What is beauty: the opinion of a dermatologist and psychotherapist

Svetlana Galnykina , MD, Professor, Ternopil National Medical University named after I. Ya. Gorbachevsky

Roksolana Gnatyuk , psychotherapist, candidate of medical sciences, member of the Ukrainian Society of Psychotherapists

Svetlana Galnykina : Roksolana, cosmetology and aesthetic medicine are called upon to “create” beauty. In your opinion, is the concept of “beauty” more of an emotional or a realistic concept? After all, we all know perfectly well the expression from Oscar Wilde’s novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

Roksolana Gnatyuk : I think that beauty is more an emotional concept than a realistic one. When a mother looks at her child, he seems to her the most beautiful in the world, and not because this is really so, but because the woman looks at her baby with love. People in love are also beautiful to each other. Remember, the beautiful Roxana fell in love with the long-nosed Cyrano thanks to his sharp mind and wonderful poetry. The not very educated competitor was never able to outshine the intelligence and intelligence of the not very beautiful poet with his beauty.

Usually, every person and every nation has its own ideal of beauty. But a person’s appearance is the most perceptible feature, so when they first meet, people usually pay attention to appearance. As the well-known saying goes: “You are greeted by your clothes, but you are seen off by your mind.”

Boston psychologist Nancy Etcoff, author of Survival of the Fairest. The Science of Beauty,” believes that the human fascination with beauty is generated by the needs of evolution. She states that “our response to beauty is nothing more than a trick of the brain. The mind was formed under conditions of natural selection, which required solving problems related to survival and procreation. Physical signs of health and fertility coincide with signs of beauty.” But these days, other selection criteria predominate, and toned muscles or a thin waist do not guarantee that a person will secure a bright future for himself.

S.G.: What unites beauty standards at different times? And does it really exist, the “ideal of beauty”? What influences the changing requirements for appearance in different socio-economic eras?

R.G. : Undoubtedly, the concept of beauty has existed since the beginning of mankind. The youngest children can already distinguish between beauty and ugliness: they draw kind goldilocks princesses and disgusting evil witches. Although the ideals of beauty have transformed with each new era - from buxom beauties several centuries ago to thin models today. But there have always been those who corresponded to these human ideals of beauty, and those who found themselves left behind. The latter, as a rule, were bullied, ignored, pitied, or tried not to notice. And one can only imagine what was going on in the heart of such a person.

The first attempt to systematize the study of physical attractiveness belongs to the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras (6th century BC). During the times of Ancient Greece, beauty was associated with the correct proportions of the body, or the rule of the “golden ratio”. These principles concerned not only the beauty of the human body or face, but were also used in architecture, painting and music.

We all know Leonardo da Vinci's drawing "The Vitruvian Man", which embodies the search for objective standards of beauty of the human body. But, of course, every era had its own concepts of beauty. For example, the ideal beauty of Ancient Egypt was a woman with large green eyes. Women of that time dropped belladonna into their eyes and outlined them with green paint made from copper carbonate. In Ancient China, a fragile woman with small legs was revered. The beauties of Ancient Japan whitened their skin, covered all facial defects with white, shaved off their eyebrows and painted them on with paint. In ancient Rome there was a cult of light-skinned people. In the Middle Ages, bright women were called witches, and modest forms covered with heavy fabrics were considered beautiful. In the 12th–13th centuries, luxury became a symbol of beauty. The gentle beauty of the Early Renaissance in the late Renaissance period turned into a woman with powerful forms. At the beginning of the 20th century, a romantic woman with a doll-like face was considered beautiful. Before World War II, short women's haircuts and a laconic look came into fashion.

However, the change in the aesthetic ideal of beauty of each era has something in common in the most different types of beauty - it is harmony.

Today, glamorous beauty is giving way to natural beauty. Girls will further improve their breasts with the help of implants, but not huge, as before, but small in size and natural in shape. Huge lips pumped up with silicone are no longer fashionable; they can be improved, but unnoticeably, naturally. Many older models with physical (or mental) defects have appeared on magazine covers, which means that the modern concept of beauty is expanding its scope.

S.G. : Let's return to the pages of the famous novel... Lord Wotton obsequiously and gradually instills in Dorian the opinion that beauty is the master key to all locks, that it is the secret of success and happiness. And that is why the desire for a “perfect” (I deliberately write in quotes) appearance becomes identical to the desire to become happy. What can you say about the psychological aspects of this behavior?

R.G. : It’s interesting that in order to be positively perceived by society, it is enough to have only a little better than “average” appearance. People with ugly facial features, as well as those who are too beautiful, have always been viewed with caution. Recently, through the joint efforts of psychologists, biologists and sociologists, attractionology was created - a science that studies the factor of beauty in our lives. Numerous studies have confirmed that nice people have an easier life: they are friends with their peers, people trust them more, they find work faster, their careers are faster, and their salaries are higher.

But my opinion, as a psychotherapist, is the following: happiness depends on ourselves. It is simply ideal if beauty is combined with spiritual harmony, but beauty alone is not synonymous with happiness.

