Ladies, think your beauty regime’s tough? Well, be glad you weren’t living in ‘30s and ‘40s because they had some crazy and bizarre beauty treatments.

'Freezing' freckles off with carbon dioxide was popular in the Thirties. While it was applied, patients eyes were covered with airtight plugs and their nostrils filled in for protection. They had to breathe through a tube.

Posted on The Daily Mail, the images below show some of the most terrifying and outrageous contraptions used by women to achieve physical perfection.

This Max Factor face pack was studded with plastic 'ice' cubes which could be filled with water before the mask was popped in the freezer. Hangover Heaven was popular with party-going Forties Hollywood stars.

Promising spot-free, smooth skin, this Thirties suction machine consisted of tiny glass nozzles attached to a rubber hose and wired up to a vacuum pump. The suction did the rest.

'Slenderising salons' in the Forties had all manner of weight-loss treatments, from full-body wraps to chairs which massaged your legs with metal rollers.

Thanks to the in-built beak, these sunglasses, designed in the Thirties, helped the wearer avoid getting their nose sunburned.

Before there was the Power Plate, there was the Vibro-Slim. The Twenties weight-loss contraption would vibrate, stimulating muscle contraction and, in theory, burn up the calories.


The Thirties equivalent of a rowing machine: two bandages (one for the feet and one for the neck) joined by a metal spring.


Dimples 'to order' while you sleep! Designed in 1936, it consisted of a spring, worn round the jaw, with two tiny knobs which pressed into the cheeks.

The Forties Glamour Bonnet promised a rosy complexion by lowering atmospheric pressure around the head, mimicking the effect of a brisk walk in the mountains.


Launched in July 1940, this spooky headdress could be plugged in and switched on to heat the face and head, the aim being to stimulate circulation, leaving skin looking fresh.

To get the tightly curled style of the day, pre-war women would spend hours having each section of hair individually set with the help of contraptions made of dozens of heating tongs.

Before sun cream, bathers found other means of covering up. In the Forties, the Freckleproof Cape offered protection from the sun, plus built-in sunglasses.

Source: Daily Mail