Yesterday, The Outline published a story about the entirety of skin care being a scam, and the beauty world EXPLODED with rage.
If you haven't read it yet and do not feel like being trolled, here are the big points:
Every woman in the world is trying to get "perfect skin," and we are ALL going to ridiculous, dangerous lengths to get it. Anyone who has a multi-product skin care routine is a capitalist lemming, because humans have had skin for millions of years, and it's been GREAT until now. Imperfect skin is *fine*, according to the piece, but also you'll be silently judged by your friends if you have it.
Moisturizer is a scam. So are acids. So is Reddit.
As a beauty editor, I was annoyed by this. At its most basic level, the story is built on a false premise — that ALL people, primarily women, want "perfect" skin as it's defined by Glossier (apparently), and that we're big ol' dum-dums who will just buy any crazy bullshit to try to get the skin of a teenage model.
As a human in her 30s who has struggled mightily with her skin, this story pissed me off. It's VERY important to discuss the failings of the skin care industry, because there's a lot of dangerous misinformation out there. But shaming people who buy serums? Come the hell on. Shine a light on the industry; don't unkindly shit on those of us who are "obsessed with skincare" but also maybe "don't have great skin."
ANYWAY. I am not alone in being furiously pissed about this story. While you were sleeping in your ~OBVIOUSLY VERY FRIVOLOUS~ overnight gel mask, Twitter was engaging in the Great Skin Care Family Roast of 2018.
Twitter rose straight up and told "skin care is a scam" haters to take a (historical) hike.
I'm not going to comment on that Outline piece about skincare being dumb because of the millennia-long history of telling women that anything they're interested in or care about is dumb, as well as mocking cosmetics and self-care even while telling women to be naturally perfect.
— Heidi N Moore (@moorehn) January 30, 2018
Humans have literally *always* done things to their skin to preserve and beautify it.
Literally cosmetics and moisturizers are mentioned in the Bible, oiling the body used to be a kind of religious tribute, and cosmetic containers are found in societies going back to the dawn of human civilization, but yes, let's pretend skincare is a new and useless fad. pic.twitter.com/zGMDgxAbAj
— Heidi N Moore (@moorehn) January 30, 2018
(The entire thread is worth reading in its entirety, as it includes so! damn! much! historical context on the "criticism" of cosmetics and how women's worth is systematically tied to and diminished by it.)
Some people brought the TRUTH...
read the outline article about "the skincare con" and instantly went to put on a charcoal mask because WHAT WE'RE NOT GONNA DO is act like wanting clean skin and bathing is some anti-feminist act
— sashay✨shanté✨ (@violet__minded) January 30, 2018
Some brought the simple advice...
Skincare is definitely not a scam. Please continue to take care of your skin and use high quality products. Do your research. Thank you.
— Makeup For WOC (@MakeupForWOC) January 30, 2018
Some brought Tahani...
Outline: “skincare is a scam”
— Tegan Reyes (@teganreyes) January 31, 2018
Me: pic.twitter.com/tDot8wtlHJ
And some brought the sick SEO burns.
great seo on the outline piece that doesn't believe in skincare but def believes in getting search traffic for these popular skincare brands:
— Kathleen Hou (@kathleenhou) January 30, 2018
the-skincare-con-glossier-drunk-elephant-biologique-recherche-p50
The fact is, people love skin care for a MILLION different reasons. It's not all to achieve impossibly smooth Barbie skin.
congratulations to the Outline, who managed to reinvent the "women only wear makeup to feel attractive to others" theory of vapidity, but for 2018 pic.twitter.com/y8ecQPfRES
— Sam H. Escobar ???? (@myhairisblue) January 30, 2018
Wait... you mean everyone *isn't* just spending too much money because they love 2 exist in a capitalist hellscape?
here's a thought: women, among many others, enjoy skincare, haircare, makeup, and beauty products for many reasons. it's almost like we're [whispers] NUANCED
— Sam H. Escobar ???? (@myhairisblue) January 30, 2018
It's almost like there's literally NO way to win.
Society: Women need to look hot all the time
— Julia Claire (@ohJuliatweets) January 30, 2018
*Women buy and use makeup*
Society: No we want you to be hot without makeup
*Women invest time and money in skincare*
Society: Lol u r so stupid skincare is a scam literally kill yourself?
If only you could put EMPATHY in skin creams.
It also sucks that this was written with zero empathy or even awareness of real medical conditions - PCOS, cystic/hormonal acne, psoriasis, etc. - that cause skin problems and are painful and embarrassing and can be mitigated by a skincare regime/treatment.
— Katelynn McGinley (@katelynnmorgan) January 30, 2018
Self-care is NOT just a sexy buzzword that marketing companies toss around.
I would like to point out to Skincare Is A Scam twitter that there is an intersection of mental health and skincare and it's not just WAH THE WORLD IS HARD LET'S DO A MASK!
— Taylor Behnke (@ItsRadishTime) January 30, 2018
People rely on it for their mental and physical health, something The Outline piece just doesn't address.
Dermatillomania is an OCD-spectrum disorder that I have and manage partially by taking care of my skin when I experience the compulsion to destroy it by ~literally pulling it off of my face~
— Taylor Behnke (@ItsRadishTime) January 30, 2018
And did you notice the strange end to the story, which appears to incorporate a "self love" message? Allure EIC Michelle Lee did, and she is *on* that.
The story ends trying to make an analogy to body weight & skin color. But the strides we’ve made in culture when it comes to body & racial/ethnic diversity have revolved around the message: You do YOU. Shaming people for loving skin care is not the way to move the needle forward.
