As a society, we have had a rough two years. The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on everyone’s mental health. One of the ways that most people kept their calm was by investing in a self-care routine. 

A large portion of self-care is skin care. While quarantining, people purchased various facial cleansers, face masks, moisturizers and a host of other skin care products. With consumers investing in skin care products, I have noticed a large spike in celebrity skin care brands.

Celebrity skin care brands are problematic.

First, the market is oversaturated. Within the last couple of years, SKKN by Kim Kardashian, Kylie Skin by Kylie Jenner, Rhode by Hailey Bieber, SKN by Lori Harvey and several other celebrity skin care brands have launched. This seems opportunistic. 

The lines include a system of aesthetically pleasing products with little scientific evidence proving that the ingredients work. 

Instead of curating a detailed skin care regimen that is backed by dermatologists and estheticians, celebrities are quickly investing in the industry because of how trendy and profitable it is at the moment. 

With so many celebrity skin care brands on the market, I have a series of questions. How do you know which brand is right for your skin type? How do you know who actually invested in their brand and is not just out to get the consumer’s dollar? 

This poses another issue, every single one of these lines claims to have the one system that will cure all your skin issues and give you flawless celebrity skin. When in reality, these same celebrities have access to top dermatologists who curate a routine for their flawless skin.

One example of this is Kim Kardashian, who promotes her SKKN skin care system across all her social media sites. 

On these same social media sites, she has posted the skin care treatments she received from dermatologist Dr. Simon Ourian. It’s a paradox. 

Celebrities want you to spend your hard-earned dollars on their overpriced skin care systems while they get expensive treatments.

Celebrities also have access to professional cameras, lighting, creative directors and editors. They have a team of specialists working to sell a dream. These brands are harmful and create an unrealistic beauty standard. 

The celebrity skin care industry is promoting an illusion of something that simply doesn’t exist. Consumers are looking at celebrities like Lori Harvey and Kylie Jenner and comparing themselves. In reality, celebrities do not look like that either. 

I wish people would stop supporting these brands. 

If celebrities did not have support from the general public, they wouldn’t be able to swindle people again and again. As long as consumers buy whatever their favorite celebrity is endorsing, it will continue to be a vicious cycle.