#Radium girls photos full#

When the first radioactive consumer products were launched, in the early 1900s, radioactivity was a brand new field of science.

#Radium girls photos full#

It’s full range of products all purported to unleash the benefits of radioactivity, including lipstick and facial powder, as well as ointments, soap, suppositories, razor blades, energy drinks and even condoms. The creams didn’t work as advertised but that didn’t stop Tho-Radia cosmetics from becoming popular. But there really wasn’t any science to show that it was true.” Soon after its discovery, radioactive beauty products were hitting the shelves. “There were implications that the energy would help your teeth if they put it in toothpaste and give you a glowing expression if they put it in facial cream. Jorgensen, an associate professor of radiation medicine at Georgetown University, in a phone interview. “Before people started to fear radioactivity, all they seemed to know about it was that it contained energy,” said Timothy J. This mysterious new form of energy, discovered by French physicist Henri Becquerel in 1896, had become imbued with mythical powers. Today, no one would intentionally smear radioactive materials on their face, but in 1933, the dangers of radioactivity were not yet fully understood. It was part of a line of cosmetics called Tho-Radia – after thorium and radium, the radioactive elements it contained. Billed as a “scientific beauty product,” it promised to improve circulation, firm muscle tissue, reduce fat and smooth wrinkles. A miracle cream was launched in Paris in 1933.