their way to the market. One on the list was the freckle-proof cape that would almost look at home in the Batcave. The cape covered a woman’s entire upper half, meaning she could go outside and spend time in the sun without the worry of any freckles coming out. The invention was allegedly pretty popular in Florida, aka The Sunshine State. 

There’s no evidence the dimple maker ever worked

The fact people are obsessed with dimples is nothing new. However, not all of us would go as far as women using odd beauty inventions like the dimple maker that was popular in the 1930s. Isabella Gilbert was behind the torturous-looking device. Apparently, women were advised to wear it for five minutes at a time two or three times a day. From there, the spikes on either side would dig into their cheeks as they laughed and smiled in the mirror. It didn’t give anyone dimples.

The suction machine promised to help with several beauty worries

Not many of us take beauty advice from the sports therapy room. That was until the suction machine took over. Much like today’s modern cupping, the idea was to use suction cups to bring blood to the surface of the skin and use its healing power. Women used the suction machine to try and cure all kinds of issues, such as acne, uneven complexions, and wrinkle. 

Freckle freezing was a popular method in the 1930s

Although freckles are all the rage in 2022, there was once a time when women seemingly did anything they could to get them gone - including using some odd beauty inventions. In the 1930s, Dr. Matarasso’s invention took the world by storm as the freckle freezer promised to rid people of those pesky freckles once and for all. The machine used dry ice - which gets down to temperatures of around -109 Fahrenheit - to freeze each freckle for three seconds each. Don’t worry; women were given eye covers and a breathing tube, so they didn’t inhale the carbon dioxide.

It seems going to extreme lengths in the name of fashion and style is nothing new. In fact, the odd beauty inventions women once used appear to suggest some will do anything so long as it means they keep up with the trends.