The constant need for a woman to be beautiful has always been an interesting cause for concern. Even during times when advanced beauty cosmetology had not been introduced, women still found means of making themselves look beautiful.

Although men are not left out of these beauty processes, I’ll pitch my tent on the bad sides of beauty cosmetology among the ladies for now. Helen of Troy was used as the yardstick for beauty in Ancient Greek history. Her beauty conquered Greece. Parts of her body were eulogized separately by renowned poets.

Any woman made to play the role of Helen of Troy in any Greek movie must meet the standards of Helen’s beauty. What are these standards? Perfectly contoured face, perfectly shaped breasts, straight thin legs, full lengthy hair, and a graceful appearance. Till her death, she was idolized. 

Interestingly, in recent times, all other things have been added! The saying that man’s wants are insatiable remains constant. The more we have, the more we want! The quest for that perfect beauty is therefore on the high side. The different perspectives to which the beauty of a woman is viewed spurred these interests. In various parts of the world, there are some particular standards used in measuring a woman’s beauty. For example, the length of a woman’s neck in parts of Myanmar and Thailand is said to portray beauty and wealth.

Women in Iran take so much pre-eminence in nasal surgeries so much that they prefer to keep the surgical tapes on (even those that have not done it) – they love to show this off as their beauty. Heavy jewelry and shaved hairs are known to describe the Masai women who enlarge their earlobes as a show-off as well. Body scarification is also a thing in some parts of the world.

More so, there are many others like lip stretching, tattoos on faces, Asian people with their hatred for the sun because of its effect on their skin, the natural look of the French woman, the voluptuousness of the African woman, and very many others. All these attributes to the standards set in ascertaining the elegance of a woman.

Obviously, we have decided to take matters into our hands (and bodies). The introduction of make-up and makeovers has instilled confidence in the everyday woman -we don’t have to worry about how we look when we can fix it. From the initial struggle for that perfectly carved and drawn eyebrows to the most recent facial reconstructions in contours and highlights, we have continued to come up with brainwaves at beautifying ourselves.

If you go on social media, you will see a display of curviness like the hour-glass shapes which leave you glancing for hours. This prompts your desire to look that beautiful to get people to love and admire your looks. The search for that perfect body makes you take desperate measures like; using several harmful products on your body, consulting unlicensed beauty therapists, and going under the knife – which is the extreme side.

Herein lies the bad sides of beauty cosmetology.

Extremely harsh body complexion enhancements

The use of harsh body creams to bleach the skin is very harmful. It is good to brighten your complexion, but when it gets bad is when you are dark in complexion, and you want to achieve a white skin tone. To achieve a brighter and even skin tone, there are very effective body creams that you can use. Personally, I prefer dark skin – it is easy to get it even than my lighter complexion.

_{“When ammonia and bleach mix, they release gases that can cause lung irritation and, in extreme cases, could kill you. It’s suspected that exposure to these gases could contribute to the development of cancer; for example, dioxin can be released from chlorine bleach and is a known carcinogen.”}

health.usnews.com

Bleaching your skin can cause skin deficiencies like; cancer and incurable skin blemishes.

Risky surgical body modifications

As risky as this is, women and men still go through this process when it is not necessary. It’s good to correct a body condition when it is unbearable, but when it gets bad is when it is abused. If you want to achieve that body feature you want, and you can afford it, then you can, but go to the right places. A lot of people have died putting themselves at risk visiting quacks who, in turn, cause more harm than good to their bodies.

I read the article, “Surgery Goes Very Wrong 50% of the Time” on thedailybeast.com and I got really scared. I found that patients get harmed when there is a mistake which could be a result of the wrong dosage after surgeries. It is bad enough that mistakes are very possible with experts even when they are from patients. When you visit quacks, the cases are even worse.

Permanent filler injections

This is also a very risky one. The process is used to achieve plump lips, push wrinkles out, and fill out spaces in the face and body where fat seems lacking. After this process, your body seems magical, and you start feeling like Kim Kardashian or a supermodel. However, the side effects are more sinister than you can imagine. When things go wrong, it could result in permanent deformity. 

Wrapping this up, beauty cosmetology is not all bad. Lives have been saved, and people have been brought out of the depression caused by physical deformity and blemishes. It only gets worse when it is abused unnecessarily.

See also: Don’t you think we should start naming ourselves? – A proposition