May 21—Once you see celebrities or other wealthy individuals who (objectively) look good, people contribute all of it to “cosmetic surgery,” but that is not necessarily true. They do go under the knife, but mostly, it’s because they’ve access to the perfect professionals, services money can purchase.

These procedures aren’t only for the wealthy and famous anymore. As these services proceed to develop into more popular and costlier, where will we stop?

Med-spas now are like nail salons, popping up in strip malls and in offices throughout, even in our little region. Your next-door neighbor likely has their go-to Botox injector. And while that is fabulous for our area to maintain up with the trends and the times, it also means our “upkeep” is costlier than ever.

It was once that individuals had standing appointments for things like their hair and nails. Somewhere along the best way we added eyebrows (waxing, threading, microblading and lamination aka that brushed up look), eyelashes (extensions or lash lifts and tints), teeth whitening, body hair removal, cosmetic tattooing (like powder brows and lip blushing), facials and skin treatments, spray tans and good ol’ injectables like Botox or other neurotoxins, cosmetic filler and more.

Dazed Beauty, an alternate lifestyle and culture website, reported on this phenomenon and the increasing “beauty tax,” or the disparity between those that can afford these beauty treatments and those that cannot.

“Beauty and wealth have at all times been bedfellows. Throughout history, the wonder standard of any given period has served the ideological interests of the ruling class,” the publication said. And “while some people have the economic freedom and sophistication standing to have interaction in beauty work,” others may not. As the wonder standard continues to evolve, increasingly individuals who cannot afford this work are left behind.

‘Social’ standard

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Look on social media and you will find the present standard of beauty. While the web has made it so genres and styles bleed together and even individuals who wear clown makeup (it’s called “clowncore”) have found their very own beauty community, there’s still an overall mainstream look that defines “beauty” for the culture. As an example, within the mid-2010s, Kylie Jenner was the usual of beauty. Everyone wanted round, high cheeks, big and full lips and heavy makeup, like full-coverage foundation, sculpted contour, false lashes and structured brows.

For the reason that pandemic, things have modified. At once as I scroll through Instagram, I see an emphasis on clear, supple skin, sculpted jawlines, natural-yet-plump lips, laminated brows, and long (but natural-looking) eyelashes. We’re focused on a more “natural” look. Nevertheless, we’re using the identical amount of effort to create it and, most probably, double or triple the cash.

I’ve heard it described as “back-end beauty,” meaning you spend money on treatments like injectables, lash extensions and everlasting makeup like tattooed brows and lip blushing to do less together with your appearance in your day-to-day life. As an example, to yield this super-clear, plump skin, many individuals are actually supplementing their skincare routine with facial treatments, from traditional aesthetic services like hydrating facials and chemical peels to minimally invasive outpatient treatments like high-tech lasers and light-weight therapy.

One in every of the most important immediately is Morpheus8, a non-surgical treatment that mixes microneedling with radio frequency to stimulate collagen production. It tightens skin and smooths wrinkles, fades pimples scarring and other marks and just generally improves the feel and appear of skin. I’ve seen incredible results from Morpheus8 treatments on the face and body, but these treatments aren’t low cost. The worth varies with location and provider, but in accordance with a story in Cosmopolitan, Morpheus8 costs about $1,500 to $3,000 to treat your face and neck, and as much as $4,000 for larger areas just like the stomach or inner thighs. But this has develop into a routine part of individuals’s beauty routines.

That is probably probably the most extreme end of the spectrum, but it surely’s not only skin. Even trendy hair services, just like the “lived-in” looking hand-painted highlights and balayage to vivids and fashion colours (like lime green or hot pink), hand-tied extensions, keratin treatments and more, can cost upwards of $500 per appointment, easily, and should be maintained.

I’m not scolding anyone on how they spend their money and I’m also not saying that anyone has to get these services done as a part of their upkeep. All of us have autonomy over our own bodies, but many ladies, myself included, enjoy these beauty rituals because they’re our types of self-care. I save as much as afford my injectables and the minute I can afford it, I’ll most probably get some Morpheus8 treatments. But that is my selection. My skincare routine can only go to this point and Morpheus8 would help fade years of pimples scars and associated painful memories.

Nevertheless, the pressures leveled against women to look a certain way is a tale as old as time. Also, whether we agree with it or not, our appearance has lots to do with how we’re perceived.

The wonder premium

If you happen to Google studies about attractiveness in relation to getting hired, you will yield 452 million hits, including a Forbes article from 2021 that states “attractive persons are more prone to get hired, receive higher evaluations and receives a commission more,” in accordance with a University of Buffalo study. And that “a Harvard study previously confirmed, ‘Staff of above average beauty earn about 10 to fifteen% greater than employees of below-average beauty. The scale of this beauty premium is economically significant and comparable to the race and gender gaps within the U.S. labor market.'”

I’ve said it before, but it surely’s weird to put in writing about beauty in an age of “wokeness.” Body positivity, loving oneself and being comfortable with the image within the mirror is something we’re embracing greater than ever before. But … are we? There is a wonderful line between getting lip filler since it makes us feel good versus getting filler to maintain up with what society thinks we should always appear like. It’s much more complicated and sticky when you consider the gap in privilege it creates. I haven’t got a solution for this, and I’d love to listen to how you are feeling about it.

Dazed Beauty noted the favored web meme that features photos of celebrities before and after fame and money, accompanied by the phrase “You are not ugly, you are just poor.” While the language is abrasive, the sentiment is true: money is the world’s worst-kept beauty secret.

Because the article puts it, “Unless we work to vary things, we’re approaching a future wherein our beauty standard evolves to an ever-expensive ideal, further increasing the chance gap between classes. ‘I’m not ugly, I’m just poor’ could be a meme — but the truth behind the satire paints a terrifying vision for the longer term.”

Gia Mazur merwine is a staff author for the Lifestyles Department of The Times-Tribune. Contact her at gmazur@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9127 or @gmazurTT on Twitter.

Contact the author: gmazur@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9127; @gmazurTT on Twitter