Apparently Overplucking is a Thing. (Funny how this happens after the Times declared eyebrowlessness a trend.) Anyway: There are kits and specialists and pencils and transplants.

This news comes after the American Apparel eyebrow memo and the ceremonial bleaching of the brows on America's Next Top Model. Not to mention the fact that we know who does Michelle Obama's brows.

Breasts are an old standby. We've already focused on the butt (thanks, J. Lo), the abs (Britney, circa "Slave 4 U") and in early 2009, we spent an inordinate amount of time on the arms. Maybe it's eyebrows' turn. At least, unlike some other body parts which get fetishized, they're on your face: People can look you in the eye as they judge you.

After Overplucking, It's Time To Call The Professionals [NY Times]

But first: Have you ever been convinced that technology from Europe will make you more beautiful? I haven't. But for some reason beauty companies think women will fall for that shit.

The instant facelift ones are the worst, because they really prey on the aging, as if there's anything you can do about aging. And Sarah's right: If you had money, you'd get surgery, but you don't! So you waste it on stuff that will never work. Sigh.

By the by: I saw this Rejuvenique commercial one night AND COULD NOT SLEEP FOR THREE YEARS AFTERWARD.

Kidding. Sort of. Anyway, Sarah Haskins was asked about all the crazy crap that's marketed toward women. She says:

A lot of people ask me like, how can marketing to women be better? And my default answer is, I don't want it to better, this is my job.

But seriously folks!
She also explains:

I think the big problem, though, stemmed from the fact that everything is - the products are very clearly divided into genders, either because of something with our gender roles, like laundry, or maybe, you know, they find the angle being weight loss, and that's a lady thing, so that goes to yogurt. I mean, that's what the yogurt ads are about, weight loss and, like, regularity.

And:

I was an American studies major in college and we learned about the cult of true womanhood, which was sort of what women were told in the media in like the turn of the century in the Victorian era at that time, which emphasized this piety and purity and submission and domesticity, and how the women sort of control the hearth. And from that, you know, they control the home. And I think the legacy of that has not changed. It's still with us in the media and we've just added to it. Certainly a lot of women's products are still like, do it for your man.

And now I think what's been added to it in a modern mix is this all sense of like, fem-powerment - like you go, girl. You are jogging, you know? And that shouldn't be our prime goal: jogging and going to yoga class without having cramps.

She also admits she likes the Geico commercial where a cash stack with little eyeballs sings to you. It's a gender-neutral idea! But, she says: "I don't think anything — when it's going after women particularly, in trying to frame them in a certain way to make you buy the product — is really going to not be ridiculous in some way." And the proof is in the Target: Women pudding.

Sarah Haskins in Target Women: Beauty Contraptions [Current]
Why Marketers Are Wooing Women All Wrong [NPR]

Earlier: All Sarah Haskins posts
Condoms, Cleaning Supplies & Crap: A Q&A With Sarah Haskins

Interestingly enough, the study results were targeted to plastic surgeons, to help them understand cultural differences in beauty ideals:

Surgeons that perform nose surgery "must be aware of the different concepts of beauty, especially when working with people of non-Caucasian origin," Gomes said.

Most of the recent studies of the issue were "produced in North America, where the beauty concepts seem to have subtle differences when compared to concepts of other cultures," he noted. "Attention to this aspect may help the surgeon to tailor a more adequate technique and meet their patients' expectations better."

Exactly - beauty is a highly objective thing to quantify. We develop our own individual standards of beauty, taking cues from our families, society, our peer group, and pop culture. In addition, we take into account the shifting standards of beauty over time. For example, the hourglass figure, once coveted, has fallen to the wayside in favor of an overall leaner figure. (See also the changing cast of 90210, which demonstrates that beauty standards can change remarkably within a ten-year period.)

So it is possible to determine something as "objectively beautiful" when the values of beauty are constantly shifting?

Researchers have also honed in on the idea of symmetry as being part of a universal standard of beauty, pointing out how other animals prefer symmetry in mate selection and how some of these traits held cross-culturally:

According to a University of Louisville study, when shown pictures of different individuals, Asians, Latinos, and whites from 13 different countries all had the same general preferences when rating others as attractive — that is those that are the most symmetric.

