Skincare is a scam. The beauty industry wants women to feel bad about themselves. Skin doesn’t need skincare products. Beauty culture is toxic. It’s an oppressive tool of the patriarchy!!11 I’m setting out to find what is skincare. Wish me luck!
You’ve heard it. I’ve heard it. It made you uncomfortable, because the arguments can be compelling. It made ME uncomfortable, because I consider myself a fairly science-educated person, and I don’t want to be duped. I ALSO consider myself to be a feminist, and don’t want to be led along on the nose by the patriarchy. I also don’t want to be considered vapid, as an educated person, because I do find the beauty world fascinating.
I’ve referenced Rae Nudson’s book on beauty culture again and again, because I’m incredibly indebted to it. It’s the ultimate book on beauty, because in the end, it dissolves those dichotomies. It also made me realise that in the end, YOU fill the term with meaning. In the end, skincare (and makeup, although I’m not going to talk about makeup that much) means what you want it to mean. In itself, it doesn’t mean a thing.
What does skincare mean?
To explain, let me give you a quick example that shows that skincare doesn’t have a stable meaning affixed to it.
Have a look at South and North Korea. One is one of the world’s leading countries in skincare innovation and consumption, and the other – isn’t. In South Korea, it’s impossible to deny the huge influence skincare has on literally everybody. So much so that there’s a movement of young people looking to break free from the oppressive beauty norms, no longer using extensive regimes, and purposely not adhering to beauty standards. In North Korea, on the other side, beauty is harshly state-regulated. Only certain lipstick colours are allowed, and skincare is, due to the various crises the state has gone through, nearly impossible to buy – making South Korean skincare items sought-after black-market goods. More so, both skincare and beauty products have become expressions of freedom in a dictatorship that seeks to mold every step of its citizens.
Two neighboring countries, in which the same beauty products mean very, very different things to its inhabitants.
… in your life?
It doesn’t always have to be that dramatic. In my own life, skincare has been, in no particular order, a fix for skin problems, a nerdy hobby, and me-time in which I could allow myself to give time and attention to my own well-being.
For some people in my life, it’s a means to connect with like-minded geeks, like a love for Star Wars where you find ‘your tribe’ of geeks on the internet and become friends. For some people, it means the time they can carve out for themselves in a busy life. And for some, it’s a wellness ritual, a pampering routine that not only nourishes their skin but their soul. For some people, it’s the fear of aging and the hope in shiny bottles. And for some people, it’s the means of a patriarchic society oppressing them, making them feel bad and lost; a tool to keep them small and kept in a hamster wheel when they could deal with more important stuff. I don’t want to say that one of these opinions is more valid than the other.
(If your skincare OR makeup routine is making you feel bad, stop doing it! It clearly isn’t working for you as something that inherently SHOULD make you feel good and feel fun!)
What I’m not overly fond of are people decrying skincare as something frivolous they can deride for their own various reasons.
What is skincare? – It’s your choice!
After writing about skincare for so long, finding it a fascinating topic and learning a lot – not only about chemistry, but also about sociology, history, and well, people! I’ve to admit that right now, I do feel a bit lost when it comes to skincare. Do I just go through the motions? Could I give up my whole drawer of shiny bottles tomorrow without looking back? It definitely feels like it sometimes.
But here’s the thing: I can decide that for myself, and I won’t be swayed by those articles. Or videos and ‘helpful’ TV shows that declare that something I know really, really well, has to mean something or other to me. You know what? I absolutely can decide that for myself, and not feel bad in the process.
