Some people might be inclined to believe that only in the modern era have people been killing themselves over the pursuit of beauty. However, history is a good way to prove otherwise. From things like corsets to the lead-laced skin care products of the early 20th century, people have been slowly killing themselves in favor of beauty for centuries. This has primarily been the case because physical beauty and appearance have long been part of the complex mechanism that maintains one’s social and peer status, which in turn has become an influential factor in shaping the culture of a certain civilization. What might be the worst part of all this is that, up until very recently, cosmetics and skin care products have been known to contain various toxic and poisonous substances, including heavy metals like mercury and lead.
One doesn’t have to look only at the recent past for deadly skin care and cosmetics, however. The ancient past is filled with various deadly concoctions. Take ancient Egypt, for example. The ancient Egyptian culture was one that had an incredibly strong focus on cosmetics, to the point that an incident where masons and workers refused to work...