My Beauty Myth

No, not Naomi Wolf’s book (which I’m yet to read, shameful as that admission is), but my own ponderings on the subject. What’s brought this on? My recent trip to a day spa with a girlfriend. I went and had a pedicure and a full bikini wax, whilst she had a pedicure and a moisturising facial.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoyed the treatments (even the waxing, must be the masochist in me!) but browsing their pamphlets made me wonder where on earth all these treatments have come from. Calling a facial the ‘Taj Mahal’ doesn’t make it as old as the actual building itself (though, funnily enough, it is a treatment for older skin), and I guarantee that women back in those times did not slather their skins with fruit acids to try and restore that dewy freshness. So where is it all from and why do we do it?

Take my bikini wax, for example. I’m single and most definitely not getting any action, so why did I bother. Okay, so baby blue is getting a workout, but I’m inclined to categorize that as stress release - besides, this is such a fantastically designed plaything that has the added bonus of being inoffensive to look at due to the fact that it was designed by women for women. Okay, enough of me extolling the virtues of my vibrator, back to the wax. So, why bother, if nobody is going to appreciate it?

Well, to be honest, I appreciate it. In the hotter summer months, I think it’s more hygenic, feels fresher and prevents smell. Sure, it looks weird and the new sensations take a little getting used to, but after going so long without any maintenance, it’s nice to be hairless again. However, is it worth the pain and the $45 every 6-8 weeks to maintain this? After getting these waxes done on and off over the past 3 years, I think it’s fair to say that I’m still undecided. I think the same goes with the facials and pedicures - to be honest, how often do you really look at someone’s feet? Yeah, me too. But having had the pedicure (with the dead skin being sloughed off) which resulted in soft skinned, moisturized feet with toenails painted red made me feel relaxed all over…which was a good thing, as I was as sick as a dog that day.

I’m not sure where I’m going with all this, but I did a bit of a clean up of my room today and looked at the sheer variety and number of beauty products that I own, and it was truly mind-boggling. With one hand I think it’s just excessive, but with the other I can justify each purpose. Ugh.

I’m sure that sexuality slots into this subject somewhere, but I’m not in the mood for it today. I think I’ll go reread Palahniuk’s “Invisible Monsters” - a story with an interesting idea of love and beauty (that’s not a story synopsis, it’s just one of this book’s elements).