The Business of Perfection

By: S. Gargiulo

“Perfect”. Seven letters, two syllables, one word: “perfect”. Who would’ve thought that such an ordinary word would have control over so many people. “Perfection” is nothing other than an unrealistic standard to which we hold ourselves to, and every time we seem to get closer, that finish line only seems to drift further away from our grasps. The path to perfection is often fueled by comparison.  We spend countless hours scrolling through our phones, watching staged content, subconsciously being programmed to think that happiness is just one purchase away, or that perfection can be achieved simply by altering the way we look. But then what then? What happens once you finally save enough money to splurge on that surgery and are still unhappy afterwards when you look in the mirror? The beauty industry is one of the most profitable industries in the world. In 2024 alone, an estimated 29.8 million cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States, with women being 93% of the benefactors.  
The reason why beauty industries are so successful is because beauty itself is relative; what is seen as an imperfection in one culture may be portrayed as a desirable beauty standard in another.  The global skin-lightening market profited a net of $11.8 billion in 2025 and is projected to profit up to $19.9 billion by 2034. Asia and the Pacific dominate the skin-lightening product market. This demand has been fuelled by long-standing social preferences for lighter skin, which the beauty industry has repeatedly capitalised on. Rather than simply responding to these standards, companies have often reinforced them by marketing lighter skin as a symbol of beauty and success. A survey in Nigeria found that 40.9% of the female undergraduates that were surveyed had used skin-lightening products at a point (or currently) of their lives, and disturbingly over 80% of them were aware that the products could cause harm and chose to use them despite this. It is troubling to see how beauty industries have magnified existing pre-colonial social prejudice into health-harming insecurities.  
Ironically, on the other hand, the global self-tanning market is also very successful, with Europe currently leading in market share and North America approaching close in second. Historically, in Europe, pale skin was the Western status symbol for wealth, as it revealed that one did not participate in any form of manual labour. However, in 1923, when fashion icon Coco Chanel stepped of a yacht in Cannes looking tanned, the entire standard was flipped. By the late 1920s, tanned skin had been rebranded as the new symbol of wealth as it shifted to represent leisure rather than labour. Certainly, Chanel didn’t single-handedly pioneer this global trend, however her actions did carry significant influence. In 1927 the Vogue Magazine cover featured a tanned model, which marked a striking turning point within the beauty industry. Currently, the beauty industry still advertises the same concept of tanner skin representing leisure, selling not the skin colour, but the lifestyle that is associated to it, with a staggering variety of products- from stick bronzers to tanning oils to tanning salons. However, this intense advertisement has extended insecurities to a point where actions to “perfect” them have become life threatening. Research by the American Academy of Dermatology found that tanning beds raise melanoma risk by 47%, which means that roughly 1 in 5 Americans will get skin cancer in their lifetime.  
The beauty industry has mastered the art of shining light on “imperfections” and making them seem undesirable. However, a recent movement suggests that focusing on these “imperfect” traits isn’t so bad. Winnie Harlow, a Canadian model, has pioneered significant change in making the modelling industry more inclusive for people who, like herself, have vitiligo. Vitiligo is a long-term medical condition that causes skin to lose its pigment over time. Unfortunately, it has historically been surrounded by stigma and misconception, causing those with vitiligo to feel pressured to conceal or try to “fix” their skin. By embracing rather than condemning hers, Harlow built a career representing major brands like Diesel, Fendi, and Tommy Hilfiger, becoming in 2018 the first model with vitiligo to walk the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Her success shows that an "imperfection" can be embraced, not just internationally, but across different cultures that rarely share similar beauty standards. In addition, countries such as France and Norway are leading the movement to “de-normalise” impossible beauty standards set by advertisements and social media, imposing heavy fines if digitally altered images are not labelled as such.  
Naturally, the cliché phrases that parents comfort their children with on repeat are getting a bit worn. “It’s what’s on the inside that counts” they say. “You’re perfect just the way you are”. How can a child believe the words they hear from their parent when everything that they see around them tells them otherwise?  It would be unrealistic to conclude that the world is on the right path to completely dissolve beauty standards that have been around since early civilisation. However, while these standards may never cease to exist, it only takes one person, one example, one “real” advertisement to make someone see that what they thought was “perfect” isn’t perfect after all, and to value what they had to start with. It still sounds cliché, but the numbers hold up. Roughly 1 in 100 people worldwide have vitiligo. If even half of them saw themselves in Harlow, that’s already 40 million people who might start thinking that there’s nothing wrong with being “imperfect”. Yes, we’re all insecure; we all think we could always look a “bit better”, but that’s what makes it matter when someone doesn’t try to. ​