In your lifetime, beauty marks have likely been seen as a sign of, well, beauty, but
they have a pretty checkered history.
So, just what is a beauty mark anyway?
And why do people love them, or hate them?
Here's the unadulterated truth.
Holy moley
Dermatologists agree that beauty marks and moles are one and the same.
But not all moles are known as beauty marks.
According to Neal Schultz, a cosmetic and medical dermatologist and host of DermTV,
the term is generally only applied to moles on the face.
Elsewhere on the body, they'd just be called a mole.
So while some celebs with facial moles have been credited with having iconic beauty marks,
celebs with body moles aren't given quite the same label.
Who knew the social science behind moles could be so complicated?
"By the way, I realize that I have a large mole on my face."
"Where?
What?
Where's that mole?
I didn't...see one…"
Scars of the past
In the 17th and 18th centuries, smallpox ran rampant through Europe, causing the deaths
of millions.
Those who survived still faced an uphill battle, with the disease having a tendency to leave
disfiguring scars.
What better way to hide those scars than with a cleverly placed beauty mark?
In response to the epidemic, women started applying mouse fur to their pockmarks.
British Parliament wasn't a fan of the fashion, though.
In 1650, the government body even created a bill to prevent "the vice of painting, wearing
black patches, and immodest dresses of women."
Regardless, the trend took off, with the faux scar covers giving way to more elaborate,
decorative patches made of colorful silk, taffeta, and leather.
These became known as "mouches", the French-language term for "flies".
From the most unlikely of causes, an entire faux mole industry was born.
Choose a side
From the books you read to the clothes you wear, there are plenty of ways to make a political
statement.
However, there is perhaps no stranger way to declare your party affiliation than via
mole.
Like many fads, mouches eventually made their way into politics.
For a time, if a woman in England were to wear a beauty mark on the left side of her
face, it could be taken as support for the Tory political party.
Likewise, if she were to wear one on the right side, she would be showing her support for
the Whigs.
Imagine the awkwardness of having a real beauty mark during this period in history.
What a time to have been alive.
"Wasn't your mole on the other side?"
"I have a mole?!"
"Mark of disgrace"
Even as late as the mid-1800s, some in the British parliament still saw even natural
moles as being "mark[s] of disgrace."
Under Queen Victoria's reign, beauty standards left little room for anything but smooth,
white skin.
As if that weren't problematic enough, the use of makeup of any kind was said to be reserved
for prostitutes and actresses.
Those with beauty marks in the 1800s would've likely felt anything but beautiful during
this time, when skin whitening recipes promising to "take away" freckles and moles were abundantly
available.
Considering that these concoctions were essentially just bleaches, we can't imagine there were
many happy customers.
The beauty mark revival
The perception of beauty marks has come a long way since the 1800s, but the change didn't
happen overnight.
According to writer Madeleine Marsh, it wasn't until the rise of Hollywood that moles transformed
into something to be admired.
The magic of the movies made women's faces bigger than they'd ever been before, revolutionizing
standards of beauty.
One of those famous faces was Marilyn Monroe, whose high-profile facial mole helped propel
the look into mainstream.
More faux beauty
With smallpox being all but eradicated by the 19th century, the demand for faux moles
eventually became nonexistent.
But they've never gone entirely out of style.
Singer Kelly Rowland has been known to apply a fake mole to her face, which she says was
inspired by Marilyn Monroe.
She calls it her "forever moving mole", and sometimes draws it on to cover a blemish.
It's pretty, and it's practical.
It all began with a dot of black eyelash glue on her face, making a look she fell in love
with.
As she put it to People,
"It was the cutest stinking mole, and I was sold."
When to worry
The good thing about fake moles is that there's zero risk of one turning into skin cancer.
If you have a real beauty mark, however, you should be aware of signs of melanoma, the
deadliest form of skin cancer.
If your beauty mark starts to grow or look different, or if a new one appears out of
nowhere, you should make an appointment with a dermatologist to get it checked out.
And even if that new mole is fine today, that doesn't mean it will be tomorrow.
Possibly up to half of all melanomas start as benign moles.
As beautiful as these moles can be, the truth behind them isn't always glamorous.
Sorry, Marilyn.