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Eat the Dead: When Europe Swallowed Mummies for Health and Beauty
For more than three hundred years, the most fashionable medicine in Europe was other people. Kings drank tinctures of human skulls, apothecaries sold powdered Egyptian mummy by the ounce, and painters ground the dead into a colour. It was sold as the secret to vitality, youth and health — and it may all have started with a mistranslation.
This is the story of corpse medicine and the counterfeit-mummy trade.
Mad as a Hatter: Mercury, Skin-Lightening, and a Poison That Never Left
Let's start with a phrase you've said a hundred times without thinking about it: "mad as a hatter."
It isn't just a bit of whimsy from Alice in Wonderland. For centuries, hat-makers used mercury to turn animal fur into felt — and breathing its fumes, day after day, in poorly-ventilated workshops slowly poisoned them. The result was a syndrome doctors called erethism: tremors (the "hatter's shakes"), crippling anxiety and irritability, memory loss, personality change. An entire trade was, quite literally, being driven mad by a heavy metal. Mercury is a spectacular poison — it wrecks the kidneys and the nervous system — and we have known this for a very, very long time.
Which makes what I'm about to tell you all the more depressing. Because mercury didn't just disappear when the hat factories shut down. Today, it's in skin-lightening creams — and it's still poisoning people, right now, in 2026.
The Girls Who Glowed: The Radium Beauty Craze and the Women It Killed
A century ago, "radiant" wasn't a metaphor. Radium was in face creams, tonics and toothpaste, sold as the secret to glowing, youthful skin — while, in factories nearby, young women who painted it onto watch dials were quietly dying of it. This is the story of the glow, the girls, and the reckoning that changed how we protect people from the things we sell them.
The Curves That Killed: Silicone, Showgirls & the Price of Beauty
Before regulated fillers, before BBLs, before any of it, women were injecting industrial silicone into their bodies at secret "pumping parties." It's one of the darkest chapters in the history of my field — and, uncomfortably, one of the most human. This is the story of how it happened, who it harmed, and why it never really went away.
The Resurrection Men: How Body Snatchers Built the Foundation of Modern Surgery
In the gaslit churchyards of 18th- and 19th-century Britain, there worked a profession that doesn't make it onto many career-day posters: the resurrection men. Grave robbers, body snatchers, "sack-'em-up men" — whatever you called them, their job was to dig up the very freshly buried and sell them, by night, to the anatomy schools.
It's a properly macabre story. It's also, uncomfortably, one of the reasons I can do my job safely. Bear with me.
The Chamber of Horrors: When Cosmetics Really Were Dangerous
In 1933, a shocking exhibit toured America, displaying products that had blinded women, caused permanent hair loss, and even killed unsuspecting consumers. The "American Chamber of Horrors," as it came to be known, featured genuinely toxic cosmetic products, that contrast sharply with how remarkably safe modern products actually are.
Yet somehow, in our era cosmetic safety and regulation, we've developed an irrational fear of "chemicals" and "toxins" in beauty products. The irony is striking: we've never been safer from cosmetic harm, yet we've never been more frightened of our makeup bags.
Let's explore how the real horrors of unregulated cosmetics led to the robust safety framework we have today - and why most modern "clean beauty" fears fundamentally misunderstand how cosmetic regulation actually works.
The Dark Origins of Retin-A: How Prison Experiments Led to Modern Anti-Ageing Treatment
Some of the most groundbreaking discoveries in medicine happen completely by accident. From penicillin to X-rays, chance has shaped modern healthcare in ways we could never have planned. But perhaps no accidental discovery has had quite the same impact on dermatology and aesthetics as the revelation that a powerful acne treatment could turn back the clock on ageing skin.
Let explore the story of how tretinoin - also known as Retin-A - went from being a treatment for severe acne to becoming the gold standard in anti-ageing skincare. Because, as we shall see, behind this revolutionary treatment lies one of dermatology's darkest chapters.
The Lipstick Law That Never Was: The Myth of Deceptive Beauty
In the colourful history of cosmetics, few stories have taken on such a life of their own as the so-called Lipstick Ban of 1770. Allegedly passed by the British Parliament, this infamous “act” decreed that any woman who used makeup to deceive a man into marriage could be tried for witchcraft, and that the marriage would be rendered null and void.
The Paraffin Pioneer: A 1904 Case of Facial Atrophy and the Birth of Cosmetic Fillers
Over a century ago, one fascinating case marked the dawn of cosmetic intervention as we know it today — and it involved paraffin wax.
In 1904, Dr. Benjamin T. Burley published a case report in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal detailing the use of paraffin injections to restore facial volume in a young woman suffering from bilateral facial atrophy.
This is more than just a curious footnote in the history of injectables — it’s a reminder of the human drive for aesthetic restoration, the early efforts to balance safety with innovation, and the long road we’ve walked from paraffin to the safe use of hyaluronic acid fillers today.
Cosmetics in the Ancient World
Discover the fascinating history of cosmetics in the ancient world, from the protective oils and dramatic kohl eyeliner of ancient Egypt to the henna artistry of India and the lead-based beauty trends of Greece and Rome.
Explore how these early beauty practices shaped cultural identity, social status, and spiritual rituals, laying the foundation for modern beauty standards.
Madam C.J. Walker
We all know I love a little bit of medical history - but I thought I would change it up a little in this article and focus on a pioneering woman in beauty history.
In the late 19th century, Sarah Breedlove—later known as Madam C.J. Walker—emerged as the first self-made female millionaire. The first child in her family born into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation, Sarah’s early years were steeped in adversity. Yet, from these humble beginnings, she rose to become an emblem of resilience, ingenuity, and empowerment for African American women across the nation.
The History of Lasers
Ever wondered how lasers went from a sci-fi fantasy to an everyday reality in medicine and beauty? Let's dive into an incredible journey from their theoretical beginnings to the cutting-edge technology we use today. Swipe through to uncover the fascinating story of lasers and how they’ve transformed the world of dermatology and beyond. It's time to shine a light on the past, present, and future of lasers.
The Original Facial Sculptor
In the depths of World War I's brutality, where the relentless fury of warfare left countless soldiers disfigured and shattered, one woman emerged as a the original facial sculptor.
Anna Coleman Ladd, an extraordinary artist, dedicated her life transforming the lives of countless soldiers. She created intricately detailed facial masks, allowing them to regain their identities and reclaim their place in society.
In this article, we delve into the inspiring tale of Anna Coleman Ladd, whose artistry sculpted not just faces but also a profound legacy of resilience and compassion.
The Guinea Pig Club
There are so many incredible stories in medical history, especially when it comes to plastic surgery and cosmetic medicine. As I’ve discussed previously, the origin of a lot of aesthetic medical techniques come from the horrific injuries sustained during the World Wars and the innovation and brilliance of the clinicians who tried to treat them.
One of my favourite stories is about the Guinea Pig Club.
Deadly Beauty: The History of Radiation in Cosmetic Medicine
Sometimes when we look back in the history of cosmetic medicine, we can appreciate how far we have really come. In the early 20th century amazing scientific discoveries were made - but how dangerous they could be was not always fully appreciated at the time. One classic example of this was the use of radiation in aesthetic medicine - a deadly beauty trend with mortal consequences.
A growing corner of the internet has decided that sunscreen — not the sun — is the real villain. As a doctor who spends a fair amount of her week looking at sun-damaged skin, I'd like to take that idea apart.
Here's what the actual science says about chemical filters, "hormone disruption," coral reefs, benzene and the rest — and the one thing the skeptics are genuinely, annoyingly, a little bit right about.