Weird Beauty Tips You’d Get During The Middle Ages

Want to know what it took to look your best in medieval times? It might shock you to learn that past beauty regimens involved some downright disgusting practices, such as coating yourself in pig’s fat and using mouse fur! 

In times gone by, women had a unique set of beauty rituals that they followed in order to achieve a simple, “plain” and “empty” face. According to For Appearance’s Sake: The Historical Encyclopedia of Good Looks by Victoria Sherrow, ladies in the medieval period would often pin their hair back as far as it could go to achieve this look. 

Ah the good old days, when sometimes a woman needed to take drastic measures just to enjoy a smooth and hair-free forehead. No, we’re not talking about a trip to the salon; we’re talking about tweezing! 

Do you want to make your face look bigger? Then why just pluck your forehead when you can take it a step further? In the 15th century, women believed that removing their eyebrows gave them a look of purity. 

Say goodbye to the days of thin, sparse brows! And no more waiting for them to grow back if you changed your mind. False brows were the perfect solution for achieving full defined eyebrows. All you needed was some mouse or rat fur and you were good to go. 

Beauty regimens have come a long way since the Middle Ages. In those days, advice was limited, but the Trotula was a collection of tips and tricks that could help women achieve a more beautiful appearance. 

Want to achieve hair that is golden and shimmers? Look no further! The Trotula has the perfect solution for you. To create a special cleanser to wash your hair, you’ll need to burn some vines, mix their ash with barley chaff, licorice and sowbread. 

Have you been wishing for a dark head of hair, just like the people of the Middle Ages? You don’t need to travel back in time, because now you can get your dream hair from the comfort of your own home, just like in the past! 

Want to give your hair a darker shade without using chemical dyes? The answer might be closer than you think! With just some common nuts and roots, you can make a natural dye that will give your hair a darker hue.

The Middle Ages were a time when having clear, pale skin was in vogue, unlike today where many favour the bronzed look. Individuals back then did the inverse of fake tanning and attempted to lighten their skin.

In the Middle Ages, some women were determined to achieve the perfect pale complexion. While their skin could only get so light, they took it one step further by powdering their arms white and drawing blue veins on them. 

In medieval times, having blonde hair was also a sign of beauty and highly sought. Many ladies of the era wanted to emulate the angelic look with golden locks, so they turned to various techniques to achieve this. 

Have you ever wondered how to keep your hair light and blonde? In the past, people believed opals could do the trick! Women of the era would wear necklaces made with opals, believing that the gemstone had the magical power to keep their hair light. 

Tired of dealing with an itchy, flaky scalp? Believe it or not, people were just as worried about dandruff in medieval times as we are today. To help ease the symptoms, they concocted their own treatments. 

Archaeologists have made a remarkable discovery – evidence of an ancient remedy for dandruff! In 2018, a human skeleton was discovered on Spain’s Balearic Islands, showing signs of a centuries-old tea made with fern leaves that was used to treat not only dandruff but also kidney stones and alopecia. 

Revive your hair to its former glory with a secret from the Middle Ages! Yes, you heard it right – onion juice! This age-old remedy was used to maintain healthy hair centuries ago and it is still as effective today. 

Looking to lighten your hair without harsh chemicals? Believe it or not, onions can be used to create a beautiful blonde hue! All you need to do is combine the onion skin with saffron and sheep pee!

Acne has been a problem for many people throughout history – even those depicted with blemish-free complexions in those old paintings! While it may seem like a modern-day issue, it has been around for much longer. People of the past suffered with acne just as much as we do today, if not more so. 

Treating acne has been a challenge for many people for centuries. But our ancestors had a unique way of dealing with the skin condition – curdled milk! This remedy has been around since the Middle Ages and was used in ancient Egypt. 

Back in the days of medieval Europe, having well-formed legs was a source of admiration for men. If their calves weren’t quite up to the mark, some wealthy individuals decided to take matters into their own hands. They opted to wear padded stockings to fill out their legs and make them appear more shapely. 

