12. She Had An Intense Beauty Regimen
The Rose of Bavaria was known throughout Europe for her exceptional beauty, a natural allure that was complemented by an intense beauty regimen. At the Schonbrunn Palace museum in Austria, one can see the different implements that she used as part of her daily regimen, as well as a model of the long, curly hair that fell to her hips. Her servants washed it every two weeks with a shampoo made from eggs and cognac. Every day, she spent three hours caring for her hair, which was the pride of the royal court and, in a sense, of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In addition to her hair regimen, Sisi went to great lengths to enhance her natural beauty. She rarely ate meat but slept with it on her face, along with crushed strawberries. In the effort to retain her slender figure, she would go on extreme fasts that sometimes lasted for days and soaked her nightclothes in vinegar before going to bed. Though she stood at 5’8″, she weighed 110 pounds and got down as low as 96 pounds. Nonetheless, she was a binge eater who had a secret stairway installed so that she could satiate herself in the palace kitchen without anyone knowing.