The Psychological Effects of the Beauty Industry
by Alina Kazmi
By Ike Ellyana (@ikemotret20) via Unsplash.com
The beauty industry is a billion-dollar business that helps influence important societal factors such as beauty standards and manipulates how we perceive ourselves. Through the use of strategies such as marketing manipulation and the ever-growing roster of new products, this industry subliminally affects our psychological framework by exploiting our emotional and subconscious notions to further sell products.
Derived from various factors such as calculated marketing campaigns or products, this industry clearly has an agenda, and it is to sell as many products as possible, without any regard to the psychological impacts. The psychological implications of these practices done by the industry affect us determinately and are often done without any regard for our society. The industry pushes this agenda of beauty standards through subliminal marketing and the promotion of new product drops to target all our "problems”. These implications further affect how we see beauty and promote toxic standards of beauty, which can impact our mental well-being. A survey conducted revealed that 80% of individuals bought a beauty product to help themselves look or feel better. This conveys how prominent this narrative of beauty standards is, as it subconsciously entices individuals to purchase products to look or feel a certain way.
Chart via Metachart.com
Strategies used by the industry promote this unrealistic standard of beauty, which impacts us in areas such as self-esteem and our perception of beauty. Professor Benedict Jones is a psychology researcher and lecturer at the University of Glasgow who studies societal factors regarding attractiveness and human perception.
Professor Jones explains how exposure to these unrealistic standards of beauty alters our self-esteem: "I think the effects can be really sort of pronounced. It's definitely the case that when people think about how attractive they are—and that seems to be a lot of people—there's a lot of evidence that this is part of people's self-esteem.
They kind of calibrate that depending on what they are exposed to and what kind of things they see in the world, so things like portrayal of really kind of unrealistic, potentially even unattainable beauty standards."
The presentation of these unrealistic standards of beauty undeniably contributes to self-esteem issues and shapes how we perceive beauty. The industry's use of marketing techniques and curated products all feed into this standard of attractiveness underlined in our society. These factors can also pressure individuals to look a certain way, which caters to the beauty standards implemented by the industry. A survey conducted revealed that 10 out of 10 individuals found that the beauty industry promotes unrealistic beauty standards. This research further suggests that most individuals are aware of how unrealistic these standards set by the beauty industry are. The industry not only emphasises the sales of products but also adversely pushes these unrealistic expectations of beauty upon us.
When we explore the psychological effects of the beauty industry, it is important to examine this "normalisation" of cosmetic surgery driven by the industry. This "normalisation" of cosmetic procedures subtly reinforces this unrealistic beauty standard and imparts negative connotations on facial traits that do not fit this narrative of beauty. This can cause self-esteem issues or body dysmorphia with an intense focus on looking perfect. Through the means of influencer marketing, the industry often promotes this act of getting cosmetic procedures as an enhancement to looks, disregarding any potential risks of the procedures.
According to PolicyBee, in 2024, the cosmetic procedure industry in the United Kingdom acquired an 8.4% surge, highlighting a demand for cosmetic treatments. Accompanied by an astonishing 13.9 million individuals considering cosmetic procedures, which is 20.4% of the overall British population.
Graph via Metachart.com
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Professor Jones explains : "It's kind of saying you can look this good if you spend x amount of money, kind of thing and also, a lot of the cosmetic processes aren't surgical procedures; they're not necessarily risk-free either. So, on one hand, there's kind of that aspect of it that it's just another way which sort of higher standards of attractiveness are kind of being set."
Cosmetic procedures, whether non-invasive, such as Botox, or invasive procedures, such as rhinoplasty, help reinforce this standard of beauty backed by the industry. However minuscule the treatments might seem, this normalisation of cosmetic procedures is detrimental to our perception of beauty. This can further lead to a society which is constantly striving to look perfect, rejecting any basis of diversity.
Screenshots from TikTok via @missannagrace_, @lileviex, @amberrosebad
With the aid of marketing, the industry has a psychological impact on the well-being of our society by its calculated presentation of the ideal beauty standard through digitalised content. These seemingly harmless photos or videos of flawless skin and leaner bodies subconsciously uphold the ideal standards of beauty promoted by the industry. Additionally, leaving those who do not have those characteristics to be subjected to self-esteem issues, body dysmorphia or stress due to failing to meet the industry's requirements for beauty. These standards can have one really questioning their own attractiveness and hyper-fixating on their "flaws”.
Miriam Ghazi, who is a beautician that regularly gets lip fillers and Botox upkeep, shares her personal thoughts on why she gets cosmetic surgery and on “fitting in”.
A survey conducted revealed 80% of participants felt that the beauty industry affects their self-esteem negatively. This further conveys the negative consequences of this standard of beauty led by the industry, as it affects the self-esteem of most individuals.
Professor Jones said: "That can obviously have a negative effect on how people perceive their own attractiveness or how they perceive the attractiveness of other people in their everyday lives as well, so it can have a negative effect on people's self-esteem and how they interact and perceive not just themselves but other people.”
This further affirms how serious the psychological affects of the beauty industry are due to this continuous narrative of unrealistic standards of beauty, which can lead to complications such as self-esteem issues or body dysmorphia. The industry fails to acknowledge any of these negative effects, leaving consumers struggling with their mental well-being.
Social media also contributes to this psychological effect of the beauty industry, as it is used as a tool to further promote these unrealistic standards. With the usage of influencers and strategic marketing, the constant focus on this digitised standard of beauty can take form in self-esteem issues or body dysmorphia. A survey conducted unveiled that 10 out of 10 social media users found that the content they were exposed to on the platforms affected the way they view themselves. This conveys the importance of the content that we are exposed to, as it impacts our self image and can lead to further issues.
The usage of Influencers aids the industry in pushing out this unattainable standard of beauty, as they often meet the criteria for these standards; hence why they are used as a marketing ploy by companies. The exposure to this digitised beauty standard in forms of short videos or photos are detrimental for our mental well-being, as it can lead to comparisons or an increase of insecurities.
Professor Jones explains : "It's this idea that you're seeing something presented as being typical or normal that is actually quite atypical or abnormal. People tend to put online on social media, and particularly actual influencers, you know what your seeing on social media gives you quite a skewed view of the lives people are leading and how they look, being part of that, and how they got to look like that, being another part of that."
Screenshots from TikTok via @mollymaehague, @maurahiggins, @graceandgracetiktok
These digitised portrayals are often curated as the "normal" way to look; however, the average person fails to meet these standards of beauty. Influencers fail to state when they have had cosmetic procedures done, again normalising these procedures while also creating a distorted narrative of how they look a certain way. This overall can subliminally push people to aim to achieve this unrealistic standard by buying the products to achieve this "look”, aiding both the industry and the influencers.
Overall, it's reckless to disregard the psychological effects of the beauty industry, given the significant influence this industry has on our society and modern culture. Whether we like it or not, this sly industry has the ability to affect us in areas such as body dysmorphia, stress and self-esteem. With the use of many tactics, the industry has a definitive goal, which is to sell as many products as possible, unfortunately at the expense of our psychological well-being. By recognising this factor, we can move forward and cultivate a society which embraces the diversity of beauty. While allowing the use of products to be fun and empowering, rather than to "fix" something that ultimately doesn't need to be fixed.