Life, 1917-01-18 · page 40 of 40
Life — January 18, 1917 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward advertisement for Woodbury's Facial Soap from January 1917. The circular image shows a woman in period dress demonstrating a facial skincare routine. The bulk of the page provides detailed instructions for a five-minute nightly treatment using the soap, promising improved skin appearance through regular use. The ad emphasizes the product's accessibility (25 cents) and offers samples for small fees (4-10 cents). It targets female readers seeking beauty enhancement, a common marketing approach of the era. The decorative oval frame and elegant typography were typical design conventions for women's beauty advertisements in early 20th-century magazines like *Life*. There is no political commentary, satire, or hidden meaning—this is period advertising reflecting contemporary beauty standards and consumer culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
January 18, 1917 Spend five minutes this way tonight! Follow faithfully each step of the famous skin treatment described below and you can begin tonight to bring to your skin the charm you have longed for THE first time you use this treatment you will realize the change it is going to make in your skin! Use it per- sistently, make it a daily habit, and your skin cannot help taking on, gradually but surely, the greater loveliness you bere longed for—the charm of “a skin you love to touch.” Use this treatment once a day—either night or morning. Dip a cloth in warm water and hold it to the face until the skin is softened and damp. Now take a cake of Woodbury’s Facial Soap, dip it in water and go over your face with the cake itself just as a man does with a shaving stick. Then dip your hands in warm water rand with the tips of your fingers work up a lather from the soap left on your face. Rub this cleansing, antiseptic lather thoroughly but gently into the pores of your skin, always with an outward and upward motion. Rinse with warm water, then with cold. If ane tub your face for a few minutes with a piece of ice. For sale by dealers everywhere throughout the United States and Canada, If your skin is thin or rather senstive, substitute a dash of ice water for the application of the ice itself. A 25c cake of Woodbury's Facial Soap is sufficient for a_month or six weeks of this famous skin treatment. Tear out the cake below and put it in your purse as a reminder to get Woodbury’s and begin at once to make your skin what you would love to have it. Send now for week’s-size cake For 4c we will send a cake of Woodbury’s Facial poor large enough for a week of this skin treatment. For 10c, samples of Woodbury's Facial Soap, Facial Cream and Facial Powder. Write today! Address The Redraw Jergens Co., 1001 Spring Grove Ave., Cin- cinnati, If you live in Canada, address The Andrew Jergens Co., Ltd., 1001 Sherbrooke Street, Perth, Ontario. comicbooks.com