New Beauty Exhibit Which Tells the History of the Health and Beauty Industry

Elixers, potions, blushes, and waxes are just a few of the items that you might have found on the vanity table throughout history; a new beauty exhibit takes a look at things just like these that people have bought and used to stay beautiful. The Center for History in South Bend, Indiana, has put together an exhibit that examines the lengths to which people will go to reach perfection, and according to the South Bend Tribune, the show features everything from beauty advertisements to health and beauty contraptions that look like torture devices.

Gizmos and Gadgets Galore

The beauty exhibit is called "Gizmos, Corsets & Concoctions: Our Obsession with Health & Beauty." It features items like 19th and 20th century ads for beauty items, contraptions such as a permanent styling wave machine that the news article calls Medusa-like in appearance. It also displays a replication of a doctor's office complete with elixirs and gadgets. All these items were designed for one thing--to sell beauty.

One of the points of the beauty exhibit is to show the lengths to which people will go to be lovely, including ingesting some pretty deadly items. While recent reports of lead in lipstick highlight this ongoing trend, it certainly isn't the first. An example from the show at the Center for History includes powders that contained lead and toothbrushes laced with mercury, and according to the center's website, some of the items such as corsets show just how uncomfortable people were willing to be in the pursuit of beauty.