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Fashion serves as a dynamic medium for personal expression, continually evolving and exploring new avenues. While this creativity often leads to exciting trends, some paths venture into bizarre and hazardous territories. Over the years, numerous questionable styles have emerged, many of which are puzzling yet harmless. However, a select few have posed serious risks, particularly in Western societies where such trends are predominantly targeted at women.
From toxic substances to radiation exposure and even bone-altering procedures, women have faced perilous practices to conform to ever-changing beauty ideals. Below, we explore ten of the most hazardous fashion trends that women have, astonishingly, embraced.
10. Lead, Arsenic, and Mercury—A Toxic Trio
While we’ve highlighted these three notorious elements, the list could extend to include turpentine, formaldehyde, phthalates, parabens, and others. Throughout history, beauty products have frequently contained lethal chemicals. For centuries, women have unknowingly endangered their health in the pursuit of beauty, a testament to the extreme lengths taken in the name of fashion.
The examples are too numerous to list. Among them are:
- Arsenic pads, which were used to whiten the skin by destroying red blood cells beneath the surface.
- Lead powder, a key ingredient for achieving the iconic white complexion of the Baroque era.
- Scheele’s green, a vivid green dye containing arsenic that led to cancer with prolonged exposure.
- Mercury-treated hats, responsible for neurological damage and the origin of the phrase 'mad as a hatter.'
9. Neck Rings
Neck rings have appeared independently in various cultures across Africa and Asia. This practice involves placing metal rings around a young girl’s neck and adding more as she grows or tightening the existing ones to eliminate gaps. While the goal is to create the illusion of a longer neck, enhancing perceived beauty, the neck itself does not actually stretch.
In truth, the weight and tight arrangement of the rings compress the clavicle and ribs, deforming them unnaturally. This distortion can lead to severe health complications, such as circulation problems and clotting due to displaced bones pressing on soft tissues. In some cultures, girls who delay starting the process until their preteen years must wear additional rings to catch up, accelerating bone deformation and increasing both discomfort and health risks.
8. DIY Piercings
Despite piercings being deliberate puncture wounds—something that should prompt anyone to seek professional help—many attempt to pierce themselves at home. The rise of DIY piercing kits available online has made this risky option even more appealing to budget-conscious individuals.
Performing piercings at home comes with numerous risks, with infection being the most prevalent. Professional piercing studios adhere to strict hygiene standards to minimize infection risks, something no home environment can guarantee. Professionals use gloves, sterilize their tools and workspace, clean the piercing area thoroughly, and undergo training to ensure precision. At home, the lack of training and sterile conditions can lead to infections or even disease transmission if done incorrectly.
7. Tho-Radia
During the 1920s and 1930s, radioactive products became a fashion sensation. With the recent discovery of radioactive elements, the general public, unaware of their dangers, saw them as novel materials brimming with energy. This fascination sparked a trend, and soon thorium and radium were incorporated into various consumer products.
One such cosmetic line, named Tho-Radia, included thorium and radium in its formulations. The product range featured face creams, lipsticks, soaps, and even beverages, all promoted as miracle solutions capable of curing ailments from joint pain to wrinkles. Unfortunately, these products failed to deliver on their promises, and instead, an entire generation of women experienced a dramatic increase in cancer rates.
6. High Heels
While high heels may not pose the same immediate risks as other items on this list, their long-term effects are far more widespread and damaging. Some historical high heels, significantly taller than today’s versions, were particularly hazardous.
Frequent use of high heels, even modern ones, alters the Achilles tendon and calf muscles to accommodate the unnatural foot angle. This places strain on the knees, hips, and back, leading to osteoarthritis, stress fractures, and other issues. Historical styles, like 18th-century chopines, were even more extreme, resembling bizarre, towering structures with foot straps.
5. Corsets
Corsets have been in use for centuries, despite their harmful effects. The concept is straightforward: a fabric frame is tightly wrapped around the torso to slim the waist, while also lifting the bust and accentuating the hips. While effective for shaping the body, corsets exert prolonged pressure on the torso, leading to organ deformation and damage.
Corsets have been documented to distort the bowels, causing severe blockages; compress the lungs, increasing susceptibility to infections; and even cause death. Historical records include instances of corset-related fatalities, such as slow suffocation or, as in the tragic case of Mary Halliday, fatal internal injuries where the corset pierced the heart.
4. Crinoline
The hoop skirt, a defining fashion trend of the Victorian era, achieved its voluminous shape with the help of crinoline cages. While these skirts created the iconic silhouette of the time, they also proved deadly, claiming the lives of thousands of women.
Crinoline posed two major risks. First, it was highly flammable. Second, the exaggerated width of the skirts made them difficult to maneuver, often catching fire or becoming entangled in machinery or wagon wheels. Estimates vary, but thousands of women died due to accidents involving these hazardous garments.
3. Rib Removal
It’s astonishing to think that people have willingly removed bones in pursuit of beauty, and even more surprising that this practice continues today. Currently, individuals are opting to remove two, four, or even six ribs to achieve an unnaturally slender waist. Many are inspired by the exaggerated proportions of Barbie or animated characters.
Achieving this extreme silhouette requires invasive surgery, which carries significant risks such as infection and internal bleeding. Most medical professionals reserve such procedures as a last resort. Additionally, removing ribs compromises the protective framework for vital organs, increasing the likelihood of severe injuries, including collapsed lungs.
2. Heroin Chic
For centuries, thinness has been a dominant ideal in fashion across cultures. Many women are familiar with the relentless pursuit of an ever-changing beauty standard. The 1990s took this obsession to a darker extreme with the rise of ‘heroin chic,’ a trend that glamorized an emaciated, unhealthy appearance.
Heroin chic, as the name suggests, glamorized the appearance associated with heroin use, particularly the extreme thinness and unhealthy traits like dark under-eye circles and pale skin. The trend’s imagery often featured models in dazed, somber poses, leaning against walls or lying in alleys. The movement reached a grim peak when Davide Sorrenti, a prominent photographer of the style, died from heroin-related causes.
1. Foot Binding
Foot binding was a traditional Chinese practice where the bones of young girls’ feet were broken and tightly wrapped to reshape them into a smaller, more pointed form. The process involved breaking each toe and folding them under the foot, followed by fracturing the arch and binding it into the desired shape.
During the procedure, toenails often grew inward, leading to infections and sometimes causing toes to fall off. Shockingly, this was seen as advantageous, as it allowed the feet to be bound even tighter. Despite its brutality, foot binding persisted for nearly 1,000 years, and by the 1800s, it had become widespread, leaving most Chinese women with permanently disfigured feet.
