Framing physical beauty as a barometer of health, this article charts the dialogue between early modern medical instruction (regimens and recipes) and figurative artworks. This dialogue took on new potency in the Renaissance with the widespread circulation of medical regimens and recipes in print, and reinvigorated cultural imagery that foregrounded the body. At the same time, the threat and lasting impact of infectious diseases on the skin, including smallpox and syphilis, and Europeans’ growing contact with individuals from Africa, Asia and the Americas, heightened awareness of bodily vulnerability and difference. Mythological paintings, images of the lady at her toilette and portraits are analysed to demonstrate the parallel medical and visual interests in ‘natural’ beauty and its associated healthful appearance, cultivated through cleansing the face, hands, hair and teeth. Reading figurative artworks alongside medical regimens and recipes demonstrates the close perceived relationship between physical beauty and health; the influence of medical theory, including humouralism, on depictions of the body; anxieties and interventions related to disease and race; and the central role of women as experts, providers and consumers of body care. Taking a regional view with artworks and texts from early modern Italy, France, Germany, England and the Dutch Republic, this article highlights the potential for visual studies in the medical humanities to develop understanding of past beauty practices while also acknowledging limitations and suggesting future lines of research.