However, John Manning of the University of Liverpool in England cautions against over-generalization, especially by Western scientists. "Darwin thought that there were few universals of physical beauty because there was much variance in appearance and preference across human groups," Manning explained in email interview. For example, Chinese men used to prefer women with small feet. In Shakespearean England, ankles were the rage. In some African tribal cultures, men like women who insert large discs in their lips.

Indeed, "we need more cross-cultural studies to show that what is true in Westernized societies is also true in traditional groups," Manning said his 1999 article.

But with even these basic ideas under scrutiny, how do we truly determine what is considered beautiful?

Brazilians Judge Facial Beauty Differently Than North Americans [Eureka Alert]
What's Most Beautiful? Brazilians Say A Low Nose [Reuters]
Looking Good: The Psychology And Biology of Beauty [Journal of Young Investigators]

Earlier: Women Today Are Fat, Unhealthy - And Full Of Themselves
New 90210 Showcases Skinniness, Outrageous Fortune

If you've seen Toddlers & Tiaras, you already know the deal: Makeup, fake tans, elaborate coifs.

According to Eleanor:

The programme itself follows three contestants, Madison, Sasha and Tyla. Each is desperate, (or rather, they are told they are desperate) to win the title.

Tyla, however, blew Madison right out of the water. Also nine, she is the youngest girl in Britain to wear contact lenses (glasses are, of course, ugly), she has highlights in her hair, and, aged seven, had plastic surgery.

Yes, apparently Tyla's ears stuck out, and had to be changed. In the clip below, you can witness the tone of the documentary, which certainly does its best to paint the contestants — and the mothers, for no fathers are pictured — in a negative light. There's more where this came from on YouTube.

As the little girls prepare for the pageant, there's no joy, no laugther, no "child"-like giddiness. Just tons of makeup. One contestant's mother says, "They remind me of little drag queens, really."

In addition to this new documentary, there's a new book from PowerHouse called High Glitz, featuring portraits of child pageant contestants. The photographs debuted earlier this year at a gallery in The Netherlands.

While the pageant culture is looked upon with a mix of fascination and disdain, blogger Eleanor (who is a "is a 17-year-old feminist from Edinburgh") is also worried. She writes:

It broke my heart to think of these children (none of whom won) as they left the venue. At an age where my biggest body hang up was wondering when my next tooth would come out, what would these girls now think of themselves? That they were ugly? Or indeed, that it mattered? That they were worthless, because their only ‘talent' had been beauty, and they had failed at it? Which would grow up to suffer from eating disorders, (which are affecting younger and younger children), or to believe that fake tans and plastered-on smiles are more important than intelligence, wit, compassion and love?

Well, we can only hope that these baby beauty queens will turn out okay — and that just like other American stuff which washes up on on distant shores — McDonald's; Coca-Cola; Madonna — pageants won't be taken too seriously by too many.

Baby Beauty Queens [The F Word]
Baby Beauty Queens [YouTube]
High Glitz [PowerHouse books]

Combined, they've had breast implants, cheek implants, chin implants, nose jobs, dental procedures, neck liposuction, waist liposuction and laser hair removal. One woman has had Restylane injected into her feet.

In today's New York Times, Ginia Bellafante writes:

"Addicted to Beauty" aims to be "The Office" with liposuction, the emphasis placed on staff politics rather than on patient shenanigans… Nobody looks good; everybody merely appears as desperate as [a castmember named] Gary sounds.

LA Times TV critic Mary McNamara calls Addicted To Beauty "less a reality show than an infomercial." Whether people tune in to watch a "reality" show in which people are so fake remains to be seen. But since these people clearly feed on attention, it seems kind of creepy to enable them.

Tucking, Augmenting and Office Politics [NY Times]
'Addicted to Beauty' [LA Times]

I have no idea what it's like to have hair that's considered difficult to manage (aside from flatness), but it was easy to empathize with the little girls on this show because, as women, most of us are subjected to the idea that we're not measuring up to certain standards of beauty, whatever they may be. And while I could understand Tyra's outrage over a mother who chemically relaxes her 3-year-old daughter's hair, TyTy's stance on the hair issue was confusing, since she's just about the weaviest person on the planet; in fact, she regularly gives white women weaves on America's Next Top Model.

