Lies Skincare Companies Told Us: Aging Edition
"We all get old and die" doesn't have the same ring to it as "anti-aging."
Happy New Year nuance nerds, hope you’ve all been resting this holiday season.
After spending two days at a sunscreen symposium, a few hours at an art exhibit on the cult of beauty and a week with my 91 year old grandmother, what better time to talk about aging?
It’s no secret that algorithms prioritize engagement over learning, accuracy or quality content. TikTok pioneered algorithmically served videos that know you better than your mother does and now Instagram is desperately trying to catch up. Regardless of our feelings on the TikTok-ification of content, it’s here to stay. Profiting off of time spent has a way of doing that. So, what better way to get you into a lengthy click-hole than through anxiety, insecurity, and 'miracle products.' Anti-aging content is anxiety clickbait at it’s finest, right behind “you’re doing X WRONG.”
To give you a sense of the scale of engagement with the term “anti-aging,” TikTok currently has over 8 billion views.
The result of all this anti-aging content? For one, tweens (Gen Alpha) are obsessed with Drunk Elephant. Using a moisturizer isn’t much to raise an eyebrow at (other than the price), but a tween has no business using Vitamin C, retinoids and exfoliators which are largely targeted to “anti-aging.” This TikToker’s take as an ULTA and Sephora employee summarizes my thoughts on a 9 year old using retinol pretty well.
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As a brand founder, at times, I find myself living out cognitive dissonance when it comes to aging. I see my face changing, and I’m proud when I get to a place of neutrality. At times, positivity. Reading Brené Brown’s Atlas Of The Heart explained why I cringe whenever I hear the term anti-aging. Brown’s book helps clarify language helping us understand experiences and the meaning behind the words we use. So, what does adding 'anti' in front of 'aging' suggest about our understanding of getting older? From where I’m standing at the young age of 36, feels grim.
Now, for some truths about skincare and aging:
Genetics will have the greatest impact on how you age. You can’t control that lottery. While some people experience very little change in their skin as they age, for others, the changes are more dramatic. According to the aging seminars at the sunscreen symposium I attended, the levels of melanin in your skin are another significant determining factor. This goes beyond simply 'sun protection' with research showing some skin tones have more compact dermises, more fibroblasts which lead to better maintenance of collagen… the list goes on. Reminder: the depth of your skin tone is determined by genetics.
The second greatest impact on skin are habits. Habits include how much alcohol you drink, diet, drugs, smoking and… the sun. Overexposure to the sun will mess with your DNA which can lead to cancer (which, from the sunscreen symposium, has higher mortality rates than even a decade ago) in addition to photo-damage. This Reddit image shows someone who worked outdoors all their life but always wore pants. While some dermatologists were using this image to show the importance of wearing sun protection due to the danger of cancer, majority of content was around aging. Which, I understand, see paragraph three of this Substack. Aging is always going to get more views than cancer prevention.
Lastly, skincare impacts the appearance of our skin. Although it's technically a 'habit,' I want to differentiate it as we delve into what it can (and cannot) do. It's also important to note pollution is becoming a main character when it comes to contributing to photoaging and potentially even cancer. Living in New York, a place where our flora and fauna are city juice and rats. My face doesn’t hit the pillow without a double cleanse.
From Wired:
So, what doesn’t skincare do? A short list.
🚫 Stop time. You’re going to get wrinkles.
🚫 Stop all aging. You’re going to get old.
🚫 Stop gravity. Fat loss and reduced bone density aren’t going to be helped by glycerin.
What does skincare do?
✅ Speed up processes that are slowing down. Yes, your skin naturally sheds, but when you get older that slows down. Ingredients like retinoids and chemical exfoliants get you to a more regular cadence. Does a tween need a retinoid? Unless they’re prescribed it, abso-fucking-lutely not. Does a 40 year old “need” it? Also, no! Skincare isn’t food. If you care about how your meat sack looks then yes, it’ll help lightly smooth skin, replenish some collagen and even compacts the skin so it makes it stronger over time. May the myth that retinoids “thin skin” die.
✅ Protect skin. Antioxidants, sunscreen, and cleansing the skin will all help protect it. Does your skin naturally have antioxidants? YES. But, as you age, your body produces less. While eating antioxidants (fruits and vegetables) is critical to skin health, topical application helps with protecting the skin, especially from pollution.
✅ Repair skin. This is the hardest thing for a skincare product to do. Why? Because technically, cosmetics are only supposed to play in the top layer of your skin; the epidermis. Also, because repairing damage once it’s done is challenging. Your skin is an organ, easier to maintain it rather than repair… especially with cosmetics. Drugs and in-office procedures are different but even then… depends.
Now, for a quick refresh on your skin. See that thin purple line? That’s your upper most layer of skin. The epidermis. That’s all that’s keeping you from evaporating into the ether. The epidermis or the stratum corneum is comprised of multiple layers of keratinocytes that go through different cycles to ultimately shed off. It’s where your melanocytes (aka what forms melanin) are also located. The keratinocytes are glued together by lipids which reduce trans-epidermal water loss. Aka, that water evaporating from your skin. It’s there to be a protective barrier to you and the outside world, ingredients that protect and reinforce it are, in my books, a good thing. Too many products and ingredients can wreak havoc on your skin though so, like everything, it depends.
The dermis, the pink layer, is where all the juicy fibroblasts, circulation and collagen is. That’s where wrinkles will form along with loss of firmness and contributes a degree to sagging. Technically, skincare should only be playing in the epidermal layer. This includes “medical grade skincare.”
From the FDA:
While many skincare products impact the dermis (like well-formulated retinols and glycolic acid), technically brands can’t claim it. Hyperpigmentation is another one brands technically can’t claim (despite many products helping reduce hyperpigmentation) as it’s impacting the function of the body (your skin).
How should brands market products that are clearly targeted aging?
Clearly state what the product does, include studies done to prove the claims, and leave it there. Set expectations and skip demonizing or assigning virtuousness to the appearance of your largest organ. Talking about the histological changes in skin and being honest about the intent is a step in the right direction. Hyperpigmentation isn’t bad, it is just your skin exerting a strong inflammatory or melanin response to protect itself. Or maybe it’s hormones. Regardless of the reason, it doesn’t have morality. Products either protect, repair, or condition. There are limits to what they can do, and it’s up to you how much you want to spend (if at all). My philosophy is to never spend more than you can afford to lose. This especially applies to skincare.
Much like algorithmically served video content, anti-aging skincare isn’t going anywhere in the near future, it’s too profitable. Even terms like “pro-aging” feel off. While I can appreciate the positivity, and it feels better, I’m wondering when society will work towards dismantling youth-obsessed beauty standards in the same way it’s challenging eurocentric ones.
As a brand owner, it’s something I think about everyday.