Life was about beauty.
Or rather, it was about obtaining status in marriage. In order to garner the attention of a gentleman, one must be lovely and fair. Therefore, a lady’s toilette held many a hushed secret to “natural” beauty.
Though some treatments proved fruitless (and even toxic), Victorian ladies found a myriad of recipes with nourishing properties such as. . .
Bathe in water-infused olive oil
Renowned for her divine beauty, Empress Sissi scheduled her life around beauty regimes. Marshmallow root for facials. Beeswax for moisturizer. And olive oil for her bathing treatments.
Cleanse your face with white wine
Full of antioxidants and vitamins, Victorians rinsed with white wine. Doing so absolved the skin of toxins and left the skin feeling tight.
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Inspire hair shine with rosemary
Victorians washed more often according to wealth. Though it is not encouraged to abstain from regular hygiene, washing your hair too often can bring more damage than good. Some ladies waited a week before seeing to their hair.
To combat natural oils and dandruff, they massaged their scalp with part egg yolk and rosemary which would bring about nutrients and a shine.
Apply castor oil to eyelids
Stall wrinkles and crows feet by gently rubbing castor oil across the eyelid. The liquid is also known to fortify and grow longer lashes.
Which Victorian beauty treatment shall you try?
Victorian Trading Co. | Official Blog 
I hadn’t heard about using white wine on your face. Sounds interesting. Surely, these beauty treatments beat using ammonia, opium or mercury! Another great blog post!
Thank you ever so much, Cindy!
Oh mercy!!!!! I don’t think I will be trying any of them! -smile-
Lovely illustrations, as always.
And interesting post, as always.
Thank you!!!!!
Luna Crone
Luna, how lovely to see you again. You message brought a smile and warmth to our heart. We’re tickled you enjoyed the post.
Oh i will they did know some things . I have used Castor oil and it does work for eyelashes and growing them and good with other oil combination for hair very healthy !!!!! And olive oil very good for skin and i use it and for long time as well as coconut oil and i am told i look young n not my age . And i love that but i feel its attitude an out look as well and more important and i will be 60 in April . And i will try n see how the wine works since its natural cant hurt to try!!!!
And i went to beauty college and washing your hair every day is not good ! Every other day is better but in between u can rinse and u conditioner . Another suggestion my grandfather did who was a barber hair stylist Many yrs with his own successful shop . He used Barber soap n never shampoo and had pretty silver hair not Grey course Hair and passed at 91 . God bless n thank u for our fun and interesting Blogs n stories i enjoy them so much and love your products n items .
White Wine is a “new” idea 2 me … had been using it for salad dressings, in vinagrette and for marinating chicken before roasting … this is an effort I shall try … perhaps … unless there is NO Vino remaining … most likely True ! ha.
Do let us know your thoughts should you test it!
Olive oil for deep hair conditioning just before washing- lightly apply, not to scalp,leave on at least 20 minutes. Olive oil also is a great moisturizer for hands/nails, face, feet-any dry area. Apply lightly, massage in.
How sweet of you to share, friend. Have you ever infused your bathe with olive oil as the Victorians did?
My grandmother recounted young farm women using, get ready…green cow manure to fade tan on their arms and hands! I suppose there is a chemical in digested grass capable of doing this, but never had the nerve, or desire, to try it growing up in an era when we worked at tanning!
Teddee Grace, we’re dreadfully tempted to hold our nose at the thought of it! Excrement. Imagine!
I’m going to try the white wine treatment, and DEFINITELY the castor oil treatment. Can anyone tell I’m desperate? I fear crepey skin!
Lovely, you needn’t any treatments for beauty. Only heart, dear friend.
Oh, the things women do to be beautiful! I have heard about using eggs in your hair before and I’m quite tempted to try this as I’m very proud of my long tresses. Ha, but I am surprised that using urine to whiten teeth didn’t make your list — though I think we can all agree that THAT beauty secret should stay as just that… a secret!
Let’s be honest though: A girl doesn’t really need to do anything to garner the attention of her true love, right? No beauty routine, no rare ingredients and no special treatment could ever make a woman more beautiful than she naturally is when she’s loved by the right man. Because the right man tells her she’s naturally beautiful without any help at all. And I think then, her smile does more for her face than any beauty regimen ever could. Better to wait for that guy than mess around with all the other stuff. 😊
There are a myriad of horrors within Victorian beauty treatments. However, there a rare few we recommend practicing today.
True, Wendy. It’s just as you said. A lady’s “smile does more for her face than any beauty regimen ever could.”
Rosemary is excellent for the hair. If you look at a lot of shampoos for hair to make it thicker or have more volume; you will notice rosemary as a prime ingredient. I use rosemary essential oil (make sure to dilute with almond, olive or some other carrier oil) as a scalp massage.
Marjorie, thank you ever so much for sharing your beauty regime with us. We’re ever so glad, friend, that you shared a part of your day here with us.
Oh, dear! I’ve never heard of some of these. I feel certain my heroine, who at 22 is “on the shelf,” will be “caught” implementing some of these treatments to hold her encroaching age at bay! Thank you for your lovely posts. It’s wonderful to have these little forays into life as it was.
Lovely! We do hope she stays with the more natural treatments. Arsenic pills prove quite toxic.
Another natural beauty treatment is Royal Jelly produced by honey bees. I find bees amazing for many reasons – their pollination is crucial, honey production, etc. Is it true mankind couldn’t exist without bees? Anyway, I purchase the royal jelly in capsules (all natural) as I don’t know how else to acquire it in nature, and it has helped my complexion, insomnia and moods. Royal Jelly also helps boost your immune system and gives you energy! By the way, I am also head over heels, crazy in love with the most wonderful, honorable gentleman, and it is true, being in love brings natural beauty from within.
Excellent suggestion, Vicki. Thank you for sharing your beauty regime.
I have been using a combination of castor oil with sweet almond oil as a facial cleanser for the past 2 years. If I use moisturizers my face breaks out but when I wash with any sort of cleansers it dries out too much. the oils clean (however counter-intuitive that sounds) it but still leave my skin soft,
‘Tis fascinating how the Victorians identified natural recipes which worked wonders. However, also partook in dangerous practices such as arsenic pills.
Manuka honey makes a wonderful facial mask. It is also beneficial to ingest daily to reduce inflammation in the body. Nature’s products are our best medicine inside and out.