I decided to line up the beauty products I saw on my bathroom counter today. Things that had been bought, gifted, borrowed and collected. So many different types. Half of them doing the same thing, the same way. My male brain doesn’t comprehend it. As I sat there looking at it all, my mind went back briefly to the bathroom counter of my bachelor days. A toothbrush in a cup and a hairbrush. I think my wife took pity on me the first time she came to my apartment.
As I continued to reminisce, I remembered I went to Ulta a few weeks back. Wasn’t my preference or plan, but my beloved artfully snuck it in on me when we were already out and she said “we can stop by Ulta on the way back home.”
So to Ulta we went.
What a depressing place. Maybe it’s just because I’m a dude, but seeing tons of airbrushed models plastered on product boards holding serum tubes and smiling with obviously fake teeth isn’t my thing.
Phrases like “intense all-day moisture” and “radiant shine” and “glowing smooth skin” and “anti-aging” are burned into my brain now. None of it is real. Photoshop and AI and a strict diet and workout routine and a personal trainer made that model look like that. Not that cream tube in her hand. Don’t get fooled.
I saw a tube that said (in way more words than necessary) “ACNE Relief”. Then next to it was the “ACNE Relief Plus” variant for a few dollars more. Same brand. Same ingredients. Slightly different concentrations. Different packaging. Both promised to rid you of your acne. I’m confused. If the “regular” rids me of my acne, then why do I need the “plus”? Must be the male brain again.
There was a tiny disclaimer at the bottom of the bottles that said “results may vary”. Makes sense. Acne is hormonal. When the skincare product says “results may vary”, what they’re actually saying is:
- “you can’t sue us if our product doesn’t work for you”
- “it’s your body’s fault, not our product’s fault that nothing is changing”
- “You need to keep buying our overpriced product repeatedly to maybe possibly see the affects over time”
So many people are trapped in this. Billions of dollars are made off of stoking insecurities. It’s mind-boggling.
These marketing tactics used to be primarily geared towards women but now with the emasculating “looksmaxxing” trends on social media, beauty companies are going after men too. I touched on this type of cultural emasculation in a previous post. It’s getting worse.
They’re disproportionately targeting younger audiences. It’s all very intentional. Target the socially-isolated, screen-obsessed, immature, raging-hormonal kids as their bodies begin to change. Get them swiping on TikTok and Instagram and YouTube. Begging their disconnected parents to buy the products that will make them look like the adults they know they already are on the inside. Yes… the Gen Z / Gen Alpha market is booming.
Hair products, skin creams, moisturizers, oils, foaming serums. Made with hyaluronic, glycolic, and salicylic acids. Made with Vitamin A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The media tells us we need to look a certain way, then beauty products sell the solution.
They sell you the problem in the form of entertainment (movies, news, social media influencers) then they sell you the solution in the form of creams and serums. They sell you the makeup to clog your pores then they sell you the BHA Serums and Micellar water to unclog them. They sell you the tanners to darken your skin and then the spf serums to protect it.
What do we see? The depression stats rise as people chase the unattainable perfect skin and hair and build. Their sense of vanity grows as they obsess and focus on it. The money continues to flow into the pockets of those who perpetuate it.
This whole cycle reminds me of the broken cisterns I wrote about before. We keep trying to fill our emptiness with things that can never satisfy. We keep drinking from wells that run dry. We keep propping up our idols after God has knocked them down.
There is a place for topical creams and serums in prescription settings. For people with real medical issues. I’m convinced 92% of the general skincare products on the market are primarily placebo. But by no means am I advocating for a ban. After all, there’s no inherent sin in purchasing or using these products. Buy your CeraVe till your heart’s content… but see it for what it is.
These aren’t the things that can (or should) make a person confident or beautiful.1 Samuel 16:7 says it best…
But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
We should find our validation in Jesus Christ alone. The Lord loves each of us for what we have on the inside, not the out. When our heart and mind is aligned with His, that is where confidence and beauty comes from. That is where acceptance, belonging, and peace begins.
I’ve written before asking am I enough? The answer is still no. I’m not enough. But Jesus is. He is enough. We need to be finding our validation in Him alone.
Those are the truths that we need to be instilling in the kids and the culture. We can’t instill it anything if we’re not living it out ourselves. As Christians, we must prioritize pouring into others and influencing them for the cause of Christ. Speaking out against sin and the lies of this world. Standing for what is right and holy.
That means guarding our hearts from the algorithmic slop that tells us we’re not good enough unless we buy this product or look that way. It means being intentional about what we allow to influence our emotions, our will, and our thoughts.
You can’t squeeze that type of beauty out of a tube. You can’t pump that type of confidence out of a bottle. I don’t even think my 3-in-1 is that powerful (and that’s some good stuff).
Only the Holy Spirit can give that courage and strength. Let Him work in you daily as you choose to follow Jesus, striving to live a life that is completely and totally committed to God and His Word.