The Cosmetic Con: How Big Beauty Is Wrecking Women Inside and Out

Women are being wrecked by the cosmetic industry, and honestly, it pisses me off.

It’s absurd to me that my wife – my beautiful wife – thinks she’s somehow got the face of an alley troll if she doesn’t smear, dab, or paint every possible potion, unction, concoction, paste, cream, or balm all over her face. She’s been convinced by a billion-dollar machine that she needs this crap. And she’s not alone.

Let’s talk numbers. Around 72% of women in the U.S. say they feel pressure to wear makeup to feel "presentable." Globally, the beauty industry rakes in over $600 billion a year, much of it from women chasing the same unrealistic standards shoved down their throats since childhood. Studies show girls as young as 6 are worrying about being "pretty enough." SIX. YEARS. OLD. That’s not natural. That’s marketing.

And it gets even more ridiculous. Women buy these concave, magnifying mirrors that make every pore look like a crater and every stray hair like a redwood tree. They’re examining their faces at a microscopic level, then wondering why they don’t look like a goddamn Instagram filter in real life. The expectations are completely out of whack with reality.

Why do women do this to themselves? Oh right… because greedy corporations have spent decades convincing them it’s what men want. But here’s the kicker: we don’t. I’ve told my wife time and time again that she absolutely doesn’t need all this shit. She’s gorgeous without it. But she won’t listen. That’s how deep the brainwashing goes.

Women slather on product after product, then complain when they don’t get the results they were promised – results that don’t even exist outside of a Photoshop session or a TikTok filter. Meanwhile, men are out here using the same 3-in-1 body wash they use to clean a trailer hitch, and somehow their hair and skin look fine. And what do women do? Double down with the 15th bottle of crap they already said "doesn’t work." That’s not self-care. That’s insanity.

The cosmetic industry doesn’t sell beauty. It sells insecurity. It’s an evil genius con – a perpetual cycle where women are taught to hate what they see in the mirror so they’ll keep buying hope in a jar. And while we’re here, let’s not pretend this isn’t screwing up our kids too. Little girls grow up watching their moms panic about laugh lines and "texture" while influencers sell them $200 serums "for preventative aging." Preventative aging. For kids.

It’s time to call this what it is: psychological warfare for profit. And it’s working. Women are being wrecked by the cosmetic industry… inside and out. And the saddest part? They’re paying for their own destruction.