— Michelle Lee (@heymichellelee) January 30, 2018
Skin care is not just about adhering to messed up societal norms. Many see it as an act of resistance.
♡ just a quick reminder that in a world that socializes women to hate their bodies and their appearance, finding joy in having and maintaining a skincare and makeup routine can be a radical way to resist the evils of patriarchy ♡
— danielle k nelson (@elleeenel) January 31, 2018
Other acknowledge that a lot of skin care marketing has misogynistic roots, but also, it's cold and nobody wants their faces to flake off.
ok yes most skincare is a scam & the quest for perfect skin is an intangible goal perpetuated by misogynist media or whatever but also being like “we don’t smother our other organs in moisturizer!!!” is a stupid argument because my kidneys aren’t exposed to -10 degree windchill
— olivia gatwood (@oliviagatwood) January 30, 2018
The science about what ingredients are beneficial and which are not *is* actually there. No dermatologist will tell you to skip moisturizer unless there's a really specific reason.
In order for skincare to be a scam you have to believe that, like, no actual science has been done about how certain ingredients affect skin which is just...not...true? Like that science exists
— Amanda Mull (@amandamull) January 31, 2018
Because "What if skin care was BAD" is a rejected "Black Mirror" episode, not a legit fact-based story.
The take we need: the skincare industry is rife with predatory and toxic products ignored by consumer protection infrastructure because they're used mostly by women.
— Ava Ex Machina (@silicondomme) January 30, 2018
The take we don't: skincare is bad u guys.
In our shame-based culture, literally EVERYTHING is seen as bad.
one thing that's super true about skincare is that having acne is seen as a moral failure and that needs to end!!!
— priya (@priya_ebooks) January 31, 2018
i remember a girl saying "don't you ever wash your face?" super snottily to a friend of mine with bad skin
And stories like this just reinforce ideas about "bad" skin versus "good" skin.
listen i understand the frustration w/ expensive skincare and why can’t we just exist in the body we have acne and all, but that outline article is smug and uninformed
— vampire workday (@imbobswaget) January 30, 2018
Wanting to look and feel YOUR best — not look exactly like a teenage model — is an urge that's been around as long as humans have.
Hmmm. Skincare and “self-care” are not 2018 inventions though? Cleopatra was bathing in milk and honey, spritzing with rosewater and cleansing with apple cider vinegar 2,000 years ago. Women have wanted to look, and FEEL good, forever. This isn’t a new trend.
— Polexia (@polexiastardust) January 31, 2018
Cleopatra was so ahead of the curve with the ACV.
And choosing which "medical studies" to cite to back up half-baked opinions is pretty irresponsible.
Honestly girl, there’s 200+ tweets each pointing out how rude this article is and how baseless it is. If this was meant to be social commentary then she shouldn’t have tried to quote (and cherrypick) medical studies to claim skincare is “bad for you”. This was a mess. pic.twitter.com/gOswhI1YZy
— katerooni ???? (@katenax) January 31, 2018
And anecdotes like the quoted one here are dramatic, but not exactly illustrative of how most people use skin care products in 2018.
Okay but obviously this is going to happen because you’re not supposed to use AHA’s and tretinoin together. This doesn’t make skincare a scam, all it means is that people need to be properly informed & educated about skincare before using it LMAO this article is a mess pic.twitter.com/dUE2GcKp1z
— Asia Jackson (@aasian) January 31, 2018
Even magazines are coming in hot, subtweeting the everloving shit out of this article.
In defence of skincare: https://t.co/DaXb73zYkk pic.twitter.com/nGrh3RVQio
— British Vogue (@BritishVogue) January 31, 2018
Marie Claire with the direct burn.
Our diets, hormones, pollutants, and occupations are completely different than they were 50, 100, and 1,000 years ago. Skincare is rising to meet a demand of issues Cleopatra most likely didn't have in her day. Also, we don't die at age 25, anymore ????
— Marie Claire (@marieclaire) January 30, 2018
But never let it be said that good can't come out of bad.
went into the outline piece thinking it'd reinforce my own anxieties about being clueless re: skincare, left with at least 15 solid product recs from all the takedown pieces
— Julia Pugachevsky (@jaypugz) January 30, 2018
never say journalism can't change you
I HIGHLY recommend The Hanacure mask, btw.
Speaking of masks...
outline: *publishes bad take on skin care*
— gabe bergado (@gabebergado) January 30, 2018
me: pic.twitter.com/rUriEF3h1G
When you're a beauty editor and your phone is blowing up and you're like:
every one's waiting for my take on skincare. you fools i will never tell you what i think about skincare. it's a secret. i'm taking it to the grave
— leon (@leyawn) January 30, 2018
OMG, did nobody tell you we're all meant to be fleshless meat sacks now?!?!
a healthy adult woman actually shouldn't have skin at all, that's what big skincare won't tell you , go paleo
— ???????????? ???????????? (@HowVeryGauche) January 30, 2018
"OH NO MY ARGUMENT!"
"skincare isn't true introspection" i crow, decisively winning my argument against absolutely noone
— ????️????️????️????️????️????️????️ (@nomchompsky) January 30, 2018
But really, there are MAJOR skin care issues affecting the country. Perhaps we should spend more time talking about those, instead of needlessly hurting women who like a good cleanser.
The Outline should focus its talents on *this* kind of overpriced skincare that actually harms America. https://t.co/PGFOLoEzu3
— Heidi N Moore (@moorehn) January 30, 2018
Because, at the end of the day...
Don’t care if this is shade but you really gotta be careful of who you take skin care advice from especially if they aren’t even a dermatologist.
— Ⓥincent Ⓥalentine (@BigBabyJRAM) January 31, 2018
Amen.
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