Browsing through one 19th century cookbook someone linked to earlier (I don't even remember who), I ran across one recipe for a supposedly freckle-removing lotion which called for "spirit of salts". Is that like Epsom salts, or maybe spirits of ammonia? Looking it up, I was a tad surprised.
Not so much that you can still buy something under that name here, but:
Yep, that is apparently hydrochloric acid! If you used enough of that on your face, any freckles might indeed come off--along with the rest of your skin 😨
(I did have to giggle at one of the sponsored results coming from "My Bubble Bath", especially in this context. But I really did not want to click through to find out more! Guessing it's for limescale removal or drain cleaning there too. Hopefully not in your bath water.)
Thankfully, that recipe was only calling for what turns out to be less than a teaspoon in 10 oz. of water, but yeah no thanks.
Out of morbid curiosity, I had to try to look into whether that ingredient was just that one author's idea, or a more common thing at the time. Doing a quick search, I did indeed run across several references in other 19th century books.
I found one other pretty much by coincidence, with spirits of salt being called for to remove ink and dyes in some household cleaning applications. Sounds more reasonable! But, one freckle remover recipe in there straight up calls for muriatic (hydrochloric) acid, and otherwise looks essentially identical to the first one.
It's certainly...interesting reading. And the main reason I'm even posting this, for the Victorian explanation of freckles. And the red hair that frequently goes along with them.
From Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million (Philadelphia, 1857):
533. How to treat Freckles. — Most of us have observed the effect produced on white paper by holding it closely to the fire: it changes rapidly from white to brown, and becomes scorched. Chemists tell us that most combustible things, both in the animal and vegetable world, have carbon for their basis — so has the skin ; and, if it be exposed to the heat, it becomes, like them, spotted or charred. The iron and oxygen in the blood also assist to produce this effect. Thus we have the cause of freckles. Those who, like Richard Coeur de Lion, and Mary Queen of Scots, have red hair (which is caused by a red-colored oil, more strongly impregnated with iron than others), are most liable to freckles.
The most effectual means of removing freckles, is the use of those chemicals which will dissolve the existing combination. The freckles are situated in the second or middle membrane of the skin; and, before any other application, it will be advisable to soften the surface by the use of some mild balsam or paste.
Hippos put out that odd reddish sweat. Maybe redheads are similar?
As for that iron (or was it scary sounding charred carbon? 🤔):
535. Another. — To decompose the freckles, by laying hold of the iron, the following mixture may be applied : Take one drachm of muriatic acid, half a pint of rain-water, half a teaspoonful of spirit of lavender; mix well together, and apply two or three times a day to the freckles, with a camel's hair brush. The acid seizes upon the iron, and the oxygen is disengaged.
That certainly clears things up! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So, we're looking to remove rust deposits from the dermis? Used in higher concentrations, that certainly works on steel and a variety of other inanimate materials. ("If you are going to use muriatic acid to remove rust despite the heath risks...") Not sure that's the best plan for imagined iron spots in your skin, however.
What's sad is that this doesn't actually sound any more ludicrous than some of the claims and explanations made for currently available beauty products, once you get past the very Victorian language it's wrapped up in.
Another thing which has changed less than I would prefer? The main rationales offered for making these DIY health and beauty products sound very familiar. Save money, and also avoid the harmful chemicals used in commercial products! Which was admittedly a more serious concern back then, before safety regulations were a thing.
While I haven't seen a lot of modern beauty recipes calling for hydrochloric acid, some of them still sound like about as big a fail on the "avoid harmful things" front 😑
