Colonial Hygiene Practices That No One Would Use Today

During the Colonial era, sugar was a hot commodity. It wasn’t something that the average Joe could buy, which meant that it was reserved for the higher, wealthier classes. And while we now know that rotten teeth as a result of too much sugar is a bad thing, they didn’t think the same back in the day. Rotting teeth were actually seen as a sign of wealth, as it proved to the rest of the world that you could afford it. 

During the Colonial era, contraceptives were scarce. Because of this, couples and unmarried women often welcomed children they had not been expecting or planning to conceive. But in an effort to prevent pregnancy, strange and bizarre makeshift contraceptives started to pop out of the woodwork. One of the most common during this time was crocodile excrement, which was rolled into a ball and then inserted into the woman before any physical acts. 

Back in the Colonial era, they didn’t have dish soap or laundry detergent on tap. Instead, the regular folk had to save up their hard-earned money for months to buy some laundry detergent. This was called lye soup, a strange concoction made from animal fat, ash from the fire, and lye. However, this lye soup was so expensive that the common folk didn’t want to use it on all of their dishes and all of their laundry. 

Before the late 18th century, men tended to grow their beards and rarely focused their attention on shaving. If they did shave, they chose to do it at home. But that all changed when barbers started offering their services, and more and more men chose to attend these barbershops to shape up their beards and trim their mustaches. However, only men were allowed to shave in these barbershops, as the services weren’t offered to women. 

When you look back at photos from the Colonial era, you’ll likely come across photos of well-to-do generals, presidents, and upper-class men wearing white wigs complete with ringlets and pigtails. And while these wigs were a sign of aristocracy, they also held a lot of secrets. That’s because lice infestations were so common during this era that many men either lost their hair or shaved it off to prevent lice from setting up shop on their heads. 

During the Colonial era, men shaved and women weren’t allowed. And while some women simply embraced the extra hair on their bodies, others wanted to get rid of it. However, doing so required a high pain threshold. That’s because colonial women had one of two options; they could either pluck each individual hair from their body, or they could make their own depilatory hair removal cream to help them out. 

Many of us take baths for granted today, but bathing was a huge ordeal back in the Colonial era. They didn’t bathe regularly – perhaps once a month at most – as doing so was too difficult and time-consuming. After all, they had to pull their own water from the closest well, walk it back to their home, and then heat it up before pouring it into their wooden bathtubs. Because of this, they needed to savour every drop of the water. 

Coughs are all part and parcel of everyday life, and people still develop coughs every single day in the modern era. But while we have cough drops and even antibiotics, doctors relied on different medicines during the Colonial era. In fact, they swore by using a mixture of sugar and live snails, which the patient had to eat. Not only that, but they also had to cover themselves in snails to make the most of the slime.

During the Colonial era, upper-class women wore large gowns that hid underskirts, bustles, and hoops that formed many heavy layers. However, there was no way that they could take these off every time they wanted to use the bathroom – which is why they had to wear specific toilet clothes instead. In most cases, women wore underwear that had an opening in the crotch, which allowed them to use the bathroom without taking off their clothes. 

There’s a reason why modern-day life is filled with so many health and safety rules and regulations – especially in regards to hygiene. The Colonial era is proof that poor hygiene can result in deadly diseases that can spread like wildlife, and that’s exactly what happened during this period of history. Hospitals were full of adults and children alike all suffering symptoms of typhoid, cholera, and dysentery, and a huge number of those people couldn’t survive the ordeal. 

Although a small portion of those during the Colonial era bathed as much as they should have done, the Puritans believed cleanliness to be of huge importance during the 1600s. They did everything they could to clean their bodies and to clean their clothes, but that wasn’t all that they wanted to be clean. They also believed that their bed linens had to be kept to a high moral standard. 

How many times a week do you wash your hair? Once? Twice? Three times? Whatever the case, there’s a high chance that you washed your hair more than women who lived during the Colonial era. That’s because women were encouraged to wash their hair as rarely as possible to abide by religious thought and to make their hair look and feel longer and healthier. Because of this, most women only washed their hair once a month.  

If you want to clean your teeth, you use a toothbrush. And if you want to clean your ears, you probably use Q-tips. During the Colonial era, however, they would use a special tool like this silver earpick. And while these tools were often forged with intricate patterns and designs, the reality is that these tools were used for the dirtiest of tasks. In fact, the spoon-like was used to quite literally scoop earwax out of the ear canal. 

