On The Path March 2014 | Page 13

The skin is what is touched, smelled, and seen by others. The desire by a man for a woman with smooth, glowing, seductive smelling skin has been used in advertisements forever. Many skin care companies use ads that include desire, sexuality, and the sense of pleasure to get you to buy their products. Isn’t that what we want: to be desired, beautiful, and pleasurable for others? I have so much fun watching and reading advertisements and promotions for anything related to skin. Honestly, I like to pick the ads apart and examine their claims. One company claimed their product could penetrate 10 layers of skin. Um, we don’t have 10 layers of skin. Another claims their product has the “fastest retinol”. Ok, do most people know what retinol is and what does it mean by “fastest”? But it sounds good, doesn’t it?

Celebrities are used all the time to promote products so that we will think that since they use it to get their perfect skin (do they REALLY use it) that we can get the same results too. One infomercial shows a doctor in the middle of a field that is supposed to be in some romantic European country. He is shown picking the supposedly miracle plant used in his product from the ground. The celebrity endorsing his product is a famous beautiful model. Really? Sounds more like a scene from a family vacation movie to me. Another very famous celebrity touts the product she endorses using the words “hydration is in”. When was it ever out? I’ll go buy that so I can be a part of the “in” crowd. And lastly, who can dispute that those sexy perfume and after shave ads want to make us get off of the couch, change out of our grungy sweat pants, and run to the mall to buy a couple bottles.

Sales, marketing, and promotional ads are fun to read and watch. And the companies do have to adhere to certain claims and guidelines. But they don’t truly protect the consumer. It is up to us to see through the hot models, spray tans, special lighting, and beautiful scenery to really understand what they are trying to sell. What are you spending your hard earned money on: a product with a lot of hype or one that can deliver promised results? I know we don’t have time to read ingredient lists and understand the 1000’s of them that go in to formulating products. This is

one reason why the knowledge of a

professional Skin Therapist is such a

good resource for you. View the tips

that accompany this article so that you

can buy with confidence to get your

sexy, desirable, and don’t forget, healthy,

skin.

Peace.