Beauty, in and Out, Research Paper Example

Introduction

It was not long ago that the worlds of beauty and cosmetic care and that of health and fitness were mutually exclusive, if not actually antithetic to one another. There were those who cared for the health of their bodies and those who pursued cosmetic applications, and it was largely unthinkable that the two approaches might be effectively combined. Most striking as evidence of this dichotomy was the accepted knowledge, chiefly held by women, that the cosmetics, skin and hair products they employed were completely synthetic and, to some extent, actually toxic.

For women, particularly before the 1960’s, a devotion to cosmetics was a bonding element: “Mothers and daughters have taught each other about cosmetics, cliques have formed around looks, women have shared their beauty secrets and, in the process, created intimacy” (Peiss 8). That, however, was then, and new cultural focuses in the latter part of the 20^th century, both within and outside of the women’s movement, helped to shape a new industry. It is as well one that caters to men and women alike. It is the concept of selling health first to achieve lasting beauty. It is a multi-billion dollar business, it certainly may not be faulted as dangerous to the well-being of the consumer, and yet it nonetheless maintains itself by operating on time-honored and often unhealthy conceptions of who we think we want to be, much as the lead and arsenic-based cosmetic goods it replaces did.

Birth and Rise of the Trend

It could be argued that the birth of the modern association of nutrition and health with cosmetic appearance began with the explosion of vitamin E in the late 1960’s. As the counter-culture movement was spreading across the country and a return to the utmost in natural foods was taking hold, marketers of this previously little-known and not widely used supplement seized the moment. People were talking about how naturally effective applications of vitamin E, either through diet or in lotion form, were giving them more beautiful skin, and it is impossible to ascertain how much of this belief was generated by the product itself or by the advertising promotions which followed so quickly on its heels. In any event, a new and extraordinarily massive market was born, that which endorsed and sold healthful products as a means to greater beauty.

The reality is less impressive. Vitamin E essentially serves one purpose in this regard: “Included in a skin care product (like tycopherol), vitamin E helps to preserve the fatty components in cosmetic creams” (Goldberg, Herriot 150). The word, however, was out and would not be soon questioned, for the intrinsically natural aspect of this or any other vitamin treatment was perhaps the single strongest factor in its merchandising. Embedded in the cultural consciousness was the powerful concept that what is generally good for the body cannot but help to aid in physical attractiveness.

To the common mind, this is a rational way to proceed, and moreover one with the added benefit of seeming far less narcissistic than a resorting to simple “cosmetics”. Beauty from vitamin intake is regarded as nothing more than a happy side effect from a finer pursuit. What was lost in this mentality, and for quite some time, was basic nutritional knowledge, and what was most definitely unknown or ignored was that too much of anything good can be very dangerous. People began buying vitamins actually packaged specifically to enhance beauty and did not realize that an excess intake of certain vitamins, and particularly minerals such as zinc and iron, can be harmful. Nor, rather amazingly, was it ordinarily grasped that the vitamins in the cheaper bottle at home should be the same vitamins in the expensive, cosmetically-geared packaging.

In ensuing decades, an arms race of sorts commenced. As each supplement was first touted as a miraculous beauty aid, it was swiftly denounced as potentially dangerous, and then a new, natural vitamin or mineral was heralded as a breakthrough for beauty. This occurs today, and especially noticeable is the astounding impact of antioxidants in recent years. “The media are filled with stories and advertisements promoting….the ‘beautifying’ effects of antioxidants, particularly in skin care….The connection between beauty and vitamins continues to be a dominant theme…” (Ward, Warren 200). That the average consumer has at best only a vague notion of what an antioxidant precisely is does nothing to lessen the tide of the sales. An antioxidant is simply a molecule that prevents the oxidizing of other molecules and, while this is an essential function in a healthy, organic being, it shares the same risk factor, in that too much of the process is harmful.

What we see most blatantly upon examining how nutritional supplements are promoted as beauty aids is that actual science is largely disregarded. That would make sense; dry facts and chemical analysis do not sell beauty. The cosmetics industries have merely latched onto the cultural awareness of the negative aspects of synthetic compounds which emerged in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and moved their marketing and products into an arena wherein the stigma of the synthetic does not exist. The consumer buys the skin cream because it claims to be all-natural, and boasts exotic-sounding compounds. The mentality behind the purchase, however, is to achieve the result of beauty; the “safety factor” of natural ingredients is an effective selling tool, but nothing more than that.

Fitness and Beauty

In an expected progression, current fitness manias team with nutritional encouragements to sell the concept that real beauty is attainable for all, provided they eat right and work out to the DVD being advertised. This is in fact a cultural zeitgeist at play: “It is presented as within anyone’s reach, through simple self-diagnosis and self-management devised to comply with certain….stereotypes, where aesthetic and hedonistic cliches set the tone” (Ettore 97).

It is of course irrefutable that maintaining physical well-being is a desirable thing, just as a healthy diet and proper intake of nutrition are worthy pursuits. So too may it be safely stated that the healthy individual is usually going to look better, and be more attractive. The man who balances his diet well will usually have healthier, and therefore more attractive, skin. The woman who exercise regularly will likely have a more sleek, and therefore more beautiful, shape. It is sensible, then, to eat well and work out as it is in no way base or shallow to hope for a greater attractiveness as one result.

Conclusion

All the above said, it is imperative that the industry aspect behind everything we see in these regards, and not only through advertising channels, be viewed with a “healthy” degree of skepticism. The manufacturers of the vitamins and the gym equipment are not especially interested in why the consumer actually wishes to buy them; they are operating solely on the traditionally effective platform of promising beauty. Thus do the fitness advertisements always refer to the “sexier” abdomen the buyer will achieve, as the skin cream with the exotic African plant extract sells because it will “take years off” a face.

In past centuries, women applied lead to their faces to gain the desired complexion. So too did they harness their bodies in devices actually dangerous to them, to ensure a slim waist and curvaceous figure. Men are catching up now, in regard to the desire to maintain a youthful male beauty as long as possible. These motivations will not likely ever go away. We as a species are quick to look to anything at all which appears to make us desirable. We are also, however, always obligated to understand that the seller’s motive is to sell, and it is always our responsibility to determine if the vitamin compound or treadmill are in fact good for us.

Works Cited                                    

Ettore, E. Culture, Bodies, and the Sociology of Health. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2010. Print.

Goldberg, D. J., and Herriot, E.M., Ph.D. Secrets of Great Skin: The Definitive Guide to Anti-Aging Skin Care. New York, NY: Innova Publishing, 2005. Print.

Peiss, K. Hope in a Jar: The Making of America’s Beauty Culture. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Co., Inc., 1998. Print.

Ward, J.W., and Warren, C. Silent Victories: The History and Practice of Public Health in Twentieth-Century America. New York, NY: Oxford University press, 2007. Print.