Sustainable Youth — which makes capsules did the study in conjunction with Kelton Research and found that "one in two (44%) women ages 25-44 would give up one tenth of their savings to look a decade younger forever, compared to 26 percent of those 45 and older."

Do you understand this data at all? It means if you are 25, and you have $500 saved, you'd spend $50 to "look" 15.

Or maybe you're a $35-year-old spending, say, $200 to "look" 25. We live in a world where that happens. Especially with ads like this in magazines:

I keep posting this one because it is so infuriating. The ability to halt time has not been "discovered" in a lab.

Other statistics from the study:

Over two in five (41%) women with a household income of $40,000 or more would give up 10 percent of their savings if it meant they'd look 10 years younger, compared to less than three in ten (26%) who earn less.
More mothers than women without children would give up 10 percent of their savings in order to eternally look a decade younger.

All of this is supposed to support Sustainable Youth's "value-priced" products, but what it actually does is highlight how sad it is that women chase the "anti-aging" dream.

When I posted some of the worst anti-aging ads in existence, one commenter admitted:

"I worked in this industry for 2 years as a copy writer. I was told to lie, lie and lie some more. Anything to get women to buy our products. I hated it..."

Another wrote:

"The sad thing about all these creams and lotions is that they do 'work' - for the companies and manufacturers. They sell billions of $/€'s this stuff every year. Next year and for many years to come there will be 'better', 'improved' versions that will sell very well too."

And yet, there were many comments on the post What If Women Weren't Afraid To Grow Old? in which women admitted to being afraid of growing old, of looking old. "I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to look your best," wrote one woman. Another said, "I just had botox for the first time and I love it. I did it for myself, nobody else."

Botox doesn't last forever; looking your best doesn't have to mean spending a lot on "anti-aging" potions. But why would some women rather have the "youth" than the cash?

One-Third of American Women Choose Youth Over Savings [Breitbart]
Earlier: Sick & Twisted: "Anti-Aging" & "Cosmeceutical" Ads
What If Women Weren't Afraid To Grow Old?
Related: Sustainable Youth

Friends, you cannot stop aging. The second hand clicks by, time is a immovable force. We are aging constantly. And women who indulge in Botox and plastic surgery do not look as though they have stopped the hands of time; they generally look as though they have had a procedure done. In a piece for the Guardian, Kira Cochran calls out the celebrities who seem not to age:

Over the last 10 years, the public face of ageing seems to have changed completely, and many of the world's most prominent women hardly seem to grow older at all. It's not so much that they always look young, exactly, or that they have the tightly pulled skin of traditional facelifts. But they do look completely different to their non-famous peers. Where other women's lips recede, theirs stay mysteriously plump. Where others have laughter lines, they remain undimpled. And when describing how they stay so taut, the explanation is generally this. They moisturise. They drink water. They work out. They eat well. They avoid the sun. They don't smoke. Which is enough to make the average healthy-living woman wince while inspecting her own wrinkles.

While Kylie Minogue, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox have admitted "trying" Botox, Nicole Kidman has said: "To be honest, I am completely natural. I have nothing in my face or anything. I wear sunscreen, and I don't smoke. I take care of myself. And I'm very proud to say that." Uh-huh.

Now, of course, it's understandable why a woman — especially in Hollywood — wouldn't want to age. The roles dry up, you get neglected, etc. As it is, actresses get asked to play the mothers of actors younger than they are. Cochrane includes this quote from Madonna: "Once you reach a certain age you're not allowed to be adventurous, you're not allowed to be sexual. I mean, is there a rule? Are you supposed to just die?" No, you're not "supposed" to die. You're supposed to buy into the fact that wrinkles = ugly; lines = hideous and gray hair = abomination.

It could be argued that celebrities are different; their careers and appearances are linked, so they should be forgiven for the injections and surgery. But what about the average woman, living in a society where she is inundated with images of these women who do not seem to age? Cochrane writes:

What does this culture mean for ordinary women? Well, for one, the beauty standard we're expected to live up to is, specifically, a surgical one - which is complicated by the fact that this is so rarely acknowledged. The result is that we are presented with image after image of women (and, increasingly, men) who are astoundingly unlined, and are forced to compare ourselves with them.

