## Auto-Facial Construction

Auto-Facial Reconstruction. Advertisement for Vogue, University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, University of Washington.

##### “Less product than process, the idea presents invention in its pure form, for it rests solely on the status of the idea.”

##### Jessica Burstein 184

An idea first described in 1919, Loy’s Auto-Facial Construction presented men and women with the option to, as Loy wrote, “become masters of their facial destiny” (Burstein 184). Much like the Corselet, the foundational ethos of the Auto-Facial Construction was restoration and preservation.

As Burstein writes, “The genius in Loy’s campaign is that she was expressly not attempting to compete with the medical profession: she leaves skin to “skin specialists” and fixes her area of specialty just up from the osteopathic” (187). Pseudo-scientific treatments like these weren’t unique to Loy’s imagination; others like Vogue Magazine and dancer Kathryn Murray advertised their own facial regiments (Burstein 185).

Now, Glossier products like this mask claim to burn fat to conform to today’s ideal of the ‘v-shaped’ face, but just like in Loy’s time, most of them fail to deliver on their promises.

Facial Slimming Mask. Image Source: Amazon.com
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