“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” - Confucius 

The word “beauty” can conjure various images, most likely simple ones of attractive and appealing features. Nonetheless, the concept of beauty is much more complicated than that. As society evolves over time, so does people’s perception of beauty, as it has to a more holistic one today.

Defining Beauty

Beauty is often praised for its attractive aesthetics and its association with health. That is why symmetry is often associated with beauty and having a good standard of health. As a research paper notes, the “neuronal wiring in the brain” can perceive deviations from symmetry, which “imply poor health and bad genes” – this only reinforces the natural desire and pursuit of beauty. In this context, beauty is thus defined by physical features reflecting symmetry. However, the experiment with people’s general perception of one’s attractiveness revealed results that indicated relative insignificance of one’s asymmetry/symmetry associated with assessment of facial attractiveness. This reveals a greater complexity found within the ever-evolving idea of beauty, as well as the beauty industry. Beauty becomes not only just about the physical appearance, but also something within. It now involves the holistic awareness of physical, mental, and emotional health, which can extend from radiating inner confidence to daily practicing self-care. Nevertheless, one thing to keep in mind is that beauty is not always “positive and perfect.”

Historical Context 

In the past, and still with remnants in the present, the beauty industry has been known to have some chemically toxic, components in beauty products. In a study of cosmetic products, researchers reviewed such toxic ingredients, like parabens and formaldehyde, and demonstrated the biological consequences upon consumers’ health. Their conclusions emphasize the necessity of continual research, increased regulations and legislation, and greater transparency between the industry and the consumers. Ironically, the thing that is designed to make one supposedly more “beautiful” can contain harmful chemicals that essentially destructs one’s own physical body and health. Although such products and their outcomes can be dazzling and appealing, the inner constituents expose a physical negative aspect of beauty to consider.

Beauty can also be complex in the different stereotypes it reinforces through beauty standards and trends. It is well known that the beauty and modeling industry have promoted Eurocentric influences for several decades. This is not only physically harmful, as it reinforces a certain look and diet, but extremely damaging to one’s mental health as well. A study conducted with Black women’s perceptions of beauty underlined the dominant standard of beauty influenced by Eurocentric views. While most of the participants acknowledged their resistance to such standards, they also highlighted their discomfort with the media’s emphasis on defining beauty for them, despite their differing views of beauty. Thus, while beauty is something to be appreciated, having a standardized definition and perception of beauty can be unhealthy, physically and mentally.

Current

Nonetheless, regardless of the complexities surrounding the definition of beauty, society has transitioned towards appreciating its ambivalence - an embrace of natural beauty and loving oneself. We have come to endorse a more holistic approach, one that stresses beauty and health from the physical, mental, emotional perspective, and essentially, happiness. As a result of “the rising visibility of cosmetic surgery, eating disorders, …and other consumer and medical practices [revealing]” a need to be aware of such dangers of beauty, as discussed in an anthropological and sociological paper, there is a slow, yet powerful, global movement towards a healthier standard. For instance, according to an interview with Kevin Shapiro, the senior vice president of US marketing for top beauty brands, including CoverGirl, beauty is typically perceived to be lost with age, but now there is a “renewed focus on health of the skin,” an “embrac[ing] of aging.” The pivot in perspective of such an iconic brand reveals a larger trend towards greater awareness and appreciation of beauty from a deeper standpoint.

The direct link between beauty and health makes it an important facet to study, as it affects several aspects of our lives. Society has shifted from different focuses of beauty, but is thankfully arriving towards a more comprehensive and ultimately healthier version of what beauty should look like. This is significant because this demonstrates a greater transformation and development towards better healthcare experiences, especially in the holistic sense.