Fake Botox is poisoning cosmetic patients across the United States
Several people have reported negative health reactions after being injected with botulinum toxin in the US. It’s a worrying trend that emphasizes the importance of finding reputable clinicians before getting any type of cosmetic work done. A worrying trend is taking place across the US, raising the eyebrows of health...
Current in Fashion + Beauty
Opinion – Nike’s Olympic kits are an emblem of sports sexism
The sporting giant has come under fire over its women’s Track and Field kits. The backlash is long overdue. With the Paris Olympics just months away, major sporting brands are revealing their Olympic kits for the first time. But Nike got more than it bargained for this week when it shared...
Swedish retailer bans children from buying anti-ageing skincare
In a bid to protect young people from being influenced by beauty trends online, a popular pharmacy in Sweden has decided to ban under 16s from purchasing anti-ageing skincare products.
While the societal pressure to be perfect has never been more intense, no natural human process has been vilified
Opinion – Viral beauty trends on TikTok have gone too far
Social media is adept at consistently making us question whether or not our appearance meets an extremely high standard, all while continuing to shove algorithmic ‘sameness’ down our throats. Isn’t it time we stopped letting the Internet dictate the way we perceive our facial anatomy? Ever since TikTok took over...
Is shopping for skincare now more complicated than ever?
The rise of no-nonsense, ingredient-focused skincare lines promised to streamline our self-care regimes. But with new product lines, formulas, and beauty trends popping up every month, has taking care of our skin become over-complicated? The beauty industry has seen massive growth over the last few years, especially in the skincare...
Opinion – Clothes should not be a legal issue in 2023
A new Wisconsin Bill marks a milestone for Indigenous students. But we should be questioning why legal intervention is necessary in the first place. Under new Assembly Bill 210, students in Wisconsin will now (legally) be allowed to wear tribal regalia – like beadwork and eagle feathers – to their...
New York’s cosmetology law is breaking beauty barriers
A new requirement – that students learn to style textured hair as part of their training – is signalling change for the global beauty industry. The beauty industry has always been somewhat of a minefield for the Black community, who often find themselves on the fringes of an ostensibly inclusive business. Despite positive changes in the beauty space, including the rise of Black-owned businesses and the proliferation of products designed with Black...
Startup Sulapac develops microplastic-free packaging materials
Seeking to reduce our dependence on oil-based plastics, Sulapac is making bio-based packaging components using recycled and ‘side-streamed’ materials. It’s hoped to boost fashion’s circular economy. Anyone who is even slightly into skincare will be well aware that the environmental cost of beauty cosmetics is huge. Our buy, use, and bin approach to fad products and fleeting trends is a significant sustainability issue. Pumps, sprays, tamper seals, and everything else in...
Why are toxic chemicals still in our make-up and cosmetic products?
Along with ‘forever chemicals’ that will never break down in our natural environment, many beauty products still contain ingredients that disrupt our hormones and cause harm to our bodies over time. Which chemicals should we steer clear of and what is being done to make them disappear for good? You’d think that companies making products designed to be lathered, sprayed, and smeared on our bodies would make sure that their...
Are AI-generated images perpetuating toxic beauty standards?
Viewing photos generated by apps like Midjourney, DALL-E, and Adobe is no longer a novelty. Could frequent exposure to highly idealised – and unrealistic – images of human beings potentially reshape society’s beauty standards? If you’ve ever toyed around with AI photo-generating apps, you may have noticed a trend emerging – especially when asking the technology to depict realistic-looking humans. The trend I’m referring to is that all AI-generated humans seem...
