Lorraine Dallmeyer (chartered environmentalist, biologist, CEO of Formula Botanica) delivers a reflective opinion on whether the beauty industry is merely vanity or genuinely important. She contrasts the industry-driven overconsumption and sustainability harms created by large companies with the genuine emotional, expressive and sometimes health-related benefits that cosmetics and formulation work can bring to individuals. Lorraine cites guests (Erica Gerrartz, Sally Goldstone), references historical/social constructs of beauty, outlines the legal framing of cosmetics (beautify, cleanse, perfume, protect, promote attractiveness, modify appearance), and invites listeners to decide for themselves while promoting Formula Botanica and the podcast.
Chapters
I've been conflicted about the beauty industry for a very long time and a few years ago I was at an awards ceremony which was full of beauty industry executives and influencers and as you can imagine there's a lot of back slapping going on. And then someone took to the stage and said, I know our industry is often viewed as vain, but what we do is actually really important. And you know what? Internally I have to admit I rolled my eyes because I was in a room filled with executives from all the big companies. You know, the ones that tell us continuously that we're not young enough, not smooth enough, not straight haired enough, not perfect enough. The ones that have created the massive over consumption problem in the beauty industry which has led to this industry's massive sustainability problem. So yes, my internal eye rolling game was strong that day. So when I welcomed on Erica Gerrartz from It's All Fluff to the podcast last week, who was an amazing, really interesting guest and when she explained why she named her brand the way she did, because ultimately makeup isn't necessary and it's basically funny fluff, that brought back this whole debate for me about the beauty industry. Now Erica isn't the first person to say this on this podcast either. I vividly remember Sally Goldstone back in episode 75 of this podcast calling the beauty industry a giant vanity project when we talked about the over harvesting of essential oils. But then I feel conflicted at the same time because I know how much the formulations that our students make mean to them and mean to their customers. I know how much different formulations can help people. So today I want to ask an extremely difficult question which is is beauty vanity or is it actually important? Hi, it's Lorraine Dallmeyer, chartered environmentalist, biologist and CEO of award winning online organic cosmetic formulation school Formula Botanica. I host the Green Beauty Conversations podcast and these are my green beauty opinions which I challenge the beauty industry's terrible track record on sustain and share my thoughts on how we make the beauty sector a better and more sustainable place. If you want to be the first to hear all of my latest episodes, make sure you subscribe to this podcast. So let's split this opinion piece in two halves and I'm going to start by talking about the fact that we don't need nearly as many cosmetics as we think. We don't need makeup. We don't need to wash our hair as much as we do. We don't need a ten step skincare routine. In fact, we don't need the majority of the products that are sold to us. Because let's not forget that beauty is a social construct and it changes with the ages. I've even discussed this here on the podcast by looking at beauty throughout human history. So check out episodes 129 and 130, for example, where I talked about the way that people used to pluck their hairline as high as possible and pluck out their eyebrows to give themselves a permanently surprised look. Or the way that people used to stick small leather patches in different shapes on their face, suns, moons, hearts, to give themselves artificial beauty spots. As I've said many times, I have no doubt that the fake eyelash of today and the cat eye of today will also one day be listed in the history books and possibly even chuckled at. And of course, the beauty industry has very successfully told us that we do need makeup and they do encourage us to wash our hair as often as we can. And they do tell us that we need a large, sizable daily skincare routine. They are the ones who've created bathroom shelves filled with dozens of problems. And they're not doing that from the goodness of their hearts. They're doing that because this is a giant money making enterprise. So that's one side of the coin. The other side, of course, is the fact that makeup can make people feel good about themselves. It's a form of self expression, like my guest Erica said last week here on the podcast. And hair care has been something that humans have done since we pretty much came into existence. And while we may not need a 10 step skincare routine, we do need to protect our skin from the sun. And cleansing and moisturising can be good things. Now add to that the fact that people can find salvation in making their skin and their hair healthier and being able to express themselves. I have yet to interview a Formula Botanica graduate, so someone who's taken one of our award winning online formulation courses and has often started a beauty brand who doesn't emotionally tell me how many thank you letters they get from people or how much gratitude they receive from customers who tell them that they've completely transformed their skin or hair thanks to those formulations that they've made for them. And this topic sits at the heart of the issue of whether the beauty industry really is a giant vanity project or not. Because the very definition of a cosmetic product in legal terms is that it can beautify, clean, cleanse perfume, protect, promote attractiveness, and modify the appearance. So not a single piece of legislation, to my knowledge, at least worldwide, talks about the health of your skin and hair in relation to cosmetics, although the EU cosmetic regulations do come close by saying that cosmetics are also there to help keep your skin in good condition. But when your skin or hair isn't in good condition in the first place, then you're buying cosmetics for more than modifying your appearance or promoting attractiveness, you're buying them for health purposes. And you'll notice also that that definition doesn't address the fact that people do use cosmetics as a form of self expression too. That term modifying the appearance doesn't seem to quite capture what makeup can actually mean to people. So is beauty vanity or is it important? Well, I think in this case I probably can't answer this question for you because for many people, they genuinely need the products they buy for the way they help them or make them feel, and that's a great thing. And for others, beauty is simply a nice to have because those people are approaching beauty from a position of privilege. And that's fine too. So I can't answer this question for you. The answer is yours to give and will likely be unique to you. But one thing I am clear on is that the main struggle at the heart of this discussion lies with what we're told we need to buy by an industry driven to get you to spend as much money as possible. So they shouldn't be the ones answering this question for you either. My challenge to you for this week is to try and answer this question for yourself. Is beauty vanity or is it important? This is not an easy question, and as with all seemingly binary questions, it comes with nuance and complexity and it will be unique to you and I would love to hear what you conclude. So please do send me your thoughts afterwards and tell me. Thank you for listening to my Green Beauty opinions. Remember to visit the Formula botanica website@formulabotanica.com to try our free online formulation course. And if you haven't subscribed yet to the Green Beauty Conversation podcast, please make sure you do so now in your favorite podcast app. Leave me a five star review if you enjoy the conversations I host and I'll be back soon with my next episode.
