“Beauty comes from within.” Tell that to the 43 million teenagers that apply the same face wash, moisturizer, and toner every morning. Watch thrilled, giggling girls flock to Sephora waiting to try the Dyson Airwrap, the Too-Faced lip serum, the Rare Beauty Blush, and, then, tell them that they don’t need to change a thing about their faces. Watch yourself spend hours staring at targeted advertisements of how women “should” look to be beautiful, and, then, try to tell your daughter her insecurities are invalid. We witness the beauty industry deliver a message to America’s youth that you need to use its products in order to look beautiful, and, then, watch quietly as they profit from it by capitalizing on their insecurities.
The new technology, personalized skincare routines created by ForYou and targeted skin-evening wands by OPTE, entering the industry is no better. ForYou is a UK-based startup that developed an app by the same name that delivers a personalized skincare routine. It uses alternate reality, AR, to scan the skin for wrinkles, pimples, and all perceived “imperfections,” and curates a personalized skincare routine depending on the results. OPTE, a US-based startup, works similarly by scanning the skin for discoloration and hyperpigmentation and printing skin-enhancing coverage through the use of t120 thermal ink-jet nozzles. OPTE received the 2020 Allure Best of Beauty Award for being an innovative tinted-skincare-printing technology that is “changing beauty and wellness.” So, now we have two innovative, advanced technologies that are monetizing their customer’s insecurities. Is that ethical? Through the eyes of deontology, no.
Deontology, by Immanuel Kant, can be understood through the categorical imperative – basically, two different ways Kant chose to explain his philosophy. To paraphrase the categorical imperative, either you act with the expectation that what you do will become a universal law that everyone will follow, or, if you use people as a tool to get what you want, you treat them with respect and compensate them in some way as well. The whole point of the categorical imperative is to treat people with respect.
            Let’s think about ForYou and OPTE in the context of deontology. I’ll be using Kant’s second interpretation, and, in that context, both ForYou and OPTE fail the deontology test. These companies are using their customers as a means to achieve monetary profit while technically compensating them by giving them something that they want. But do their customers really want their product? Or do they want to feel beautiful? I’d argue, they want the latter, So, both of these companies are slapping a band-aid on the problem of personal insecurity by offering a miracle cure that doesn’t actually work. No product that promises “beauty-enhancement” that any teenager or adult can buy will cure low self-esteem, body dysmorphia, or other physical insecurities. These companies are promising a cure with a product that won’t deliver.
            The beauty industry’s ethical corruption harms not only younger individuals, like those in Gen-Z, but people worldwide who are subscribing to this idea that buying more lotions, more soaps, and more sprays will make them beautiful. But it won’t. So, instead of smiling blissfully at your teenager’s new makeup, dismissing their groans on their surplus of blackheads, or watching them walk down the stairs with their face covered in the new green face mask that claims to “moisturize and exfoliate, all at once!” maybe, it might be time for everyone, everywhere to just stop. You’re already beautiful. Stop trying to buy something that can’t be bought.
 
Works Cited
Chia, Jessica. “Presenting the 2021 Winners of Our Best of Beauty Breakthrough Awards.” Allure, Allure, 15 Sept. 2021, allure.com/gallery/best-of-beauty-new-breakthrough-product-winners.
Haseltine, William A. “How the Pandemic Is Fueling Eating Disorders in Young People.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 9 Nov. 2022, forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2021/08/27/how-the-pandemic-is-fueling-eating-disorders-in-young-people/?sh=1cbb1ac62226.
“Young Americans Continue to Struggle.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2021/one-year-pandemic-stress-youth.
Lee, Michelle. “The Future of Beauty Looks Promising - and Scientific.” Allure, Allure, 11 Aug. 2020, allure.com/story/future-of-beauty-editors-letter.
“Skincare Device for Dark Spots & Hyperpigmentation Treatment: OPTE.” O P T E, opte.com/.
“Professional Cosmetologist at Your Fingertips. Beauty App for Facial Skin-Care Routine ForYou.” ForYou, for-you.app/.
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