Historian Dr. Lacey Bonar Hull, who focuses on the Medieval period, recently posted a series delving into the “unhinged” beauty secrets of the Middle Ages. In particular, she explores how women achieved the extremely high foreheads you see in so many portraits from the period. Turns out, there’s more than one way to skin a cat…and your hairline. 

“High foreheads were famously fashionable in the medieval period,” wrote Dr. Hull, “and women came up with creative ways to achieve them.” 

Medieval hair removal

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Women in the Italian city of Salerno, for instance, would mix a chemical called quicklime (aka calcium oxide) with boiling water. You’d know the tincture was ready to use when you’d dip a bird’s wing into it and the feathers fell off. She did not specify whether the bird........

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