The Beauty Salvation Myth: AKA the thing that marketers use to make you buy new things you don’t really want or need. Capitalism’s best friend.

Hi. If you didn’t know, in 2016 I wrote 11,177 words and poured countless hours of (sometimes quite depressing) research into why (young) people decide to undergo transformative cosmetic surgery for my dissertation. It was A Lot, and possibly squarely in the realm of ‘bitten off more than I can chew’, but I somehow made it through despite blocks and bumps and literally submitting it to Turn It In less than 5 minutes before the deadline. Yikes. -10/10, do not recommend.

But despite the anguish it caused me, I am pretty damn proud of that stack of paper and the work it contains. See, I am fascinated by the beauty industry, specifically the science behind the what and why in all realms of it, and despite not going to university for something in that field, I have kept up with new research. The most interesting theory that I uncovered during my dissi research was The Beauty Salvation Myth. It thoroughly piqued my Social Scientist mind.

What is The Beauty Salvation Myth?

I first discovered the term when I was reading a research paper by [name], when talking about [title of paper/etc]. In the simplest of terms, the Beauty Salvation Myth theorises that those enticed by beauty products/procedures are operating under the belief that buying the latest product, or getting another procedure, will bring them closer to ‘salvation’ – aka the ideal standard of beauty. It’s basically a Capitalist corporations wet dream. Considering the ideal standard of beauty is constantly changing.