Henry VIII was a sight to behold! A diplomat from Venice named Pasqualigo, who had the pleasure of setting his eyes on the king, wrote glowingly of the king’s stature and complexion. 

Are you looking for an easy way to achieve a perfect pale complexion? Look no further! According to medieval Trotula medical texts, you can get the skin of your dreams with just a few simple ingredients. 

Are you looking for an additional way to get clear, white skin? Look no further! You can achieve this with a simple lily root bath too. All you have to do is grind some lily root and add it to your vinegary eggs. Then apply the mixture to your face before taking a bath. 

In the past, wearing makeup was seen as an act of deception and could lead to punishment by the law. Women were often subjected to violence and even humiliation for daring to enhance their natural beauty this way. 

In the past, certain paler shades were associated with the concept of purity. However, this didn’t stop some women from finding creative solutions to add some much needed color to their faces. 

Do wrinkles make you feel down? Have you been searching for an effective remedy? Look no further than the ancient beauty secrets of the Middle Ages! The Trotula was an ancient beauty guide that suggested using a “stinking iris” plant as a way to reduce wrinkles. 

According to the Trotula ‘bible’, after using the stinking iris plant on the skin as prescribed, the skin would then erupt. After this occurred, the cream made from the root of a lily would be applied, and finally the face would be exfoliated. 

In the past, blemishes on the skin such as moles, birthmarks and freckles were viewed as a sign of evil. Women with these features were accused of being witches, so it was important to hide them. 

Fed up of having to cover up your freckles? Need a quick and easy fix? Look no further! While cucumber juice was believed to be an effective solution for freckles, if you were game and looking for something a little different, a mixture of boiled oats and vinegar, or the blood of a hare or bull also did the trick.

As we look back to the Middle Ages, it’s easy to assume that hygiene wasn’t a priority. Surprisingly, people of the time had their own ways of staying clean. Believe it or not, soap was one of them! 

Did you know that Castile soap has a medieval origin? In the Middle Ages, soap was made from a combination of ash and fat from cows or sheep, making it far from fragrant. 

In the Middle Ages, women of a higher social class were expected to keep their hair hidden under veils. Although it was not seen, it was still important for their hair to smell good. 

In the Middle Ages, good hygiene standards may not have been up to modern-day standards, but people still found ways to keep their breath smelling fresh. One such solution was to grind the end of myrtle berries into wine and consume it. 

Hair loss was a big issue even centuries ago! In the Medieval era, people created a range of treatments to counter this problem, with many involving the use of wine. Yes, you read that right! 

Are you looking for natural remedies to improve the health of your hair? Look no further! Try combining wine with aloe vera, white maidenhair fern, or walnuts to make a tonic for your hair. 

It was no easy task to look your best in the Middle Ages – the makeup of the era was not only challenging to acquire, but also potentially dangerous. From lead to mercury and a variety of acids, some of the components in medieval cosmetics were toxic, and users risked becoming ill or deformed from their use. 

The dangers ancient makeup posed however could also be weaponized, and Aqua Toffana was the ultimate weapon of its time. Women in the mid-17th century would sometimes knowingly apply this toxic make up to their faces, so their husbands would ingest the deadly poison when they kissed. 

We’re all familiar with those greasy drippings from cooking pork. It’s certainly not something you’d want smeared on your face… or is it? Believe it or not, some people in the Middle Ages thought that pork fat was the perfect ingredient for a beauty treatment! 

If you’re grossed out at the thought of applying this hog grease to your skin, the good news is that this ointment used to be somewhat diluted by the addition of flowers and water. 

Are you struggling to get rid of those pesky lice? If so, you’re not alone. People in the Middle Ages had their own unique methods to tackle the problem. First, they’d try to remove the lice using a comb with very narrow gaps between its teeth. 

In the olden days, when lice infestations were a common problem, people had to resort to some creative solutions. One of the remedies was to mix hog grease with juice extracted from a broomrape plant.