As Native Americans and Europeans attempted to live side-by-side during the Colonial era, it was clear to see that they were very different – especially in terms of their hygiene. While Europeans damaged their teeth beyond repair by drinking a huge amount of sugar in their tea, Native Americans took their oral hygiene very seriously. They even used various natural methods to regularly clean their teeth and keep on top of their oral hygiene. 

Baldness is something that affects countless men, and it has done over the course of history. But while men in today’s modern age can utilize hair transplants and even hair tattoos, this wasn’t the case back in the Colonial era. During this time, they made the most of different, more traditional methods to treat baldness. One of the most popular was to smear chicken excrement all over a man’s head in an effort to stimulate the growth of the hair. 

In today’s day and age, we have running water, plumbed-in toilets, and waste pipes, which means we don’t have to pay too much attention to our bathroom habits. Back in the Colonial era, however, they didn’t have any of that. Instead, they had to go to the bathroom in outhouses – and within that outhouse was a privy pot for them to sit on. These filled up pretty quickly, though, and before too long they had to empty them. 

Being exposed to new viruses and diseases can be deadly, as the body hasn’t learned how to defend itself from them. And when European settlers made their way to New England during the Colonial era, they also took strange and unknown European diseases with them – and the Native Americans had never been exposed to such germs before. As a result, over 90% of Natives were killed when these diseases started to spread. 

If you heard that someone was having a bath in their clothes, you’d raise your eyebrows. During the colonial period, however, this was the norm. Colonials often wore clothes while bathing, as they were of the opinion that exposing the skin to huge amounts of water would actually cause you to drown from the inside out. As a result, they would only bathe for short periods of time and would cover their skin with clothes. 

Underwear has been around for centuries, and it’s just as important today as it was back in the Colonial era. But while we now know the importance of cleaning and washing underwear after each use, they thought differently during colonial times. They actually thought that your underwear absorbed the impurities in the body, so they would wear the same underwear for weeks on end before washing them. Not only that, but they also made sure to have their underwear on show. 

When the Native Americans were introduced to the colonial settlers, they tried to survive peacefully alongside each other. And while the settlers believed themselves to be far superior to the natives, there’s no doubt about the fact that the natives had one up on the colonials. After all, they had strong and effective hygiene habits while the settlers didn’t. Because of this, the natives tried to persuade the colonials to bathe and improve their hygiene as a whole. 

When the Spaniards made their way to the United States in the 1400s, they aimed to make their mark on the New World. However, what the natives didn’t anticipate was for the Spaniards to also make their mark by spreading syphilis throughout the country. Before too long, everyone knew someone affected by syphilis, which was spread even further by poor hygiene and a lack of sanitation. As it was a relatively new disease, doctors didn’t know how to treat it, either. 

Even today, a common stereotype is that Europeans have bad teeth. And while modern dental practices mean that this is just a common misconception, it’s not hard to understand where this thought first came from. After all, during the Colonial era the Europeans had awful oral hygiene to the point where their teeth were stained beyond the point of repair, they were completely corroded, and many simply fell out as a result. 

The Colonial era was rife with diseases, infections, viruses, and vermin that made it almost impossible for patients to survive their diagnoses. Hospitals were overstretched, doctors were struggling to deal with new and mutated strains of these diseases, and the conditions were extremely poor. And while this was certainly an issue for those looking to fight back against their illnesses, this did serve an important purpose for the medical professionals who worked during this time. 

Although colonial men and women rarely took the time to bathe themselves, they always made the time to bathe their babies and their children. However, it might surprise you to learn that they didn’t believe in bathing their children to clean them. They instead bathed their children to “harden” them against society and fight back against the many diseases and viruses there were in the world. In fact, they believed that a bath was like an immunization. 

Oral hygiene during the Colonial era was abysmal, and when their teeth didn’t rot away and fall out of their own accord, colonials had to get them removed. But with no dentists or oral surgeons to help them, they didn’t go to a specialist oral expert. Instead, they relied upon those who had the tools for the job – including barbers, blacksmiths, and even apothecary workers. They were very busy during this time, too. 

Beauty standards have changed throughout history, and during the 18th century, a woman’s worth and wealth were based on the color of her skin. In fact, the whiter she was, the more beautiful she was considered. And while many women were naturally white, they decided to take matters into their own hands to make their skin look even more pale. For this, they used to paint their faces in white chalk. 

While many women around the world are living in period poverty, we also live in a world where period products are becoming readily available – and both easy and safe to use. Women can choose from either sanitary pads, tampons, or even period underwear, which wasn’t the case back in the Colonial era. Instead, women had to try and make their own makeshift pads using whatever they could find near their homes. 

