Focus on Wellness for a Better Image

Public relations managers love Happi. They email a release and some images. If they fit with our mission, they go online and, sometimes, in print too. But one recent release reminded me about what’s so wrong with the beauty industry.

LaserAway surveyed 1,000 Americans and less than half (46%) felt confident in their bodies. I recalled a conversation I had with a colleague who, like me, is a parent of girls. She said her nine-year-old was trying on bathing suits. When her daughter looked in the mirror, she automatically turned to her side and “sucked in her gut,” as her mom said, adding “it broke my heart.”

Mine, too.

For 100 years and counting, beauty industry advertising has done a tremendous disservice to young women by promoting images of beauty that are only attainable via Photoshop, surgery or severe caloric restriction. Those images have always impacted self-image. As a high school friend noted way back in the 1980s, “the difference between girls and boys is that girls look in the mirror and only see what’s wrong. Boys look in the mirror and only see what’s right.”

That mentality not only makes for self-conscious women, but a lot of really unattractive guys are stumbling around thinking that they’re something else. Glance around the conference room or take a stroll along an exhibition floor; there’s a lot of middle-aged men—me included—who could use a makeover.

What’s an industry to do? More companies are using untouched photography in their advertising. Taking it to another level entirely, more companies are focused on wellness—inside and out. They are speaking about and sharing resources on mental health. All good things.

This month, spa owners (click here) tell us that business is booming again, as consumers seek balance in their hectic lifestyles. To learn more about the latest hair styling trends, turn to Melissa Meisel’s cover story (click here). To find out what you missed at CES last month, read Christine Esposito’s coverage of the big Vegas show here. Finally, Lambros Kromidas provides details on the EU’s new microplastic regulations (click here).

We hope you enjoy this edition of Happi. We welcome your comments and suggestions.

Tom Branna
Editorial Director
tbranna@rodmanmedia.com