3 Lies the Beauty Industry Tells and How to Stop Listening

The global beauty industry is predicted to be worth $863 billion by the year 2024. One way the industry makes so much money is by marketing themselves as the solution to our problems. But do these problems really exist? It seems that many of these problems are greatly exaggerated or straight-up untrue.

The world of beauty products relies heavily on those of us who purchase the products they sell. For many companies, this means marketing themselves as a solution to problems that didn’t really exist before the 1900s. The criticism of natural hair color and skin color, fluffy body types and body hair were all perpetuated or created by companies with something to sell. Here’s how to stop letting lies or manipulations affect how you feel about yourself as well as three lies beauty “gurus” are telling.

1. "Natural isn’t Beautiful"

Hair color and skin color are just a few of the natural things about the female body that have been attacked by the beauty industry. For example, women didn’t really change their hair color before the 1960s. In the 1950s, an estimated 7% of women dyed their hair. By the 1970s, that number had increased to 40%.

Until the 1920s, the beauty standard for women was that pale skin was more beautiful. Many women wore hats and carried parasols to avoid the sun’s rays. A rapid shift happened in the late 20s, with public figures like Chanel showing off a tan and fashion designer Jean Patou releasing the first tanning oil.

When it comes to the idea that the body’s natural state isn’t good enough, remember that health should always be your first priority. Tanning beds can increase the risk of skin cancer, and some hair dyes contain toxins that could put your health at risk. If darker skin or colorful hair is your personal preference, that’s totally ok. Just don’t feel pressured to make changes to conform. Look for sunless tanners and natural hair dyes as alternatives.

2. "Thinner is Better"

Before the 1900s, Americans liked being plump. This was believed to be a benefit of having access to extra food since migrating from Europe. Carrying more weight was seen as a sign of health and vitality. Diets began to sneak into our culture in the late 1800s and changes to the fashion industry made women more aware of their size.

The truth behind weight is that it isn’t an accurate indicator of physical well-being. Harvard Health explains that numbers like BMI may be predictive of poor health, but it’s not always a reliable measurement. While being at a higher weight can put one at risk of heart disease, for example, there are many thin people who are also at risk. Plus, there is plenty of evidence that suggests attracting the opposite sex isn’t as reliant on size as we’ve been led to believe.

For those getting caught up in the thinner is better lie, remember that the diet and wellness industry makes a lot of money off of women trying to achieve a perfect body. Focus instead on healthy habits, such as eating plenty of vegetables and getting regular exercise, which will improve your health more than an expensive shake or dangerous cleanse.

3. "Hair is Unfeminine or Unhygienic"

Women didn’t begin to shave their armpits until advertisers told them to in the early 1900s. HuffPost features a specific 1915 advertisement that suggested women wearing summer dresses shouldn’t really go out dancing before they deal with their armpit hair.

It wasn’t long before advertisers were pointing out leg hair, too. The solution to the problem most women didn’t know existed? The hair removal products they were trying to sell.

There is now a western societal expectation that women should remove the hair from their underarms, legs and bikini lines. In other cultures, removing hair from all of these places isn’t the norm. For example, you might think the Brazilian wax is all the rage in Brazil, but it’s actually an Americanized method of hair removal — and a pricey one at that, with high-quality salons and day spas charging up to $120.

What if we all learn to love what's in the mirror? Would it be easier to brush off the false beauty standards being perpetuated by advertising? That being said, there’s nothing wrong with loving what the beauty industry has to offer, either. The most important thing is to do what makes one happy — but to make those choices for ourselves, not because we were fed some lies.

Copyright 2019, Wellness.com