Life, 1918-03-21 · page 41 of 56
Life — March 21, 1918 — page 41: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Resinol Soap advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. The page shows two women in 1920s dress having a conversation where one compliments the other's improved complexion, attributed to using Resinol Soap. The "cartoon" element is minimal—just an illustrated scene establishing a social scenario. The advertising copy below emphasizes that poor complexion causes women to feel like "failures," and promises Resinol will cure pimples, redness, and roughness through its medicinal ingredient. **For modern readers**: This reflects early-20th-century beauty standards and advertising practices that linked a woman's social worth to her appearance. The product contained resinol (a medicated ingredient), which was genuinely used in skincare then. The ad's psychology—suggesting personal inadequacy and offering cosmetic "cure"—exemplifies how vintage advertising weaponized insecurity to sell products, a practice modern audiences recognize as manipulative.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: wi How quickly your complexion has improved} oap brings out the real beauty of the skin Many an otherwise attractive girl finds herself a “failure” because of a poor complexion. If your skin is not fresh, smooth and healthy, or has suffered from an unwise use of cos- metics, see if the daily use of Resinol Soap will not greatly improve it. Resinol Soap is not only unusually cleansing and softening, but its regu- lar use lessens tendency to pimples, causes redness and roughness to dis- appear, and in a short time usually succeeds in making the complexion clearer, fresher and more velvety. The soothing, restoring influence which makes this possible is the Resinol which this soap contains This same gentle medication, to- gether with its freedom from irritat- ing alkali, adapt Resinol Soap ad- mirably to the care of the hair, for the bath, and for a baby's delicate Resinol Soap is sold by all drug- gists throughout the United States and Canada. For trial size, free, write to Dept. 58-B, Resinol Chemical Co., Baltimore, Md. comicbooks.com