Light, White, Pale Skin - And How To Get It

Nowadays it's considered desirable to have a tan -- in fact, it's even considered somewhat politically incorrect to say anything otherwise! Nowadays the term "skin lightening" is associated with disasters of Michael Jackson proportions, and is perceived as something only used by ethnic folks who want to look more "white."

Things were different in the Edwardian era. Even white people wanted to be whiter: tans and freckles were considered most undesirable. There was no sunscreen to speak of: wide hats or heavy applications of face powder were the only forms of sun protection available.

For the sake of removing troublesome tans and freckles, once acquired, various beauty recipes were devised to aid in the attainment of a fair, smooth complexion. Old time beauty treatments have something of a reputation for being made from poisonous mixtures of lead and mercury, but actually by the Edwardian era the ladies were pretty chemical savvy and generally knew to avoid certain ingredients. For the most part, the recommended skin lightening recipes used back then would even pass muster today. Here are a few:

EAU DES BAYADÈRES.
Oil of bergamot -- 12 grammes
Oil of citron -- 5 grammes
Oil of Portugal -- 5 grammes
Oil of neroli -- 3 grammes
Oil of petitgrain -- 3 grammes
Oil of rosemary -- 1 1/2 grammes
Otto of roses -- 2 drops
Balsam of Peru -- 3 drachms
Spirits of wine (rectified) -- 1 quart

Infuse for two to three weeks; then filter. Fifteen to twenty drops in a quarter-glass of warm water makes a most delightful lotion. Dilute it with four parts of rosewater, to fill an atomizer, as the body is sprayed while still wet from the bath. It is said to whiten the skin, make freckles grow dim, and to stimulate the functions of the skin so much as to heighten the color.

ELDER-FLOWER CREAM.
Almond-oil -- 3 ounces
White wax -- 5 drachms
Jojoba wax -- 5 drachms
Lanoline -- 1 ounce
Oil of bitter almonds -- 1 drachm
Elder-flower water -- 3 ounces
Witch hazel -- 1 ounce

CUCUMBER CREAM.
Almond-oil -- 4 ounces
Jojoba wax -- 1 ounce
White wax -- 1 ounce
Cucumber juice -- 2 ounces

Select cucumbers ripe enough for table use; cut and chop them fine; pound to a paste; and extract the juice by squeezing through a jelly-bag. Perfume with a halfdrachm of violet extract. Lettuce and iris creams, made in the same way, are claimed to possess special efficacy in healing a tanned and wind-irritated skin. The lettuce must be scalded with boiling water; let stand a few moments, then pour the water off, and pound the lettuce to a paste in a mortar or an earthen bowl; strain through a cloth. For the iris, extract the juice from the fresh flowers and the whitish parts of their stems, and obtain enough from the deep purple flower-petals to tint the cream violet color. The violet perfume is suited to both of these. (Note that jojoba wax is here replacing the spermaceti from the original recipes.)

All the above recipes, and more, can be found from the Fair of Flesh Skin Whitening and Lightening Recipes Site, which posts historical skin bleaching recipes for use.