Hygiene practices from another era, far from being clean

Back in the early 1900s, the search for new beauty techniques sometimes led to some wild outcomes. One of the weirdest was using X-rays to zap away unwanted hair. It seemed like a quick and modern fix at the time, and plenty of folks were happy to park themselves in front of radiation machines for a few minutes to get smooth skin.

Unfortunately, nobody realized just how risky it was. People later suffered from burns, ulcers, and even cancer caused by the radiation. It’s a harsh reminder that not all beauty innovations age well—and makes you wonder what our current trends might look like to future generations.