Who invented false eyelashes?

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.

Who invented false eyelashes?

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. The false claim is accompanied by an image of contemporary French actress Alice Regnault.

Regnault didn't invent false eyelashes and wasn't a prostitute. Another viral image shows a screenshot of a Google search for “long eyelashes” (1882), which generates results that promoted the false claim. The search results appear to come from the meme website Americas Best Pics and Videos, where the meme was shared in late January. USA TODAY contacted several Instagram and Facebook users who published the statement.

Throughout history, societies have coveted long eyelashes and people have tried many techniques to meet these beauty standards. According to Marie Claire magazine, women and men in ancient Egypt darkened their eyelashes with kohl and ointments to protect their eyes from the desert sun. Women in ancient Rome followed similar practices, believing that long eyelashes indicated virtue. The first cosmetic mask was invented in the Victorian era by Queen Victoria's perfumer, Eugene Rimmel.

Griffith was falsely attributed to the invention, after he ordered a hairdresser to use his hair to beautify the eyes of silent film actress Seena Owen during the production of the 1916 film “Intolerance”. USA TODAY couldn't find any record of Gerda Puridle or any prostitute wearing false eyelashes for the purpose stated in the meme. Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free application or electronic replicas of newspapers here.

Our data verification work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook. 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 application methods strange enough to give even lovers of goose bumps most bitter 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 together with the eyebrows to show the 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. He falsely claimed that excessive sex caused women's eyelashes to fall out, causing women to strive to keep their eyelashes long to demonstrate their chastity.

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. CEO & and founder of Sugarlash PRO, Courtney Buhler, told Bustle that it's important to invest in false eyelashes to make sure they're done right. Nowadays, people who wear false eyelashes are not trying to put on a great show, but rather to enhance their own beauty. At the beginning of the 20th century, false eyelashes were marketed as protection against glare from electric lights and gradually came back into fashion.

You may have heard a rumor on the Internet that false eyelashes were invented in the 1880s by a sex worker to protect her eyes from body fluids often encountered by people in her occupation, but while it's true that false eyelashes were introduced in 1882, they had nothing to do with it. with sex work. In the 1950s, false eyelashes reappeared in the public eye when Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe began using false eyelashes on a daily basis. Marion Davies, one of Hollywood's most popular actresses, wore false eyelashes and became known as the “queen of eyelashes”.

There is no evidence to support the story that a 19th-century London prostitute invented false eyelashes. At that time, false eyelashes were the subject of considerable reaction from men, who considered them little more than a disguise. False eyelashes date back to the ancient Romans, when a Roman author, Gaius Pliny Secundus, known by the name of Pliny the Elder, linked shortened eyelashes to a woman's chastity. .

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Jennie Heacock
Jennie Heacock

Unapologetic travel buff. Extreme travel junkie. Devoted zombie lover. Professional internet guru. Total coffee nerd. Certified social media guru.