American Beauty, Or the Desire For It

When I go to the personal care aisle at my local grocer I am overrun with choices. There are so many brands, products and promises that all look like my golden ticket to perfect hair, skin and nails. I usually go in with a price point in mind and a list of “must haves”—shampoo, conditioner, bar soap (I’m old school; I still use the soap that comes in a bar), face wash and a facial moisturizer—in an attempt to stay on track and focused (Of course, this doesn’t include my makeup needs such as mascara, eye liner, etc., which I buy at the makeup counter or a specialty shop). But while locating my “must haves,” I am bombarded with new brands, eye-catching packaging and a million products I don’t need but I think I want. I spent 10 minutes the other day just deciding on what shampoo to buy! I ended up buying the least expensive shampoo because it was a scent I really like, and guess what? I can’t tell the difference between my new “cheap” shampoo and my old “expensive” shampoo. I’ve found it’s easy to tell when a product isn’t working, but it’s not so easy to tell when it is working. It can be overwhelming. And now there are beauty supplements, bars, drinks and other random ingestibles that can offer me acne-free, clear, soft skin.

Last month, Alex Kuczynski, a blogger on women’s fashion for The New York Times wrote about the up-and-been-coming beauty from within/nutricosmetics industry. She met with Paula Simpson, the executive director of Isocell, the company that manufactures Glisodin, in an attempt to find the milky skin Lady Gaga wears and attributes to her detoxifying, lubricating, toning and sun protecting nutricosmetic—Glisodin. Well … as you can guess Glisodin did nothing for Kuczynski. But more surprising were the responses from her dermatologist and NYU friend. Basically, as long as you eat a relatively nutritious diet, you don’t need to supplement, the excess nutrients from supplementation you just pee out. And a pill, no matter how effective the delivery system is, has little changes of reaching your skin to offer any real effect on it. My favorite part? “It is very American to put hope in a bottle,” Amy Wechsler, a dermatologist in Manhattan, said. “And it is also very American to try to sell that hope.”

Does this mean I don’t believe in taking dietary supplements? Am I denying the obvious relationship between nutrition and health, including skin health? Or do I think beauty from within is a hoax? No, not at all. I take supplements; a good amount of them. And I eat healthy and stay active. But beauty from within? I’m not sure. Depending on the delivery system, I think I’m going to need more than a product claim or a pretty celebrity face done-up by the best makeup artists in the country to convince me.