Cosmetics - An unseen dependence

Many women who wear makeup may think that the concept of cosmetics actually being addictive is absurd, however they don’t realise how addictive something that alters out appearance can be. Some women will admit that they are not willing to even step out of their front door without makeup on. Admittedly an addiction to makeup and other cosmetics is not as dangerous as an addiction to any drug or alcohol, however some people may not realise how dependant they are on their cosmetics and how self conscious they are about how they look.

People who have been using cosmetics heavily will admit to feeling empowered, confident and beautiful while their make up is on but will feel nervous, extremely self conscious and will want to avoid been seen while they are not wearing any cosmetics. Because of this, women who have been using make up for a long time will begin relying on it to make them feel good.

One of the most prominent contributing factors in manifesting cosmetics addictions is the continuous bombardment and pressure that society, the media in particular, is placing on women and men. Every single day we are subjected to images and videos of picture perfect people and are promised that we too can look amazing as long as we keep on buying these arrays of beauty products. It is the job of the 170 billion dollar beauty industry to convince people, women in particular, that their fate is dependant on their looks and that ugliness is a disease that can only be remedied by specialised R300 bottle of beauty cream. It is no wonder that people are addicted to cosmetics.

The problem starts to become quite serious when you enter a pharmacy or department store with the intention to buy one or two items that you need and end up leaving with a shopping bag full of cosmetics, or when you feel compelled to buy the various products the stores makeup artist has used on you. If you find yourself poring over fashion magazines to find out the exact makeup the stars are using so that you can achieve the same look, or studying the latest fashion trends then odds are you have a problem. Makeup addicts get a high from looking at that perfectly made up face or from finding that one special product.

Like with most addictions, the addict may not even know that they have a problem, and will likely not admit to having one even if they do know they have a problem. The addict may even undergo a personality change to go along with their “new look”. There are a set of consequences that a cosmetics addict will have to face if their problem gets out of hand, they may run themselves into debt from buying too many products on credit, they may alienate themselves from their friends and family by spending too much time shopping or grooming themselves and they may start feeling depressed when their new products don’t live up to expectations.

All of these consequences are also characteristics of other more dangerous drugs, so perhaps cosmetics aren’t as harmless as some people are lead to believe.