Claim · 1890 · Arsenic slimming and complexion nostrums
Arsenic clears and whitens the complexion, removing blemishes and producing fresh, fair skin.
The complexion claim was the most heavily advertised use of the arsenic wafers and was the adjacent twin of the slimming claim: both promised an improved body from a small daily dose. It is mechanism_only and refuted. The pallor arsenic could produce was a sign of poisoning, not health, and chronic arsenic exposure causes the skin lesions (hyperkeratosis, pigmentation changes) and skin cancers documented in the modern toxicology (IARC Group 1). The substance damaged the skin it was sold to beautify.
Appears in
Sources
- The Arsenic Century: How Victorian Britain Was Poisoned at Home, Work, and Play — Whorton JC. The Arsenic Century: How Victorian Britain Was Poisoned at Home, Work, and Play. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2010. ISBN 978-0-19-957470-4.
- Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds (IARC Monographs Vol. 100C) — International Agency for Research on Cancer. Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Volume 100C. Lyon: IARC (World Health Organization); 2012. Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1).