And we are forced to endure ads like this one:



If you don't use their product, you're clearly rushing to your 40th birthday, which, due to a wrinkle (heh) in time, will arrive sooner than if you do use their product, the dubiously titled "Youth Surge." But when it comes down to it, should women have to feel afraid of aging? Of looking old? Is there no room for reverence of the wisdom and experience that wrinkles and white hair signify? Cochrane believes that trying to look as young as possible for as long as possible means that as women, "we're bending to a viciously sexist and ageist ideal." "And, let's face it," she writes. "Obedience is never a good look." But what if women were not afraid to grow old? What if women were allowed to age as they wished? What if brands were shilled by Carmen Dell'Orefice, what if wrinkles were something to be proud of, what if a leading, A-list actress had a lined face and gray hair? What would the world be like? How much time and money otherwise spent on creams, potions and unnecessary procedures would be available for other pursuits?

Age Shall Not Wither Them [Guardian]

Well, she asked the plastic surgeon for his opinion, as part of an exposé for Vanity Fair. Since Americans spent $13 billion on 11.7 million cosmetic procedures (both surgical and nonsurgical) in 2007, and it seems that patients getting elective cosmetic surgery are younger and younger. Berliet actually visited three physicians for her article, asking them what she "needed" and, as the piece notes, "The answers were as different as the doctors themselves." Berliet writes:

When I began this project, I was relatively certain that I didn't need plastic surgery. I also suspected that plastic surgeons might tell me otherwise. To test my hypothesis, I went undercover. In the process, I hoped to learn something about what happens inside examination rooms across New York City and, by extension, the United States. Are teenybopper idols and those who emulate them freely choosing plastic surgery? Or is plastic surgery choosing them?

The first surgeon, Dr. Rapaport, wanted to lipo Berliet's "waist wads," even though they were "borderline." (He said: "I've done supermodels with much less than this. To them it was important. To each his own.") He also wanted to suck the fat out of her outer thighs and "banana rolls" — that is, the part of her butt that peeks out of her underwear. ("As a Caucasian woman, you probably…would want this brought down," he explained.) Add a C-cup, some Restylane, and a nose job, and you've got $33,000 worth of procedures. Dr. Rapaport also suggested Berliet do something with her hair.

The next two doctors Berliet visited weren't nearly as aggressive. "Botox? You don't need it. You look good," Dr. Heller insisted. Dr. Racanelli was more even-handed: "The way it works is: you tell me if something specifically bothers you, and I'll tell you if I can address it. But I'm not here to sell you services or goods."

But one has to wonder if the eager Dr. Rapaport is the exception or the rule. Are cosmetic surgeons more salesmen than doctors? Remember the 26 year old who was told she needs Botox? Or what about the doctor who suggested Tracie get lipo on her vagina? And what are the chances that a young woman or teenage girl is going to see a Dr. Racanelli type instead of a Dr. Rapaport type?

Plastic Surgery Confidential [Vanity Fair]
Earlier: New York Doctors Tell 26-Year-Old She Needs Botox
Pimp My Vadge
Paying Someone To Cut You Is Growing In Popularity

The video, which was funded by Dove and directed by Pinny Grylls, uses a split screen to juxtapose the women offering their imagined conclusions about these individuals' lives, and the reaction shots of those being commented on. It makes for uneasy viewing, at times — one woman looks at another and says simply "Divorced" and when the roles are reversed, the second woman says back " 'I'd like to do what you would like me to do,' that's what that face says" — but there are sweet moments, too. When a middle-aged woman with close-cropped hair says a twenty-something blonde "Loves her mum," the younger woman actually tears up. "She's got very nice moles," says one woman, "I like moles on faces, and freckles." When an older white woman says a young black woman with dreadlocks is "the face of a very modern youth," I almost cringed, expecting some sort of borderline patronizing 'Gosh society has gotten SO multicultural!' remark. But all she meant was that women in their twenties no longer have to go out with pancake foundation to face the world. It's all very cute and meaningful, and the point is clearly to remind us that we are all individuals, since at the end the various women tell us who they are, really, and it's sometimes surprising (and wonderful) in the way that it's surprising (and wonderful) to find out the dowdy downstairs neighbor is actually a slam poet, or whatever, and when was the last time you could say an ad by a beauty company was 'meaningful', anyway? This feels kind of like consciousness-raising, or affirmation, only without the taint of granola earnestness, and it will make you smile.

