Beauty is a privilege of those who can afford it. But how can it be more accessible?

My friend, AJ,posted on Facebook a throwback photo from our college days and, boy, I didn’t realize I looked so different back then. No wonder a former high school classmate said she heard a rumor saying I must’ve had stuff done to my face. Well, I did. I got braces to straighten my teeth, a dermatologist to address my cystic acne, a hairstylist to give me fabulous cuts and colors, and the best skin care products and makeup. 

So I didn’t get prettier really - I’m still all-natural. What happened was I got richer. I can now afford to look whatever it is I look like today. As another friend, Lhen, commented on that old photo, “Hindi ka naman pangit. Poor ka lang noon!” 

Which begs the question: What’s worse - being ugly or poor? I’d say being poor is worse because money can buy many things, from education, good health and security to even beauty. But when I posed this question to my friends, many opined that ugly is worse because beauty can get you more than success - it can bring you love and adoration (ex. artistas and beauty queens). 

At certain points in their life, everyone feels the overwhelming need to be beautiful. Or at least to look better than what Mother Nature intended. Because beauty has so many privileges that we all know about but don’t want to acknowledge, we try to look better to have access to those privileges. Beautiful people are also often seen as better genetically so we assume they must be stronger, smarter, even kinder. It’s no accident the heroes and princesses of our favorite fairy tales are all beautiful. 

Let me tell you another story. When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, Filipino homes didn’t have water flowing from the tap. There was a schedule of when you get your water (in my Lola Auring’s house, it was 2am - 6am) or you make igib. That’s what my brothers did. They went to the neighborhood water pump to collect water. This meant we only had a limited amount of water for our entire household of 8 - cooking, cleaning, flushing the toilet, doing the laundry, and bathing. So in my family, Mama told us to take baths every 2 to 3 days. We just washed our faces, delicate areas, and feet twice day. The rest of our body, we wiped clean with a face towel.

In my teens, I had horrible acne, scaly skin, and dandruff. When I finally went to a dermatologist to have these problems checked, she told me all I needed to do was rinse thoroughly. The flakes on my scalp were dried shampoo, the scales on my skin were dried soap, and my face, well, it just needed proper cleansing on top of needing help from hormone therapy to manage the cystic pimples. She told me to rinse with plenty of water, a concept so alien to me! Thankfully, by then our country had progressed enough so that there was water from every faucet and shower head, but it still took me years to learn how to bathe for more than 5 minutes.

So you can say I got prettier because I can now afford beauty products. But I really think it’s because I’m cleaner now. I’m healthier, too. It’s easier to look beautiful if your skin, hair and body are glowing with health. And we all know health is the biggest privilege of all. 

This is an issue bigger than just telling people who want to be beautiful to patronize local products. That’s a cause I can get behind since local brands are usually more affordable but work just as well, if not better since the formulas are made for our skin type and climate. I am a fan of In Her Element, Beach Born, Happy Skin, Pink Sugar, and Girlstuff - all high-quality local brands. But I think products aren’t the solution. 

More than telling fellow beauty fans to buy affordable skin care and makeup, we should be actively working and advocating for the health of every Filipino. We should be telling our government to make sure every Filipino has access to clean, flowing water. We should educate every household to eat healthy by teaching them easy and cheap recipes using local ingredients. We should ask our local governments for more parks and playgrounds where we can all exercise and get fit for free, to provide better and safer sidewalks so people can walk more and farther. We need to choose leaders who really care for our welfare. 

The real issue here is health. If every single one of us had clear skin and fit bodies, then we’d all be beautiful. Am I simplifying it? Maybe. All I know is I looked, smelled, and lived a life so much better once I started taking good long baths.