The Perils of Poisonous Beauty

This was legal… and people died doing it. In medieval Europe, people deliberately

swallowed actual poison to look more attractive. Not criminals. Not soldiers.

Normal people — on purpose. They used arsenic, mercury, and toxic compounds

in tiny daily doses, believing it would give them pale skin, shiny eyes, and a “healthy glow.”

And at first, it worked. Until their hair fell out. Their organs failed.

Their teeth turned black. Doctors warned them to stop, but society didn’t.

Beauty mattered more than survival. This wasn’t an accident. It was fashion. And when deaths

piled up, the trend didn’t end because people learned. It ended because