The Toilet Mask

Image via [olddesignshop.com]

Patented in 1875, the rubber Toilet Mask, or Face Glove (which must have been a better sounding title, even back then), was a device designed for ladies to wear overnight, several nights during the week, and promised to do all kinds of wonderful things to the skin. The idea is that unbreathable rubber would cause the skin to sweat, thus opening the pores and relieving them of their toxic blockages. The rubber was also infused with magical ointments to treat and bleach the skin. As Madam Rowley herself put it: it encourages "perspiration with a view to soften and clarify the skin by relieving the pores and the superficial circulation" and then it applied “unguents or other medical preparations to the skin of the face for the palliation or cure of cutaneous eruptions, blotches, pimples or other similar complexional defects”.

Apparently these were a big hit back in the day and with endorsements made by many celebrities, society ladies, and belles. All I can say is: it puts the lotion in the basket.

More info [beautifulwithbrains.com]