Cosmetics and beauty

Type of psychology: Evolutionary; Social; Community

As early as ancient Egypt,both men and women have used cosmetics to enhance natural beauty and, evolutionary psychologists would claim, to simulate health. The popularity and social acceptability of cosmetic use have waxed and waned through the ages, dependent on its association with different social identities. In contemporary Western society, men do not generally wear makeup and women vary in use depending upon the normative expectations of their social class and the social event. To what extent cosmetic use is a deceptive signal of attractiveness and good health or an honest signal of social interest and identity is a matter of speculation.

Cosmetic use has been common practice for millennia. As such, this practice has been the focus of much instruction on the proper attitude toward cosmetic use, and attitudes have ranged from the ancient Egyptians’ acceptance of cosmetics for both men and women to the ancient Romans complex view of cosmetic use, disapproving of it for men and skeptical of it for women. During the Renaissance, cosmetics were widely used by women. One controversial product of the time was belladonna, a tincture applied to the eyes to dilate the pupils. This could be considered an attractiveness enhancement or a deceptive signal of interest in the gazed upon individual. We know now this product was dangerous to the user and, at the time, it was regarded with suspicion by the authorities because of its deceptive nature.

During the Victorian era in the United States, respectable women did not wear makeup though foundation was considered acceptable to cover up freckles and brown spots and even the skin tone. Later, from the 1890s on, more makeup use by respectable women was considered acceptable. This ambivalence has been characteristic of attitudes toward cosmetic use throughout its history. Modern research shows the power of cosmetics relating to personal odor, manipulated by perfume, facial cosmetic use, and hair coloring and styling.

Research shows that certain odors serve as a positive for attractiveness, though some research shows this to be the case only when they are so faint as to be consciously undetectable. However, cosmetic techniques, such as perfume use, are somewhat puzzling phenomena. Ancient peoples frequently used perfume and thought it would make them more appealing and pleasing to the gods of the society and, from a pragmatic modern view, to counteract the unpleasant odors of ancient cities. In modern times a number of studies relate the odor of the human body to differing attractiveness ratings. Therefore, perfume is an interesting aspect of the debate between evolutionary and sociocultural theorists about the relative importance of these factors in attractiveness. There is an impressive amount of research on how natural odors influence the perceived attractiveness of an individual. Men judging women are attracted to the natural odor that signals a histocompatibility complex complementing their own. Ovulating women in adult entertainment make more tips than when they are not ovulating. The scent of women who are naturally ovulating compared to women on the birth control pill may also lead to higher ratings of sexual attractiveness at the peak of ovulation. Given the evidence that natural scent is an attractiveness signal and the use of perfume tends to obscure that natural scent, perfume use is perplexing from an evolutionary psychology perspective.

In more recent years, perfume has transmuted from a material used to cover bad smells to a status symbol. One of the effects of widespread use may have been to broaden the range of potential suitors. If perfume use obscured the natural scent of the individual in a socially acceptable way, the natural scent of the individual would not be a filter screening out potentially undesirable mates. In this way perfume use may be likened to the widespread use of contraceptives, a practice by which humans shape behaviors to produce an outcome that may be most personally optimal but not most optimal for healthy species growth.

Like odor, hair color is also a variable people have chosen to manipulate. As a rare and therefore desirable characteristic, blonde hair has often been considered a beauty sign. Moreover, hair dye is often used to cover the signs of age signified by gray hair. Depending upon the social status of the individual and the zeitgeist, men and women have chosen to wear wigs or dye their hair to fit better with their social class or the one to which they aspire. Manipulation of hair by removal is a common human behavior that has served as a gender identity issue. Males typically wear head hair shorter than females, a characteristic that may be attributed to the ancient Roman army cutting long hair when found to provide a handle for enemies. In 17th century England, political parties were known by their haircuts. The roundheads (anti-royal and pro-Parliament) cut their hair very short and dressed plainly while the cavaliers (pro-royal and anti-Parliament) wore long hair and elaborate clothes. Hair style has been used to telegraph a variety of social identities including political leanings, sexual orientation, social class, and fashion awareness status. All these factors have been shown to affect beauty judgments.