Of course, we all know Dove is owned by Unilever, a corporation whose sheaf of brands includes a fleet of skin-lightening creams marketed in India and Africa, and the execrable Axe body spray. It is in a certain measure hypocritical to promote women's self-esteem and "real beauty" in advertising for one brand, while feeding women's insecurities and underlining the offensive idea that only white skin can be beautiful for another. (Not to mention that it also requires a somewhat elastic understanding of women's natures to simultaneously put together a fake girl band that dances in lingerie while singing about the aphrodisiac properties of men's deodorant.) But it is still nice to see women talking about each other and themselves in surprising ways. Even if it is only an ad.

It also serves as a reminder of the effect that our comments to and about each other have on our self-esteem. Seeing the looks on the women's faces, sometimes anxious, sometimes stoic, as they awaited evaluation by a perfect stranger, made me wince at times. Dove's research — necessary caveats here for "research" completed by a cosmetics company, grain of salt, etc — shows that 15% of women report never being complimented, and 19% say they are complimented only rarely. With that in mind, why not try complimenting three people today? It'll make you and them feel good. (Dove's research did not investigate the self-esteem effects of being complimented and then not knowing how or whether to respond and feeling awkward about it. Next time, I guess.)

Related: Dove Surveys Reveal Why Women Thrive On Compliments [The Sun]
Dove Video "Intuition" [YouTube]
Axe Video "Bomchickawahwah" [YouTube]

Earlier: Hello, My Name Is Awkward And I Cannot Return Your Compliment
The Inconvenient Truth Behind Dove, The Love-Your-Body Beauty Company

Ms. McElmore wears a wig, and the hair (underneath) that she wanted dyed is not relaxed or treated in any way. It's natural hair that could be dyed with regular hair dye. A JC Penney spokesperson issued a statement, which read, in part:

Our salon receptionist felt that we did not have the technical proficiency... to perform the service you required. She may not however have expressed this to you in a way that was not offensive. For this I again apologize. Because customer service is ... so important to our company, we would rather not attempt the service if we cannot perform it as required.

Over at Womanist Musings, blogger Renee writes, "Isn't that beautiful lawyer speak for your hair is too nappy and untamable to deal with?" One commenter posts, "That's funny because when I dye my hair, I can use the boxes with white women on them and it turns out just the same. I didn't realize that my hair was such a problem."

But the reader who sent this story to us as a tip muses: "Isn't it also somewhat true that 'ethnic' hair is structurally different that white hair? Where do we draw the line? As an Asian-American, I tend to gravitate towards Asian-produced shampoos (Shiseido's Tsubaki) and stylists because of an assumption that they'd 'get' my hair better."

Womanist Musings' Renee calls the hair care industry segregated. "We have become accustomed to the segregation," she claims. "The segregation is so normalized that black hair care even has its own aisle at Walmart… Think about the idea of a profession that specializes according to race, and what that means. By simply refusing to learn specific skills they can daily exclude blacks from patronizing their business; thus creating an all white environment."

Should a woman be able to walk into her local salon and expect services, no matter her color, race or hair texture? Or should black people only go to "black" salons, Asian people go to Asian salons, and so on?

Woman Says JC Penny Refused Service Because She Is Black [KTLA]
Salon Sued Over Racial Discrimination [KABC]
JC Penny's Doesn't Do "Black Hair" [Womanist Musings]

For instance: Olay Regenerist claims it is "a deep penetrating moisturizer with Aquacurrent Science." Dyan Diaz, 30, says this means: "They are taking stuff out of the ocean like jellyfish and dissecting it and telling us it is good for your skin." Heh. Good guess! Actually, Olay claims, "Aquacurrent Science, the study of water movement in the skin and hair, helps create products with greater moisturization." Disappointing, huh, Dyan? Jellyfish gunk sounds way more effective.

