Recently the Gruen Transfer, an Australian series based on the advertising industry on the ABC focused on skin care products and the way they are promoted.
The panelists, all members of the advertising industry themselves, seemed to be quite jaded about skincare in general and rather doubtful about it's effectiveness. To sum up most of the panelists attitudes, they basically treated skincare as if it is one massive scam and the target market, women, were pretty much just a bunch of saps for buying these expensive "pots of goo". The most vocal panelist on the subject was freelance copywriter Jane Caro who said, and I paraphrase here, "one morning women will wake up and decide they are fine just the way they are, and an entire industry will go broke".
Several theories about the way these products are marketed were aired. Some of which were advertising aimed to make the woman feel inadequate and insecure, that the advertising empowered women to be more successful by enhancing their feminine wiles and making them more seductive, and that the advertising was basically there to fool women into believing wild claims about the ingredients miraculous regenerative abilities.
This show left me with mixed feelings. I must admit that in reference to the "beauty" products that are and were being advertised in the mass media, I am very sceptical myself. I know that most, if not all mass market skincare is a sham, the ingredients used are mostly synthetic rubbish made with colouring, preservatives and cheap filler. Even worse, it can be tested on animals or be a profitable way to dispose of chemical refuse and industrial waste. I also agree that the way most skincare is marketed is to sum it up, a load of cobblers.
However, I do not think it is fair to tar all skincare products with the same brush. Natural skincare ingredients sourced from plants and minerals do have proven regenerative properties. You probably know yourself that when your lips are cracked, or your face feels dry or wind burnt, there is nothing better or more effective and soothing than applying a natural balm or moisturiser. Aging skin dries out more readily and can be greatly relieved by a little hydration.
I am in the business helping you find a better, organic way of giving your skin hydration and vitality, not pulling the wool over your eyes. We are beautiful the way we are, we do not need to be told by mass media that to be beautiful we must buy their products. We are natural beings and we only need natural products to maintain our skin.
