08/17/2026
“Beauty Bars” in War Plants Help Protect Skin of Women Workers
That’s the headline from a 1942 Pittsburgh Press newspaper clipping in the Rivers of Steel collection—and yes, that is a woman receiving a skin treatment on the job.
It’s a small, fascinating window into a much bigger story: what happened when thousands of women entered industrial workplaces during World War II.
Women were welding, machining, inspecting, assembling, and doing other essential work in war plants across the region. And as they entered jobs traditionally held by men, employers, workers, and communities were figuring out what this new industrial workforce would look like, including, apparently, how to care for a woman’s skin on the factory floor.
The details can be surprising. The bigger story is even more so.
On the Iron Women Tour, we’ll explore the many ways women shaped the industrial history of southwestern Pennsylvania: from the work they did inside the plants to the families, neighborhoods, and communities they sustained beyond the mill gates.
Join us for the Iron Women Tour at Carrie Blast Furnaces. Fridays and Saturdays through the end of August.
🎟️ Tickets available now. Link in bio.
