Why We'll Never Sell the Fear of Aging

 Hi, there 💚

There is something you'll never hear us advocate for at Skin Balm Apothecary: "anti-aging." The beauty industry has built billions of dollars around convincing women to "fight wrinkles," "reverse the clock," "stop aging in its tracks," "combat wrinkles," and "erase years of visible aging." You'll never hear us use language like that because we don't believe aging is a flaw that needs fixing. Our philosophy has always been to help women have the healthiest skin possible at every stage of life, not fear the natural changes that come with the privilege of growing older.

The Problem with Anti-Aging Marketing

Yeah, those phrases above definitely sell and if you're a woman on IG or TikTok for more than 2 minutes, your algorithm probably spit up one of those slogans or something very similar to your feed. But, in short, we do not believe in these slogans. And even more importantly, we don't believe women should fear one of the most natural and inevitable parts of being human: AGING. The longer we've worked in the skincare industry, the more we've noticed a troubling pattern → Much of the industry is built around convincing women there's something wrong with their skin instead of teaching them how to care for healthy sin through every season of life. 

Think about the advertisements you've seen throughout your life. Some of these are even hard to type out because they are so damaging, especially to young and impressionable women. And yes, these are all actual marketing slogans and/or common anti-aging phrasing used in the skincare industry → "Aging is a fact of life. Looking your age is not." "Look years younger without surgery." "Look ageless." "Join me in the battle against aging."

Yes, there's even more... "For the wrinkles you see, and the wrinkles you don't." "Better than Botox." "Fight the clock." "It's easier to prevent a wrinkle than to fix one." "Future-proof your face." "Erase the past. Reveal the future." "Turn back the skin clock." "Intercept aging before it impacts your skin." "Don't let your skin tell your age." "Don't let your neck reveal your age." "Erase ten years instantly."

The marketing almost always follows the same formula. In a nutshell, it's the classic trope; creating the problem, then selling you the miracle "solution". Over time those messages become so familiar that many of us don't even question them anymore. They just become accepted background noise in the onslaught of marketing slogans all around us.

We simply assume that looking older must be bad because we've been hearing that message for decades. How incredibly sad is this? This is especially true for the western world… we wrote an article all about that actually. 

What really breaks my heart is how young this messaging begins. Women in their twenties are now being encouraged to get "preventative" Botox before they even have wrinkles *slams face into palm. Teenagers are buying products labeled "anti-aging" before they've finished developing or have a fine line to fret over. Can we go back to the day where 14-year-olds were more focused on, I don't know, beating their friends at Mario Kart and putting Mentos into Coca-Cola?

I get a little spicy about this, because of how out of touch with reality this is and how I fear there is a whole generation of young women being taught to focus so much on self and outward appearance, not to mention the crippling insecurity this can contribute to among the many pressures young girls face already.

Instead of learning how to nourish skin from the inside, and quite frankly, skincare being a secondary thought, it seems more young women are learning to fear their future face. And yeah, this is probably correlated to how young girls are introduced to social media and how much time they spend on it.

I know I am focusing a lot on the under 20s demographic above because that is when a lot of the pervasive messaging gets introduced and ingrained, but know our 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s + women are not forgotten at SBA. More often than not, you are our main focus. We have a ton of resources on the blog for you and make products specifically to deeply nourish skin as it ages. If you're curious about what actually happens to our skin as we age, especially during menopause, we recently published an in-depth guide that walks through those changes and how to care for your skin during that season of life.

Aging Isn't a Problem to Solve

Anyways, if we could flip the switch right now on the messaging of the beauty industry at large, here's what we wish it would be promoting instead, and what we've been saying for years: aging isn't a FLAW. It isn't something your body is doing wrong. Your skin is not betraying you.

It is doing exactly what it was designed to do. It protects you every single day. It heals when you're injured. It adapts to changing seasons. It is the outward image of YOU. It welcomes the faces of your babies, and is what comforts them the most. It represents safety and friendship. It carries you through joy and sorrow. And yes, over time, it changes! Just like it is supposed to.

Those changes are not evidence that your body has failed. THEY ARE EVIDENCE THAT YOUR BODY HAS LIVED! WHAT A GIFT! YOU ARE ALIVE AND LIVING!!! *Screams at the top of my lungs while clenching fists in the air!

And, instead of fear tactics, we think education and HONESTY should be the leading way to approach skincare. If you have not heard it before, hear it from me today…. No matter how much we invest in our appearance, no cream, serum, facial treatment, or cosmetic procedure can erase the passage of time. When we are face to face, there are always signs that we are aging. Please, don't let camera angles, lighting, and filters fool you.

We are all growing older together, and that is one of the few experiences every human being shares. It's one of the fundamental things that makes us human. Our mortality. And that's a whole other email. Our fear of death that is intertwined with the western fear of aging. It's easy to fall into the illusion that if we can avoid looking older, we can somehow avoid thinking about our own mortality. I know I've fallen into that trap myself.

Our Philosophy at SBA

So why don't we believe in "anti-aging" skincare? Because we don't believe skincare should promise to stop one of the most natural parts of being human. We believe it should support healthy skin through every season of life. You see how this goal is much simpler, saves you money, and is actually attainable? Healthy skin at twenty looks different than healthy skin at forty, sixty, or eighty, and that's exactly as it should be. We aren't trying to erase the story your face tells, instead, we're here to help educate and support you for your needs now, at this stage of your life.

That's why you'll never see us use fear as a sales tactic. If we ever have, please forgive us. That was unintentional and maybe we succumbed to the popular language that's so ingrained in our psyche surrounding aging. Hopefully we have shown we want nothing to do with that framework.

That is not what SBA was built upon, and nor will it ever be. We refuse to promise impossible results that no skincare product on earth can deliver, or profit from insecurities that, in many cases, the beauty industry helped create in the first place! No way. We want SBA to always be an encouraging, uplifting, and supportive space where you can breathe easy and know we approach our customers with honesty first.

What We Hope Women Hear Instead

I'll just leave you with some final thoughts then. From what I recently gathered from a quick Google search, the global skincare industry is now worth well over $115 billion and is expected to continue growing rapidly over the next decade.

Imagine how much of that growth depends on convincing women that aging is something to fear rather than something to celebrate? If women truly believed there was nothing wrong with changes to their skin as they age, how many fewer products would they feel pressured to buy and how many procedures would they forfeit? How much money would be saved for more important things in life other than constantly trying to alter our appearance?

We know this perspective isn't the one you'll hear most often in the beauty/skincare climate we're in, and frankly, it doesn't sell well to the global market. But we'd rather be known for telling women the truth than scaring someone into buying something.

The plain hard cold reality is this: your worth and even confidence are not measured by how "young" you look. Your skin is not failing you. It is simply telling the story of a life that has been lived.

And woman to woman, if you are around people who make you feel insecure about your skin or looks, that is on them. Not you. Don't take on others' insecurities. Those aren't yours to take. You are quite literally beautifully and wonderfully made. That is the objective truth.

So, If you're looking for products designed to support healthy skin rather than promise impossible results, we have an entire skincare collection just for you. Some of our favorite products for supporting healthy, mature skin our Blue Tansy HA Moisturizer, Firming Serum, and Daydream Mineral SPF. We also have full, seasonal skincare routines for every skin type, including mature skin.

Remember, no topical skincare product can stop or reverse the natural aging process. Our products are formulated to support healthy skin, hydration, and barrier function as your skin changes throughout life.

Our goal always is to help your skin thrive in every season of life and to appreciate the story it tells 💚