From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:
Do you remember a beauty product that had a restroom facility in its name?
Beauty regimes have been a product of mass appeal that have stood the test of time. We, the consumers, have been bombarded with advertisements selling us fuller lips, full-bodied hair, and in the case of the product in question, a clear and clean complexion. This product, which was heavily marketed in the 30s and 40s, was none other than something called toilet soap.
You may be asking, how can something with such an unfortunate name gain such popularity?
Think bright lights and close-ups. Lux Toilet Soap, with the ‘whipped cream lather,’ used Hollywood and Broadway rising stars such as Dorothy Lamour, Joan Crawford, and Gertrude Lawrence to promote their product as one that helps them ‘pass the merciless close-up test.’ Having celebrities, people that are seen as beautiful, endorse your product creates a desire for consumers to have a clearer complexion that ‘draws fascinated eyes.’ If these aforementioned actresses could have “flawlessly smooth skin demanded for the innumerable close-ups of sound pictures” (Sault Star, July 15, 1930, p.6), then why could the consumer not have the same results?
There were other toilet soaps on the market at the time, such as Maple Leaf Toilet Soap and Lifebuoy Health Soap, to name a few. The Lifebuoy Health Soap was marketed as a preventative to perspiration odour and provided a “creamy, gentle antiseptic lather [that] cleanses and purifies the millions of tiny pores” (p.7). The Maple Leaf Toilet Soap, like the offering from the Lux brand of toilet soap, offered the same, clear, and clean complexion, which used only the purest of ingredients and at a more cost-effective price. In an advertisement on October 10, 1940, Maple Leaf Toilet soap offered a coupon that allowed consumers to get “3 cakes…for 10 cents” (p.7).
Which would you choose to ‘protect your daintiness?’ The brand that offers more for less or the brand that ‘9 out of 10 screen stars use?’
Article written with information from the Sault Star Archive Collection at the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library.
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