Yesterday Twitter exploded when website TheOutline.com published a story claiming that (to paraphrase) our never-ending infatuation for perfect skin is nothing more than a con on both our pockets and self-esteems. There were a lot of parts of the article that elicited quite a few head-tilt moments from me (like the part about most women being able to skip moisturizer and a study that says no one knows what moisturizer actually does), but there were *some* parts I found myself agreeing with.
~ s k i n c a r e ~ is the perfect modern scam, combining the capitalist neuroses of buying things and willfully suffering. i'm over it. and i'm excited to write for the first time in @outline – https://t.co/HctR5n6dJr
— Krithika Varagur (@krithikaltheory) January 30, 2018
To be honest, I suspect the original story was written with the intent to incite whatever feeling—be it anger or applause—to garner clicks and views to the site (which I get because I write posts to garner clicks and views). The opening tagline “skin has withstood millions of years of evolution. How could we be getting it so wrong now?” has me pretty confused. It sounds JUST like the angry comments I got on my sunscreen video (I deleted them—some people were suggesting I should be physically harmed for even suggesting that Black people need sunscreen). In the now deleted comments on that video, people were intimating that because our ancestors didn’t use sunscreen, it’s some sort of conspiracy (I assume concocted by “white” skincare brands…lol) to get Black folk to put “poison” on our skin. They also questioned why I as a Black woman was instructing Black folks on white people’s problems. Girl, I wish I was making this up. But this notion of “we didn’t need this hundreds of years ago” really boggles my mind because 1. our life expectancy is WAY up now and 2. the climate has changed GREATLY since our ancestors walked this earth. Landscapes are different, there’s more infrastructure, more things putting pollution into the air etc, etc. I haven’t seen as much talk about the hole in the ozone layer as much as I did as a kid growing up in the 90s, but that thing has got to be pretty big by now, no?
So with all that has changed centuries upon centuries ago (like, we also don’t bleed people out to cure things like the common cold), I don’t understand why people would think we’re still playing with the same field.
I could go on with what else I thought was wrong with that article, but I really like how Racked.com clapped back, so make sure you check that one out.
Why am I laughing so hard at that highlighted line ?????? pic.twitter.com/n0nKo885Ls
— Danielle Gray (@StyleNBeautyDoc) January 30, 2018
But certain parts of the article I DID agree with. The notion that there are SO MANY products being pushed out there—many of them with active ingredients—can lead to A LOT of misuse. I can get jiggy with that part. I do think that some people have a tendency to not read directions and assume they know how to use a product. Then they burn the sh*t out of their skin and go outside without sunscreen because they too believe that since our ancestors didn’t wear sunscreen, they also don’t need it. Now their skin is burned twice over and of course instead of talking to a professional they try to fix it themselves and it just gets worse and worse until the person is just a mass of muscle and bones because they no longer have any skin left. DRAMATIC, yes. But that’s how some people appear when they follow up one bad skincare turn with another and another. Don’t let that be you, ya’ll. Not when I’ve been here for YEARS writing about skincare and producing skincare videos with whole dermatologists in them while damn near begging you to make sure seeing a skincare professional is part of your regimen.
Follow me on Youtube and see more skincare videos here
And while I will agree that sometimes our “flaws” are used as marketing tools to get us to buy more product and that sometimes people are WAY too harsh on people who have skin issues (like, stop treating people who have acne or discoloration or wrinkles or whatever as if they’re less than). And there’s also nothing wrong with wanting to improve your skin. There’s also something incredibly awesome about the online communities built around skincare—people taking the time to share their regimens and what worked and didn’t work—what new products are coming out, etc. If no harm is being done to themselves or others, let people enjoy things!
See more skincare posts by category by going to my menu bar above OR check out some popular topics: Hyperpigmentation, Acne, Oily Skin, Skincare Product Reviews, Suncare
