A Pole from a Jewish family, coming from a small Polish town, revolutionised the cosmetics industry. His Max Factor company still exists today, and the brand’s fame is known worldwide. 

Maksymilian Faktor a.k.a. Faktorowicz was born on 18 February 1872 in a small town in Poland – Zduńska Wola. Poland did not even exist on the maps at the time, as its territories had been seized violently by Russia, Prussia and Austria. 

Maksymilian’s family was large and very poor. As a child, he earned his living in various professions: he apprenticed with a wigmaker, helped an apothecary and dentist and worked in a drugstore. The experience he gained there with mixtures of creams, lotions and perfumes later helped him to succeed in business. In the 1890s, he opened a cosmetics and wig shop in Moscow. His skill was quickly recognised and he became an oracle in cosmetics for the local elite. 

In 1904 he moved to the USA, where he became Max Factor. He reopened a drugstore combined with a wig shop. While working with Hollywood actors, he came up with the idea of how to apply and wash off make-up easily and quickly – he referred to this method by the expression “make-up”. He worked with top actors: Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra or his countrywoman, Pola Negri. Especially for Rudolf Valentino, he created a powder to lighten his dark complexion. Factor also characterised the monster from the film about Dr Frankenstein. 

In 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognised Max Factor and awarded him an Oscar for make-up. The award was given in this field for the first time. 

His company, Max Factor, launched the first line of its own cosmetics in 1909. In 1927, the company expanded throughout the USA, and three years later its cosmetics were distributed to 80 other countries.

Maximilian Factor a.k.a. Faktorowicz died in 1938 in his sleep at the age of 60.