Hygiene practices during the Colonial era were poor, but what made the situation even worse was the fact that these people lived amongst vermin and pests throughout the entirety of their lives. They were surrounded by cockroaches, lice, mosquitoes, rats, flies, and more – and these critters all carried diseases and germs of their own. This didn’t go down well with European settlers, who struggled to get rid of these pests.

Nowadays, you don’t have to look too far to find beautifully scented perfumes. And with thousands of ready-made options to choose from, it’s fair to say that we’re spoilt for choice. Back in the day, however, perfumes didn’t exist in the way that they do now. Instead, colonials had to make their own DIY perfumes using everyday products they had lying around the house. For women, this was a cheap scented powder – almost like the deodorant we wear today.

Today, there are many different contraceptive options out there, but the options weren’t quite as impressive during the Colonial era. Women often had to turn to strange and bizarre means to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and one of them was Canadian tea. Of course, you might be wondering what’s wrong with a cup of tea. Well, Canadian tea wasn’t made from delicious tea leaves in a variety of flavors. Canadian tea was actually made from the genitals of beavers. 

Most people wouldn’t know what to do without their toothbrush today, as our oral hygiene largely relies on this one specific product. But colonials had to make do with what they had around them, as toothbrushes just didn’t exist at that point. So, those who wanted to clean their teeth (typically those in the lower classes and those who didn’t eat sugar) used natural methods instead. One of the most popular was simply rinsing your mouth with water after eating. 

Everyone knows that the less you wash, the more you stink. And while most people in today’s day and age try to avoid smelling at all costs, this wasn’t the case back in the Colonial era – especially for women. Although doctors encouraged women to bathe themselves regularly to protect their fertility and their overall health, wealthy men actively encouraged women to embrace their body odor and their lack of hygiene. 

As water was so hard to come by and colonials rarely spent time worrying about their personal hygiene, both rich people and poor people largely took the same number of baths during the Colonial era. But what set them apart was the fact that rich people had money, allowing them to mask their poor personal hygiene with long robes, multiple layers of clothing, and strongly scented perfumes that overpowered those close to them. 

George Washington was a huge figure during the Colonial era, and he was also incredibly rich. This meant that he could buy more sugar than anyone else – which caused his teeth to rot and fall out. And while the jury is still out on whether he did this or not, stories suggest that he actually bought himself another set of teeth. To be more precise, he paid six pounds and two shillings for a set of healthy teeth. 

By the time the mid-18th century came around, the importance of cleanliness and personal hygiene was becoming more prevalent. Because of this, bathhouses started popping up around the richer neighborhoods. And while they were built to encourage bathing, they were rarely used for this task. Instead, they were a way for rich men to mingle, network, and relax after a long day of providing for their families and their continuing legacy. 

While colonials rarely took the time or effort to wash themselves, the Native Americans thought differently. They believed that their body was a temple and that they needed to keep it clean to prevent illness and keep them in full health. Because of this, they always took time out of their day to wash in rivers, use leaves as makeshift washcloths, and do anything they could to scrub their body.

Perhaps one of the biggest concerns during the colonial era was that wealthy people and religious leaders didn’t agree on personal hygiene. On the one hand, religious people didn’t want to waste their time bathing or cleaning their teeth when they could drink sugary tea and shmooze with the upper classes. On the other hand, however, religious leaders believed that a lack of hygiene was a mortal sin and associated with the devil.

While George Washington was leading the charge during the Revolutionary War, he wanted his soldiers to be up to full health – which is why he pushed for them to be as clean as possible. But in a Colonial era where washing and cleaning weren’t popular pastimes, many of them ignored his demands and perished as a result. When this happened, Washington knew that he had to call in the big guns. 

If you want to have a wash, you have multiple options to choose from. You could opt for a full-body shower, you could choose to submerge yourself in the bath, or you could just wash your face with a wash cloth and some soap. The latter is not too dissimilar to how they would wash themselves during the Colonial era, but the main difference is that they didn’t have a choice. They rarely had baths, so a bucket of water was the main bath of choice. 

Today, we all understand the importance of water in our cleaning schedule. But during the Colonial era, they didn’t think the same. They actually believed that taking off your clothes and submerging into a bath or bucket of water was not just unhealthy but also completely immodest at the same time. Because of this, many holy people refused to bathe, and Louis XIV supposedly only ever bathed three times over the course of his whole life.