Inside Marilyn Monroe’s Beauty Routine: The Rituals Behind Old Hollywood’s Most Iconic Face
By Alexus Mosley
Marilyn Monroe in a makeup chair at Columbia Pictures (1948) Photo Credit/Getty Images
If you’ve ever looked at a photo of Marilyn Monroe and thought, “Wow, she just woke up like that,” we feel it is our beauty connoisseur duty to inform you that she Old Hollywood icon, committed to a beauty routine that could rival a modern-day celebrity wellness retreat. Marilyn Monroe’s beauty routine was less “five-minute face” and more “ritualized maintenance of a national treasure.” Because frankly, it was. Behind the soft-focus glamour and luminous screen presence was a woman deeply committed to the daily maintenance of her image, long before “skin cycling,” “slugging,” and curated morning routines had names on TikTok.
Marilyn famously avoided the sun, once saying she liked to “feel blonde all over.” She protected her porcelain complexion and leaned into an almost ethereal paleness that became part of her signature. To maintain her iconic platinum shade, she bleached her hair every three weeks, keeping it what she reportedly called “pillowcase white.” Frequent washing could dull the color, so she relied on a make-do dry shampoo of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder, which she dusted onto her roots every couple of days.
Her skincare rituals were equally committed. An earlier and more extreme version of the cryotherapy and ice facials beauty insiders still swear by today, Marilyn was known to take ice baths to keep her skin firm and tight. Speaking to how deeply she prioritized her moisture and softness, a former acting classmate said she would rub her entire body down with Vaseline before soaking in a three-hour hot bath every morning. (Rather time-consuming but still so indulgent and dreamy!)
Long before “slugging” became a skincare buzzword, Marilyn layered Vaseline under her foundation to achieve that luminous, dewy glow on camera. Her cleansing routine followed the Erno Laszlo method of oil cleansing with Active Phelityl Oil, followed by Active Cream, washed off, then moisturized with Controlling Lotion. Cold creams were also heavy hitters in her routine. She relied on Pond’s, Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream, and Nivea Creme. These thick, occlusive formulas locked in moisture and soothed skin after long days under studio lights.
Archival notes from her doctor and skincare specialist further reveal how regimented her routine was, down to precise instructions for cleansing, toning, moisturizing, and even which foods to avoid.
Dr. Erno Laszlo to Marilyn Monroe on March 17, 1959
Marilyn Monroe’s beauty routine reads less like a how-to guide into how femininity and beauty once intertwined. The tools may change, the trends may cycle, but the desire to feel luminous, cared for, and camera-ready remains. Glamour, it turns out, is a language women have always known how to speak.