In 1911, a Canadian woman named Anna Taylor patented false eyelashes in the United States. Taylor's false eyelashes were designed with a strip of fabric in the shape of a half moon. The cloth had small pieces of hair placed over them. In 1911, a Canadian woman named Anna Taylor first patented artificial eyelashes, using a cloth half moon implanted with small hairs.
In 1915, Karl Nessler, a hairdresser known for his permanent waves, opened a hairdresser in New York and sold eyelash services, promoting false eyelashes in his salon as, according to the New York Times, “protection against the glare of electric lights”. He also hired showgirls to sell them and beat up customers. When you think about false eyelashes, what kind of look comes to mind? Is it the modern aesthetic of the bad guys that sexy celebrities love as much as influential people? Is the explosive 90s look inspired by Pamela Anderson recently renewed? Maybe it goes back even further: icons from the 50s with agitated lashes like Sophia Loren, or even flappers in the (original) Roaring '20s. As with most beauty inventions, the story of false eyelashes, including the reason false eyelashes were invented, is a legitimately crazy story with experimentation, pseudoscience and methods of application strange enough to give even goosebumps most ardent lovers of beauty.
The road to our modern counterfeits may have been chaotic, but learning about it will make you even more grateful for the rows and rows of easy-to-use eyelashes that line the shelves of every pharmacy in the United States. Get ready: it's time to delve into the history of false eyelashes. While eyelashes perform some biological function by acting as an early warning system, if debris, dust or other foreign agents get too close to the important eyeball, their cultural meaning is purely aesthetic. While they're not inherently feminine (everyone knows people of all genders with long, wide eyelashes), they're considered a feminine trait, although it's not quite clear why.
Some experts theorize that it has to do with the relationship between youth and what society considers standards of female beauty, while others speculate that long, dark eyelashes enhance the whites of the eyes to become a kind of indicator of health. However, the most accepted idea today is that long eyelashes simply make the eyes appear larger, and in most cultures, large eyes are among the most important factors of “female beauty” in general. So it makes sense that the recorded use of false eyelashes dates back to the Roman Empire. Eyelash enhancements, such as rudimentary mascara and even curling tools, also have a long history in ancient and Ptolemaic Egypt, but it was a Roman philosopher (the first influencers, actually) who perpetuated the idea that eyelashes fall out with age and sexual promiscuity; all of a sudden, it became very Important: Romans should have the longest and most lush eyelashes possible thanks to botanical ingredients, kohl and even minerals.
Eyelash trends came and went over the years (in medieval times, it was fashionable to tear them all out along with your eyebrows to show your forehead, which was considered the sexiest part of the body long before BBL), especially with reports of the application of real eyelash extensions that appeared in late 19th century Paris: although its version requires needles to implant synthetic hair directly into the skin. Although that horrible stitching was being done in 1899, it wasn't long before a different interpretation of false eyelashes appeared, and they look much more like modern false eyelashes. The first patent for false eyelashes was issued in 1911 to a Canadian woman, but five years later, it was an American film director named D, W. Griffith, who was looking for a more dramatic and exotic look for his protagonist.
Although the false eyelashes made by the production's wig manufacturer were effective, since they were made of human hair and chewing gum, they were irritating and rough. I can't imagine why. Perhaps the most important change occurred when production materials were changed to plastic in the 1950s. Synthetic fibers, no different from today's most popular styles, were easy to replicate and mass-produce, which in turn made fake use more regular and widespread.
Nowadays, you can choose false eyelashes made of plastics and other synthetic materials, as well as real animal hair such as mink. They're considered essential to large-scale glamour for everyone from celebrities to teenagers on graduation night. In 1911, a Canadian inventor named Anna Taylor patented artificial eyelashes. These artificial eyelashes are made of fine human hair, woven into a metal band and worn with a headband.
False eyelashes were first patented in 1911 by a Canadian woman named Anna Taylor. The product was a strip of cloth implanted with small hairs, to make them look like eyelashes. Four years later, hairdresser Karl Nessler began selling eyelash services in his salon. He said they were “a guard against the glare of electric lights”.
Of course, it's no stranger than the medieval tradition of plucking your eyelashes, which existed around the 15th century. There is no evidence to support the story that a 19th-century London prostitute invented false eyelashes. As the Middle Ages progressed, false eyelashes were used in competitive contests, where each woman tried to outperform the next with her makeup and eyelashes. Nowadays, false eyelashes are often part of many people's glamorous routines, and even if you've never used them before, you've definitely seen someone who.
By 1921, false eyelashes were popular among all types of actresses, some even saying that they helped prevent glare from electric lights (although personally I had never worn a pair so comfortable as to avoid glare on the ceiling, so I suspect that might have been just an excuse). The popularity of false eyelashes has continued to grow in popularity, and the creation of semi-permanent eyelash extensions has taken false eyelashes to a whole new level. False eyelashes were marketed in the article as a means for women to improve their appearance and enhance their beauty. Griffith reportedly wanted Owen's eyelashes to be “supernatural” and to practically “brush” his cheeks, so he ordered the hairdresser in the film to stick eyelashes made of human hair to Owen's own eyelids with chewing gum.
During the 1930s, Vogue gave them its stamp of approval with advertisements with more ingenious false eyelashes, some loaded with gold and platinum beads, Racked reported. There's no real explanation for this other than the fact that fads come and go, but the 1970s and 80s weren't important decades for false eyelashes. David Wark Griffith was an American filmmaker working on Intolerance when he realized that Owen's eyes could be accentuated by fuller, thicker eyelashes. In Ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder thought they were a symbol not only of youth but also of a chaste character, stating that eyelashes fell out due to excessive sex, so it was especially important for women to keep their eyelashes long to demonstrate their chastity.
The trend eventually went out of style, but in 1899 there are records that women had false eyelashes implanted in their eyelids with needles, according to Racked. . .