In Argentina, where I live now, or in neighboring Brazil, for example, plastic surgery is very popular. Personally, I know a woman who has improved her figure through many surgeries: breast implants, some facial changes. But she didn’t become happier, she remains lonely, doing a job she doesn’t like. Although I know that she wants to have a loved one, a family, children. But improving only your curves with breast implants does not help with this. Before changing yourself so radically, I would advise you to first visit a psychotherapist to get answers to many questions: “Who am I? What makes me happy? What would I like/want to do with my life?”

On the other hand, I read the story of a girl blogger who improved her figure and her life changed a lot. But, besides this, she has started many interesting projects, works out every day in the gym, is a well-read, erudite person, and a wonderful mother for her children.

S.G .: As a doctor working in the field of aesthetic medicine, I very often see that women are ready to sacrifice some of their “highlights” in order to meet certain existing “standards”, while losing their uniqueness... How Don't lose yourself in search of beauty? For me, such an example is the famous actress Nicole Kidman. I adore films with her participation from her early creative period and, unfortunately, I don’t perceive her at all in films after her total “reincarnation”.

R.G. : Unfortunately, we are not taught to grow up gracefully, let’s say, but we are taught to always be young. It is worth remembering that not all plastic surgeries are successful. So is it worth the risk? It seems to me that you need to improve what you already have, and not change yourself for the sake of fashion. A well-groomed face and body, neat clothing that suits a person - this is what attracts attention. By the way, a friend of mine, a makeup artist for Kyiv magazines, once gave me wonderful practical advice: if you have a well-groomed face, beautiful hair and healthy teeth, then no one will pay attention to how old you are or what you are wearing.

Hollywood movie star Julia Roberts had many derogatory nicknames as a child due to her tall stature, awkward posture and large mouth. But then she became incredibly popular thanks to this “big smile”, which distinguishes her from other actresses.

Here's another example. The wonderful actress Inna Churikova, when entering the theater institute, heard from members of the admissions committee something like: “Girl, when did you look at yourself in the mirror?” Inna burst into tears. And then she entered the Shchepkinsky School, and we should be grateful to the person who recognized the talent in a girl with a very peculiar face and did not fail her in the exam. After all, on the cinema horizon, Inna Churikova shines as such a bright star, which is very far from many beauties.

S.G.: Well, now about the present... How social networks influence the concept of “beauty”... After all, millions of carefully “filtered” photos of beauties (Photoshop aces) influence the subconscious of users, leading to disappointment, low self-esteem, frustration ... This is especially dangerous for the teenage psyche. How could you comment on this situation? And what would you, as a psychotherapist, advise on how to avoid the harmful influence of beautiful pictures from Instagram on your own self-esteem?

R.G. : Yes, today there is a certain culture of social networks. For example, Instagram sells products such as “beautiful woman, rich husband, happy family.” But no one really knows what is behind these images and photographs.

After all, Instagram life is very different from real life. It is much easier to click the cursor on your face several times, and now you no longer have any bruises or wrinkles. But we remember that in real life everything is much more complicated. At a minimum, you need to make a mask and put it on your face. Or do exercises to make your waist thinner.

On social networks we see not a real person, but his image. Nowadays, it’s rare for anyone to post photos when they’re sick or in bad shape. Although there are people who are trying to arouse pity and get more views through such photos, this is the other side of the coin. As a rule, an ordinary photograph goes through several processing - filters are added, retouching is done. Instagram even has special “masks” for selfies or live broadcasts - a toned face, long eyelashes, and the like.

In addition to photo editors, in order to do a photo shoot, not only hotel rooms are rented, but also huge bouquets of flowers, packages of famous brands, dresses and suits are rented. Instagram is like a dream factory, which is more accessible to people than the film industry.

Therefore, you should treat photographs on the Internet as a beautiful illusion and nothing more. It’s better to compare yourself not with Instagram beauties (which is often not in our favor), but with your past self. Every person has a photograph in which they like themselves. Make yourself a professional photo shoot in a beautiful dress, print this photo of yourself and hang it on your wall at home. Or print out a photo of a time when you were very happy. Look at this photo more often and know that you can be like this. Try to be like that.

To be honest, I recently did just that. I had some surgery, and after that I didn’t feel very comfortable, let’s put it that way. But instead of crying into my pillow and feeling sorry for myself, I put on a beautiful dress, the makeup artist did incredible makeup on me, and I booked a photo shoot. The photos came out beautiful. I received a lot of compliments. But these photographs also symbolize to me that even when it’s sad and painful, we must try our best to get out into the sun.

Compare yourself to yourself last year. You worked out in the gym and lost a few kilos of excess weight - well done. Or, on the contrary, they gained weight and began to look better - and this is wonderful. Someone has taken care of their health and feels great. Someone finally took the time and underwent a course of skin treatment, and is now happy with their simply radiant face. Someone learned a new language. Received a second education, or completed courses that you have long dreamed of. Someone started drawing. These are your victories and they are important. They boost your self-esteem and that's your real life.

As we see, beauty is an emotional concept. Try to be yourself. Try to be healthy and happy. Do what makes you happy. Be beautiful, but use natural methods for this: a healthy and balanced diet, exercise, visit beauty salons or take care of your skin at home. Your beauty is not only a perfect face and figure, it is what you do, what you eat, what you think and dream about. As the world famous Coco Chanel said: “When taking care of beauty, you must start with the heart and soul, otherwise no cosmetics will help you.”

First published: Cosmetologist No. 5-6, 2020