The Truth About Beauty
What's with this fascination with beauty?
The demand for beauty services in spite of the economy?
Even when there is a recession, beauty parlours still flourish.
Beauty products still fly off the shelves.
There is this saying that beauty is skin deep.
Then again, first impressions count.
Put it this way. Beauty is power. That was true centuries ago.
That is true today.
When a beautiful woman walks into a bar, men flock to her and
offer to buy her drinks. When an unattractive woman walks into
the same bar, chances are, she would have to buy her own drinks.
A beautiful salesperson, man or woman is more likely to win the
sale. Between a beautiful job seeker and an unattractive one,
all other things being equal, the employer is likely to choose
the good looker.
Like it or not, looks do count.
In the past, when women were dependent on men to support them,
beauty was everything to a woman. A beautiful woman would have
more suitors. She would be able to marry up. To marry a rich man
who could take care of all her financial needs and that of her
children. Long before commercial cosmetics existed, mothers
would instruct their daughters on traditional beauty remedies.
Simple beauty remedies like using mayonnaise as a moisturizer,
or egg white as a firming mask were often used by women in the
days before commercial cosmetics.
Then along came women entrepreneurs like Estee Lauder and
other women from around the world. They converted traditional
beauty recipes which worked for themselves into beauty creams
that they sold to other women. Every woman has a right to look
her most beautiful and these women were selling others their
beauty secrets.
Women all over the world are willing to suffer for the sake of
beauty. Long ago, in China, women in wealthy families would bind
their feet. The Chinese back then view tiny feet as beautiful,
so little girls have their feet bound, to prevent them from
growing big and ugly. Now that long legs are considered
beautiful, some women go through a very painful medical
procedure that breaks their legs, and stretches their legs by a
few millimeters a day through a painful device until they attain
the height they want. With their newfound height, these girls
can look forward to a wealthy, glamorous future as an
international model.
In Europe, centuries ago, wasp waists and curvy bodies were
considered beautiful, so corsets were worn to make the waist
look much smaller. These were tied so tightly that women faint
easily. All for the sake of beauty. Now, corsets are in again.
These days, women and men subject themselves to surgery to
attain the beauty they desire. Liposuction to remove the excess
fat to contour the body. Breast augmentation for bigger breasts
that are considered beautiful. Nose jobs, face lifts, the works.
Both men and women even have poison (botox) injected into their
faces to paralyze their facial muscles in order to erase the
expression lines we know as wrinkles.
There is also a return to natura
l beauty remedies. This time, commercial cosmetics use
natural ingredients that women have used in centuries in the
home beauty preparations.
With modern advances, beauty preparations are more effective
than ever. Even doctors have developed their own skin care
ranges. Acne<
/a> can be a thing of the past with some of the latest acne
treatments. Some doctors, both dermatologists and general
practitioners offer facials which treat most of today's skin
problems very effectively. After all, beauty is skin deep.
Healthy skin is beautiful.
There is wisdom in the old ways women took care of their looks.
Fresh food, exercise, plenty of water, plenty of sleep, soap and
water. That's all the women in the olden days had in their
beauty routine. These days, add a good sunscreen
a> worn every day to protect your skin from the sun. A good
toner, cleanser and moisturizer, a regular scrub and mask and
you are done.