Hosted by Stylist.com

Did you know that Rita Hayworth felt so uncomfortable about her low hairline she had it raised, then dyed her black hair that famous shade of red? Elsewhere, both Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe shaved their faces to get rid of unwanted peach fuzz. And Marlene Dietrich apparently had her upper molars removed to create shadows underneath her cheekbones, which looked even more dramatic with the contrast of the black and white film of the time. Admittedly, I’ve made my share of questionable beauty decisions: I nearly burned my face off with a shall-not-be-mentioned face exfoliant, all in the name of luminous skin. This subsequently seemed counter-productive since I walked around with my hand over my face for the next five days.

Elizabeth Taylor, 1944

Taylor was born with hypertrichosis, an excessive body hair condition. She was covered with dark hair all over her body, including her ears and nose. Though it eventually fell off, the actress was known to shave her face to create a smooth, hairless effect.

 

Rita Hayworth, 1950

The flame-haired actress, who was actually born with black hair, had her hairline raised a full inch with electrolysis. Also, her hair grew so quickly that she had to dye it every three days to conceal her dark roots.