JMME
Window to the West
Grain Growers' Guide → The Country Guide
Hygiene
As scientific research on disease and illness developed over the course of the early twentieth century, the importance of hygiene became widely acknowledged and marketed toward the general public. Many companies chose to capitalize on the popularity of hygiene, embedding both hygienic routines (such as brushing your teeth) and beauty regiments into daily routines.
1923
Many hygiene ads seemed to be directed at women.
It was a women’s job to keep the household clean, many were for cleaning products but there was a prevalent theme of hygiene and beauty. The overlap between the two demonstrates that cleanliness was a theme in beauty. Hygiene was in style, from fresh, white teeth to the clear skin shown in this advert.
1929
The 1920s as a whole were significant in increasing overall life expectancy and dental hygiene was seen as an essential aspect of overall good health.
This ad describes what could befall you if you do not use Forhan’s toothpaste. Through hyperbole the ad describes the consequences of what happens when your gums break down. Interestingly, this ad seems to target beauty rather than maintaining good health.
1930
Ads for Lysol and Listerine appear throughout the 1930’s in The Country Guide, and upon first viewing seem to challenge the unpleasant aroma of a woman’s body by referring to her hygiene.
“Feminine Hygiene” was actually a sort of code or euphemism for contraception. With massive unemployment and little money or food pregnancy was neither desired nor wise. These products were cheap, most homes had them, and an embarrassing and costly prescription from a doctor was not needed for a ‘Lysol douche’. They contained cresol, a phenol compoundreported in some cases to cause inflammation, burning, and even death, and commonly used to clean toilets and floors.
