It has always amazed me how much some people, particularly women are willing to sacrifice in the “name of beauty”. For centuries women have been primping and plucking to make themselves more appealing, prettier and “all around” beautiful. However beauty, like anything in our consumerist society, comes at a cost. While generally it’s a financial cost, which is not always the case. Two recent incidents in the media have shown that some women are willing to pay for the cost of beauty with their life.
Julie McCabe, a 38-year-old, British mother, recently collapsed from an allergic reaction after using L’Oreal Preference hair dye. McCabe is now is a coma with a slim projected chance of recovery. According to her family, McCabe has been dying her hair every couple months within incident for years. Doctors state that her allergic reaction was to a chemical called phenylenediamine (PPD), found in the hair dye. It is expected that a build-up of PPD within her system caused the severe allergic reaction. While L’Oreal is offering to provide samples for testing, that won’t bring McCabe back to health. This woman is risking her life, just to alter the colour of her hair.
Another recently documented event is the emergence of Butt Plumping Parties in the USA. Move over Tupperware, butt injections are moving in! At these parties, a “doctor” injects the participants butts with a combination solvent that was claimed to make you more like JLo. However these injections are composed of a mixture of cement (presumably rubber variety), mineral oil and Fix-A-Flat sealant (what you use to fix flat tires). All really good things to put in your butt, right?... WRONG! One participant is reported to have come down with pneumonia and MRSA as a result of the injections.
A 30-year-old transsexual woman, has been arrested and is accused of posing as a doctor (she doesn’t have a medical license), and injecting unsuspecting women, with the promise of their dream ass.
In both of these cases, it isn’t beauty on the line, but rather these women’s lives. Beauty shouldn’t be this valuable. More importantly we shouldn’t being human and alive be the fact of beautiful? But that only makes sense to me.
Makes me wonder how much I am putting myself in danger everyday for the cost of beauty. While I don’t dye my hair or plump my butt with injections, I do wear make-up (aka my war paint), bathe, do my hair, etc. It makes me wonder what is in these products. What am I using on my body, to make myself presentable and beautiful? How am I sacrificing myself in the name of beauty.
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