What about Clarins Younger Longer Balm, "with advanced neuro-cosmetic technology and rare concentrated botanicals, skin is revitalized"? Yeah, that's right. Neuro-cosmetic. Soline McLain, a 28-year-old law student, says: "I would think it has to do with the brain. It makes you smarter? I will put it on when I am studying for constitutional law." (Hahahahaha! It actually has to do with nerve endings in the skin.)

As for Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lifting skin care, "'Virtual immunity' means you’ll see a noticeably more lifted look, a brilliant clarity, a newly refined smoothness." Virtual immunity. Virtual immunity. Carmel Agdeppa, 27, wonders: "Is it better for your skin against any foreign bacteria?" Oh, Carmel! If only. Instead, Estée Lauder explains that if you use their cream, your skin "essentially appears almost as if it has been exempted from the signs of premature aging." Essentially. Almost. As if. Haha! The fact that they expect anyone to believe that is the most hilarious part of all.

Let’s Play Buzzword: Defining Phrases Used in Skin Care Advertising [NY Times]

Writes matukonyc:

"Unfortunately, I think describing P & G as 'progressive' is a bit naive. Cover Girl is among the least expensive of major drugstore cosmetics; one could easily argue that marketing to black women is a cynical attempt to make poor people buy their cheap product. Are KFC and McDonald's progressive because they use black people in ads? As for being 'gay-friendly,' I think the fact that Ellen DeGeneres has a popular daytime talk show with the right kind of demographics is why she's in their ads. Capitalism trumps prejudice every time, if the price is right!"

Well, it is a business, after all. But Cover Girl could use whomever they please. Or they could use black woman and, you know, lighten her skin. While it's terrible that cosmetics companies generally promote a "white beauty" standard, is it also awful that only the low-budget brands are willing to embrace the gays and minorities? Should blacks and gays be insulted by their inclusion by Cover Girl? Or, seeing as how many of the people who shop at drug stores for cosmetics are young — or teens — is Cover Girl setting a good example by using diverse "faces"?

Is Cover Girl The Most Progressive Cosmetics Company? [Jossip]
Earlier: Double Takes
Photoshop of Horrors

"For those who desire to wear form-fitting outfits, this procedure eliminates the problem." That's right, if you want to wear tight dresses, all you have to do is get your skin cut off. As of now, 20 female patients have gotten the bra-line back lift done. Seven have been questioned and all had positive feedback. But seriously: Were women clamoring for back fat surgery? Or is eliminating the world of unsightly "redundant" skin — which he admits is natural — just Dr. Hunstad's personal mission? How come there were no male back fat patients? And why are women always encouraged to go under the knife in a never-ending search for "perfection"?

New Procedure Gets Rid of "Back Fat" [InventorSpot]

Because let's face it: The younger generation is fucked. Eight-year-old girls are getting pedicures and bikini waxes — won't these become life-long habits? Next come the boob job at 16 and lipo in the early 20s. Some people make fun of rappers for spending their money on cars and bling but at least you can try and pawn your diamonds, sell your Benz. What kind of investment is Botox? What kind of lessons are young girls learning when our culture focuses so much on looks? One can only imagine the psychological ramifications on today's young girls who are faced with padded bras, thongs and looking up to whitewashed or size 00 celebrities. And what of the young women who can't afford $100 a month in beauty products? Are they actually better off, in a way? (What are the chances they'll see it that way?)

This study was done in conjunction with the documentary America The Beautiful. It's so frustrating that this film is rated R when The Dark Knight is PG-13; meaning that millions of kids saw the Batman film when they really need to examine their priorities.

Don't get it twisted: It's fun to play with makeup and haircolor. For plenty of girls, it's not even about attracting the opposite sex. But the overwhelming focus this culture has been placing on looks has got to be damaging to the younger generation. (Don't forget: Girls today think being called sexy is the ultimate compliment.) It's clear that we need to make a change: How do we even begin?

Botox And Blush Obsession Seen As Cause For Alarm [Reuters]

Earlier: Waxing
Teen Girl Gets Lipo To "Prevent" Eating Disorder
How Many 8-Year-Olds Have To Get Bikini Waxes Before We All Agree The Terrorists Have Won?
Young Girls Today: Tramps In Training?
America The Beautiful Reveals Ugly Truths
Today's Teens Believe It's Better To Be Sexy Than Clever

[Photo via Megan* on Flickr.]