A former stewardess has revealed a little known reason why female cabin crew wears red lipstick – and it is more than just a fashion statement.
Heather Poole, who spent two decades with flies for a large American airline, unveiled in her memoirs, cruising posture: stories about crash pads, crew drama and crazy passengers on 35,000 feet, that the daring red lip once served a surprising goal.
During her time in the air, Red Lipstick was part of official care standards, but it also had a specific safety function.
According to Poole, the distinctioning shadow was worn so that passengers could read the lips of stewardesses during an emergency situations.
She explained that in a loud, chaotic situation, passengers may not hear what stewardesses say, but they could see their lips moving.
The idea is that a lively lip color can help with non-verbal communication, a critical tool for trying to lead panic passengers to outputs or life-saving equipment.
She also suggested that the Color Red Projects Authority, who gave the impression that stewardesses’ have ‘under control’ of the situation.
Veteran stewardess Sydney Anistine, however Reader’s Digest She has ‘never heard’ that lipstick is used for safety purposes and adds: “Nowadays, if you see someone wearing a clear lip, it’s just a choice of style.”

A former stewardess has revealed a little known reason why female cabin crew is wearing red lipstick – and it is more than just a fashion statement

According to Heather Poole, the distinctionable shadow was worn so that passengers could read the lips of stewardesses during an emergency situation
Kristine Eksteine-Nizka, an old cabin crew member and travel writer, agreed and noted that for many airlines, especially luxury carriers such as Emirates, the red lip is more about surf than safety.
She said: ‘Emirates has a specific make -up look that the stewardesses have to adhere to – even them have make -up training for their girls. ‘
Nevertheless, the image of the glamorous, perfectly polished stewardess has deep historic roots, where lipstick is ‘serious things’, according to Poole.
In the Golden Aviation in the 1950s and 1960s, airlines such as the now -enforced Pan AM were strict appearance codes.
Former Pan am Stewardess Sheila Riley remembered how make -up choices were micromanagged.
She said, “If you were caught in, say, blue eye shadow or scarlet lipstick, you were told to wipe it because they wanted us to look natural and healthy.”
The airline even obliged Revlon’s Persian melon lipstick and matching nail polish – incidentally, the founder of the make -up brand Charles Revlon was on the board of Pan AM at that time.
Elsewhere, travelers have one Hidden details in the Staff Uniforms of Virgin Australia that few have noticed.

Kristine Eksteine-Nizka, an experienced crew member and travel writer, however, noted that for many airlines, especially luxury carriers such as Emirates (photo), the red lip is more about branding than safety than safety

In the Golden Aviation in the 1950s and 1960s, airlines such as the nowed Pan AM (photo) strict appearance codes were enforced on stewardesses

The airline even imposed the Persian melon lipstick of Revlon (photo) and matching nail polish – the founder of the make -up brand Charles Revlon was then on the board of Pan Am in Pan Am
The Cherry Red -Uniforms may seem identical in the beginning, but there is a striking difference between those worn by stewardesses and guest services.
Stream clerks wear a lilac and deep purple neck scarf together with a winged pen, while ground staff wear a purple and red neck scarf and has no specialized pen.
While millions fly the airline every day, many were not aware of the subtle difference in the uniforms.
Virgin Staff recently shared a video that unveiled the differences and invented common myths.
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