Compliments of a friend's email forward, here is a horrifying product from the 50s-60s, "Vagasan", a powder (what!?) douching product (via Madame Talbot) with these lovely ingredients:
Carbolic Acid 1/8 of 1% in mixed usable solution (Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, is a toxic, white crystalline solid with a sweet tarry odor, commonly referred to as a "hospital smell". During the 1880s Diphtheria was treated by Phenol Douches.)
Boric Acid A boric acid douche used to be the most commonly recommended means of addressing vaginal yeast.
Alum (think of pickeling alum)
Methyl Salicylate is a wintergreen-scented chemical found in many over-the-counter products, including muscle ache creams.
and Oil of Peppermint
Oh my godde. Acid and Pickling do not create word associations for vagina!! More on douching.