Throughout history, beauty standards have been anything but predictable! From bizarre body modifications to odd fashion statements, this video takes you through history’s strangest beauty trends—some of which still raise eyebrows today. How did Victorians wear piercing accessories that were anything but conventional? What were “power brows” in Ancient Greece? Find out the oddities that defined beauty in the past and see how modern trends still reflect the weird ways we express beauty.
Beauty trends have often been strange, even outlandish. In Victorian England, the Prince Albert piercing became fashionable as a way to wear tight pants comfortably, while Ancient Greek women adorned themselves with bold unibrows to signal intelligence and purity. And it didn’t stop there—17th-century fashion favored showing off cleavage, and in Japan, blackened teeth were once considered a symbol of beauty. From foot-binding to painting legs with gravy to imitate nylon, beauty standards of the past were anything but ordinary. Even during the Renaissance, women plucked their hairlines to achieve a more “desirable” large forehead! While these trends may seem out of place today, they represent the ever-evolving perceptions of beauty through the ages, influenced by culture, class, and fashion. So buckle up for a wild ride through some of history’s weirdest beauty practices that still challenge our ideas of attractiveness.
Watch the strangest beauty trends below:
