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The Cult of Skincare

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The Cult of Skincare

New podcast episode!

Jessica DeFino
Mar 27, 2022
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The Cult of Skincare

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The skincare industry hinges on the idea that you, as you are — an amalgam of oil and dead skin cells, bacteria and blemishes, wrinkles, pimples, and other basic human features — are inherently bad, and only through the power of products can you be made good.

Its most popular offerings promise aesthetic immortality.

It’s fueled by fear: fear of aging, fear of ugliness, fear of the sun, fear of toxins, fear of not being accepted.

…Doesn’t that all sound a little cult-y?

If you answered yes, you’ll probably enjoy my guest appearance on the Sounds Like A Cult podcast! This week I joined hosts Amanda Montell and Isabela Medina-Maté to discuss some of the more cult-like characteristics of the skincare “community” (as Montell points out in the episode, the end goals of Scientology and skincare are one and the same: going clear). Listen for my thoughts on retinoids, The Ordinary, and how modern skincare acts as a stand-in for spirituality.

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple Podcasts

P.S. The strongest evidence that the skincare industry is indeed an all-but-inescapable cult? The fact that this podcast episode is sponsored by… skincare brands. Lol.

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The Cult of Skincare

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The Cult of Skincare

jessicadefino.substack.com
April
Mar 27, 2022Liked by Jessica DeFino

So excited about this! I have been listening to, and laughing with, that podcast for awhile. Yay! (And I am also increasingly convinced that there are soooooo many things in today’s culture that are a little but culty.)

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