Research shows that in the United States, a woman with makeup compared to one without is, depending on the judge, seen as roughly 30% more attractive. Similar research in France shows that the educational background (psychology, business, or aesthetics undergraduate students) of the judges and the age of the judged modulates this factor. The use of cosmetics seems to strike some judges as inappropriate for the social group to which the judge or target belongs.

How cosmetics causes this effect is somewhat controversial. Evolutionary psychologists would see cosmetic use as being effective in leading the cosmetic user to be regarded as healthier because cosmetics cover various imperfections and skin irregularities and allow the user to simulate a more healthful and symmetrical appearance. In earlier times facial cosmetics were seen as useful for covering up scars from accidents, acne, or smallpox infections. Sociocultural theorists argue that cosmetic use is an effective tool of impression management. As an aspect of being a member of specific social groups there is an expectation of a certain appearance in clothing, hair color and style, and makeup use. From a psychological perspective, the user is indicating an interest in being regarded as a more gendered, sexually desirable, aesthetically pleasing individual. Research suggests that a woman wearing makeup stimulates the same brain area (orbital frontal cortex) that is stimulated when viewing an attractive woman.

Moreover, it seems that there are two aspects of makeup use. One is to simulate a healthy appearance. The use of foundation and perhaps blush could serve that purpose. By concealing age spots and/or dark or light spots and evening out the complexion the individual appears to be healthier. Blush can be used to impart a “healthy glow” to the user’s skin which also signals good health. These makeup uses are typically unobtrusive and do not serve as a detectable aspect of a made-up face. “Natural look” makeup serves this purpose, and some makeup lines specifically market this look..

Another aspect of makeup use is specific to various cultural activities. Expectations are associated with various activities including graduations, gymnastics, dances, weddings, name days, and so on. If one wants to be a full-fledged participant in those activities, or subcultures, one needs the makeup to match. There is a wealth of social psychological research that shows important factors in interpersonal attraction are attractiveness of appearance and similarity. Cosmetics can serve both purposes.

Mainstream cultural membership can be seen as serving to indicate the most common look and boost attractiveness. The other use of makeup serves to indicate a type of subcultural identity. This includes any member of a subcultural group where makeup may serve as a status booster and a social identity factor. Ethnic subcultures such as African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Caucasians, and Native Americans have different makeup markets and various cosmetics. For example, athletes such as football, baseball, or lacrosse players may mark black stripes under their eyes purportedly to diminish the glare that may disrupt their play. Musicians, such as Kiss or Marilyn Manson, may wear makeup as a signature style and to show their rejection of mainstream gender expectations of males. The other subcultures listed are interested in maximizing attractiveness for a member of that subculture. Common American subcultures include goths, skinheads, emos, preps, bohemians, hackers, and punks. Members of these groups have a distinctive makeup style they are expected to display though the purpose may be to demonstrate membership in a subculture rather than enhance overall attractiveness.

One of the more unusual subcultures, the gyarus, originated in Japan and is instructive in deconstructing a subculture. This group mostly consists of girls in their teens and early twenties. The name, a Japanese transliteration of the English word for girl, comes from a 1970s brand of jeans known as gurl. Gyaru fashion has changed through the years but features include or have included a distinctive mode of talking which some have described as Japanese valley girl, with an emphasis on slang articulated in a particular way, a fashion choice that includes short skirts, minimal tops, tanned (now whitened) skin tone, blonde or neon hair, highly decorated nails, and noticeable amounts of makeup which feature dark eyeliner and fake eyelashes to make the eyes look bigger. Though music is not a priority for gyaru culture, members do a form of dance called para para.

While this is an example of a Japanese subculture, it captures the idea of defining characteristics of a subculture regardless of the society in which it exists. Therefore, to summarize cosmetics and beauty, cosmetics serve two purposes. One, the evolutionary psychology theorists would support its use to simulate a healthy appearance by covering up flaws in the person’s appearance. The other, more sociocultural in nature, emphasizes the use of cosmetics and other fashion choices such as clothing, hair style and removal, talk, and political attitudes, to establish a social identity. The increase in assortative mating where individuals most often choose those similar to themselves as life partners increases the value of information about the possible partner. The information on how a person has chosen to modify his or her appearance through cosmetic use is increasingly useful in choosing a compatible partner.

Bibliography

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More and More, Beauty Synonymous with Wellness. (2015). Global Cosmetic Industry, 6.