skin more fascinating information about Maurer and the origins of the beauty industry kept manifesting. Not only did she create one of the first commercially recognized skin care schools in the U.S., but the quality standard of the information contained in her textbooks—written at a time before state board exams and international certification existed—continues to exceed the general education requirements for many modern estheticians. Simply put, Ruth Maurer was an industry authority whose knowledge of beauty-oriented skin care rivaled even European standards of the time. With that said, I have put together a timeline of important dates in Maurer’s life that will not only provide a better insight into who she was, but also one more clue as to where our profession originated from. *Disclaimer: A great deal of research and fact-checking took place for the writing of this article, and it is the goal of the author to present the facts of all entities mentioned herein accurately. The information contained within this timeline is based on various historical entries including textbook, newspaper, magazine, copyright and patent information. Where specific dates could not be obtained, an approximation is provided and shown as either having taken place between certain years or as “circa” if an event is believed to have occurred at an approximate time, close to a specific year. This timeline-like narrative consists of a history of institutions, inventions and industry innovations with a personal touch. 1871: Ruth D. Johnson is born in Iowa. 1886: Ruth Johnson moves to La Crosse, WI, where she marries Albert A. Maurer. Circa 1887: Albert and Ruth’s first son, Claude W. Maurer is born. 1891: Albert and Ruth’s second son, Albert Maurer Jr. is born. 1901: Ruth Maurer’s patent for an improved skin depurator is issued on August 20, and noted in Volume 37 of The Journal of the Ameri can Medical Association. A device no longer used by estheticians, the depurator was an apparatus that used air pressure to topically apply medication to lesions and expel any dead or secondary matter via the skin’s excretory ducts. Mrs. Maurer made modifications to it so that a patient’s skin would not be painfully drawn into the device during the instrument’s vacuum operation, which was a common problem with earlier models. November 2012 • Les Nouvelles Esthétiques & Spa
1903: The first edition of The Skin: Its Care
and Treatment is published by the McIntosh Battery & Optical Company of Chicago, IL, authored by an uncredited Ruth Maurer. The front inside page indicates that the information and techniques covered in the book are written according to a currently unknown standard referred to as the Michaud System. This standard was presumably developed by Maurer’s predecessor, or prototype, and was what would eventually become known as the Marinello System, which was established in 1904, according to the National Hairdressers’ and Cosmetologists Association’s autobiography, NHCA’s Golden Years. It should also be noted that Maurer’s electrotherapy-oriented textbook material allowed the McIntosh Company to use catalogue stock photos of galvanic and faradic batteries as a means of displaying their brand while exemplifying the author’s machine references. It is
Not only did she create one of the first commercially recognized skin care schools in the U.S., but the quality standard of the information contained in her textbooks continues to exceed the general education requirements for many modern estheticians.
possible that an agreement between Maurer and the McIntosh Company had been reached, which granted the publisher the right to advertise equipment to up-and-coming operators as a means of having the textbook published on a national scale. The Marinello product line is officially launched. An original advertisement for professional implements such as comedone extractors, mallets, automatic massagers, water massagers and several skin care products can be found toward the end of the first edition of The Skin. Circa 1904: The second edition of The Skin is published and authored under the pseudonym of Emily Lloyd, a name that Maurer would adopt for the majority of her written works. The front inside page no longer mentions the Michaud System, instead noting that “every detail of this important work [is taught] in a simple, concise and practical manner.” As information continues www.LNEONLINE.com • Page 35