From Ancient Rome to 1930s Hollywood, people have come up with some insane aesthetic remedies. Like pee.
Pee
In Ancient Rome, urine was often included as an ingredient in facial masks used by women, while it was also used by both men and women to whiten teeth.
(via)
Via: Hulton Archive / Getty Images
Man Sweat
This is nasty: Apparently gladiator sweat, along with the fats of the animals they killed, was collected and sold at the arenas. The ingredients were thought to make complexions glow. (However if Ancient Rome is anything like today, what do you bet these offerings were...shall we say...doctored?)
(via)
Via: Hulton Archive / Getty Images
Lead
During the Elizabethan era, ladies followed after Queen Elizabeth I and her "Mask of Youth" which included white lead as an ingredient. While the result might have been a paler, lighter complexion, the mixture was pure poison.
(via)
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Crazy-Ass Wigs
A must if you were a member of the French aristocracy in the 18th century? An insanely elaborate wig, which would have weighed a ton.
Via: Hulton Archive / Getty Images