Skin Care Is Going Hollywood

The news report was startling; and no, not the coverage of United Flight 3411—after flying out of Newark for more than 25 years nothing the airlines do surprises me anymore.


No, I’m referring to a study published last month that found a Hollywood bias against people with skin disorders. According to research results published in the Journal of American Medical Association Dermatology, researchers who reviewed a list of the greatest cinematic heroes and villains found that six of the top 10 villains had varying degrees of skin conditions, compared with only two of the leading 10 heroes.


Need some examples? Darth Vader, Queen Grimhilde (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) and Regan MacNeil (The Exorcist) had perioorbital hyperpigmentation. In addition, Vader and Grimhilde had, gasp, wrinkles, and Darth Sidious (the emperor in Star Wars) and MacNeil had multiple facial scars. Furthermore, the study points out that Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs) and Henry F. Potter (It’s a Wonderful Life), both suffered from alopecia.


“The results of this study demonstrate Hollywood’s tendency to depict skin disease in an evil context,” according to the authors, all of them researchers at the University of Texas. “Unfairly targeting dermatologic minorities may contribute to a tendency toward prejudice in our culture and facilitate misunderstanding of particular disease entities among the general public…filmmakers are tasked with addressing biased portrayals of dermatologic disease.”


The study was based on the American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Heroes and Villains list.


At Happi, we care about skin care; in every issue and throughout our website, skin is always a major topic. This month is no different; read Greater Expectations.


Christine Esposito reports that women expect more from their lotions, creams and serums. Using these products may not get them on Hollywood’s A list, but they’ll certainly look better than Darth Vader unmasked!



Of course, beauty is more than skin deep. So this month, we provide an update on nutritional beauty and, to top it all off, read our coverage of hair color.



Tom Branna
Editorial Director
tbranna@rodmanmedia.com