Following a Victorian Home Made Hair Care Routine (1889)

On the subject of safety: while the intent of this experiment was to test the making and application of these recipes within the context of the average at-home Victorian, all recipes were assessed and approved by 21st century chemists before filming to ensure that no harm would be done when using these ingredients in a casual, non-laboratory setting, as would have been done in the 19th century. The steps which did require additional safety precautions were performed out the window and/or with respiratory protection. As stated in the video, please conduct thorough research before attempting any historical recipe. This video is intended for educational and entertainment purposes, and is not a tutorial.

“Gee, Marge, what are those funny smells coming from The neighbor’s flat?” “She’s a Victorian, Harold”

is nobody gonna mention how the historical content youtubers are all in a group chat im crying

The sass of the author on hair dye was incredible. I love that they all but say “it’s immoral to dye hair” but they still include it in the book

My roommate is a chemical engineer. The face he made at some of these ingredient lists was frankly hilarious

Bernadette: Here is my authentic victorian measuring tools, my mortar and pestle, and my miniature hammered brass cauldron. Also Bernadette: I do not own a corkscrew.

Has a pipkin and Victorian measuring items, but doesn’t own a corkscrew or a funnel. I’m absolutely here for it.

I looked up the book you got most of the recipes from and saw "oh, it has a section on diet for invalids. Well, I count as one often, let's see what it says" and not only does it have quite good advice, but the care and gentleness and desire for the person who is not well to get better is so apparent in the text, it honestly made me tear up a bit because I know with my disabilities my family has frequently expressed frustration with having to make me food or do things like laundry for me. "Another point to be borne in mind is that the food should suit the invalid's taste, be tempting in appearance, and daintily served. Soiled or crumpled napkins should never be placed on the invalid's waiter, and the prettiest china should not be regarded as too good to hold the sufferer's food and drink." this feels so soft and nurturing and compassionate. It makes my heart happy, while also hurting, because it's very sweet and I wish I could be treated with such care.

I love how she’s dressed Victorian and there’s all this Victorian stuff all over the table and then there’s just a MacBook 💻

Your friends are just like “yup she’s drunk” and offer no usable help just giggles

This makes me think of a scenario where a jaded husband claims his wife was a witch for making “potions” when really she was just making hair products.

I'm reminded of Oscar Wilde when I think of questionable Victorian hair care. His trademark floppy curled dark brown hair was, unsurprisingly, not natural, and his sister-in-law described his natural hair as "not of very good natural quality or quantity, of indistinctive brown colour, rather straight and lank." Also, he began to grey early, something which he was very self conscious about, and which was made obvious during his time in prison when he didn't have access to hair products. All of this meant that available hair dyes were neither strong enough nor easily available enough for his tastes. You may also know of Wilde's trademark large fur coat, which would have been heavily dyed to give it a richer and more uniform colour. It is widely believed that Wilde used fur dyes, which were deemed harmful for human use even then, to dye his hair. On several occasions Wilde is quoted as having complained about an unexplainable rash which he didn't know the source of. Many 20'th century historians attributed this to syphilis, due to Wilde's reputation for homosexuality and promiscuity. Oscar Wilde did not have syphilis, this is something we now know. So the only reasonable explanation is that this man was using dangerous fur dyes to keep his hair pretty, and honestly I think that's kind of iconic. If you can't tell I think too much about Oscar Wilde Edit: While coming back to this comment after another year of Wilde fixation and research, I noticed a couple inaccuracies in my original comment. -I said that Oscar Wilde did not have syphilis. This is inaccurate. Although it is almost certainly not what killed him (he is believed to have died of meningitis, although it's possible syphilis may have exacerbated the problem) we have no concrete proof that he didn't have it. Wilde is known to have slept with many prostitutes throughout his life, both male and female, and it's perfectly possible that he may have had syphilis. However, the rash he experienced does not align with symptoms of syphilis -The ingredient in question was PPD, or para-phenylenediamine. This was used commonly for both hair and fur dying in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, although it was known to cause health problems when used on humans. Although does still appear in certain hair dyed, PPD is now a regulated substance.

When she opened the wine via brute force I figured she doesn't drink, but when I saw her ask if she can get drunk on alcohol fumes I knew she doesn't drink. Hilarious!

Men in the Victorian era: women are so stupid lol Meanwhile: every woman doing chemistry and physics in their free time

Victorian women were straight up chemists. They deserve a lot more recognition.

Just in case anyone is curious, she made rose tea, not water, and if you are planning to ingest it don't use commercial roses because they will have had pesticides! <3

I'm a wine scientist and watching you murder that cork hurt my spirit lol. The second dye is actually working based on a test we run in our lab. The tannins in the oak and the grapes react with the iron to make a dark pigment, the same used in iron-gall ink. That's definitely what stained your hands :) Anyways, I love your content! You've inspired me to learn make a historical version of an armor set I'm copying from Skyrim

"These are not in fact safety glasses." They protect you from the dangers of not looking super rad!

Tell me you're not a drinker without telling me you're not a drinker.

bern: let's make some fun victorian hair products from scratch! also bern: cuts off a sizeable chunk of her hair just for funnsies :)