History

Throughout the ages women have been distorting their bodies in several manners usually for the approval of men.
In the 15th centruy, women would pluck their hailines to create higher forheads. Blonde hair was considered to be a sign of class and beauty so men and women would sit in the sun for hours, use bleach, saffron or onion dye to make their hair as blonde as possible.
Later on, a pale complexion was desirable, so white lead was used which was later found to be poisonous.
In the 18th century, people would wear wigs that would sometimes reach up to 3 feet into the air!
Skull moulding and head flattening was common in Eastern countries. the nose, ears and forehead were flattened to the head because it was considered beautiful. Infant's heads were flattened by two boards placed on either side of the head. This would make the head flat over the years and after a few years the boards would be removed.
Chinese women would bind their feet because it was considered beautiful and was needed to make a chinese woman available for marriage. This went on for nearly 1000 years.
Corsets were worn to create a false hour-glass figure. They would crush ribcages and disfigure internal organs. This also prevented proper breathing.

Make-up

Make-up is not as safe as you think. Next time when you go to wash your hair, face and apply make-up you may want to actually take a look at the ingredients. Chemicals are found in our everyday beauty products that are more harmful than you may have thought. Some products contain ingredients that clog pores, dry out skin and hair and even quicken the ageing process. Many of these ingredients are marketed as 'safe' or harmless, but we have been misinformed.

If you are worried about ingredients that may be harming you, here is a list of some of the main culprits:

Mineral Oil- Now don't be fooled by the name, although it says 'minerals' it makes it sounds like a nutrient but it is derived from petroleum. This is mainly found in lip-sticks, make-up remover, lotions and the main ingredient in baby oil. It coats the skin, blocking pores, preventing the skin from breathing.

Alpha-Hydroxy Acids – AHA is an organic moisturiser and a natural exfoliant. It is found in skin cleansers, masks and moisturizers. It exfoliates to the point where it removes dead skin cells and its natural protective layer. It can make the skin up to 50% more susceptible to harmful UV rays, leaving the skin vulnerable to the sun’s aging effect, which could lead to skin cancer.

Paraffin– This ingredient comes from coal and petroleum. It is waxy substance and is found in cheap candles. It solidifies products like bath bars (not soap!) and eye liner. It irritates the skin and blocks skin pores.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate– SLS is found in many cosmetics, toothpastes and shampoos but it is also found in floor cleaner and engine de-greasers. It dries out the skin and if it is combined with other common chemicals it can form carcinogenic compounds (which can cause cancer). Scientists use SLS to cause skin irritation to test products that prevent skin irritation. This chemical is used because it creates foam and is cheap.

Formaldehyde– This the same substance used in labs to preserve dead bodies. It can be found in nail polish, shampoo and skin. This is irritating to the skin and can cause allergic reactions. Its fumes are linked to asthma and cancer.

Alcohol/Isopropyl Alcohol– This chemical is derived from petroleum and is found in perfume, hair spray, after-shave lotion, body lotion and hair dye it is also found in solvents. It is a toxic substance that can cause nausea, headaches and depression. It dries and ages the skin when it comes in contact.

Talc– This product if found in powders such as blushes, powdered foundations and baby powder. This mineral is a potential carcinogen when inhaled.

Lacquer– This is added to things like water-proof mascara to keep the colour from running. It is a hardening chemical which can lead to thinning and loss of lashes.

Collagen– The media gives us the impression that collagen is good for our skin. The body's natural colleen keeps our skin healthy but the collagen added to skin care products are extracted from animal skins and ground chicken feet. But the protein cannot penetrate the pores by rubbing it on the skin; it only clog the pores.

Lanolin– This is a product that we are also believe is healthy for our skin, it is fat derived from wool and can cause rashes and other skin irritations.

Solariums

Solarium tans are not safe tans. It can cause skin and eye damage. A solarium involves lying in an enclosure that surrounds you with UV light. It is UV light that causes the skin to tan. However, over exposure to this light also causes skin cancer. Limited amounts of UV rays have been proven to help acne.
They deliver five times the dose of UV radiation than the midday sun. They are also clearly linked to increased rates of skin cancer.

You have probably heard of Clare Oliver.
She died in 2007 of skin cancer at the age of 25 from being addicted to solariums. UV exposure has been proven to encourage the creation and release of the body's own endorphins (feel-good substance). This may be why Clare was addicted.

"Here I am, 25 and I've been told that I've got only a few weeks to live and I don't think anything - you know, solariums, looking good, having a golden tan - is worth that," she said.

Laws have now been aplied to solariums to inform their customers about the risks and healthwarnings.

Piercings

People have been piercing their ears for thousands of years.

When you get your ears pierced you want to make sure you go to a professional who has certain qualifications. When you get your piercing make sure you look out for the person washing their hands, using hand sanitiser or using gloves before handling equipment. The person will clean your ear with sterilising soap. Make sure you have a parent or guardians permission.

Piercings in other areas other than the ear are not recommended for children because other areas are prone to carrying more bacteria.

You may be allergic to certain types of metal so when getting your first piercing use a gold earring because this will limit the chances of swelling and infection.

If the piercing is not done properly then there might be a chance of nerve damage near the pieced areas. Therefore you should do your piercing from an professional. Sometimes piercing in unsafe area of the body can also lead to nerve damage.
Cross-Contamination is getting any infection or virus through dirty needles. So be very cautious when you go for a piercing. Check if your piercer is using sterilized needles and equipment.
Allergies and infections are both of the major side effects of piercing. If your skin is sensitive you may get allergies or any kind of irritation in your skin. If you don’t take proper aftercare of the pierced areas then you tend get infection. So take proper care and daily clean your pierced area by using some sort of anti-biotic or alcoholic spray.

Piercings do hurt, so if a person can’t bear pain then it is advisable that she or he should not go for certain piercing like tongue piercing and nipple piercing. Many may think that if they are fine with their ear piercing then they will be fine with naval piecing too. but they are wrong! Naval piercing is much more painful than ear piercing.
After getting a piercing you are not able to donate blood for a year after.

Tattoos

Some of the risks that come with getting a tattoo are infection at the site of the tattoo, allergic reaction to the tattoo dye, the spread of disease such as HIV and Hepatitis C, granulomas and keloid formation. People with tattoos are nine times more likely to be infected with Hepatitis C.
Infections can occur if the needle used is dirty or not sterile.


If someone is unhappy with a tattoo, it is important to note that the removal of one may be even more painful than the tattoo itself and it can be very expensive. A tattoo that costs $50 can cost about $1,000 to remove. There are different methods to remove a tattoo including laser treatments, abrasion, scarification and surgery.

Botox

Botox is a wrinkle-smoothing material that it injected into the skin. It is shot into the muscle causing temporary paralysis of that muscle, getting rid of wrinkles. It usually lasts up to 6 months. Botox can be dangerous if it is not administered properly by a professional. It is not administered to anyone under the age of 12 but is used for medical purposes for those 12-18 years old.

For a while, Botox was used for strictly medical purposes – to help control unnatural muscle spasms or excessive sweating, only recently it has been used for cosmetic purposes. It has been a popular 'anti-ageing' treatment because of the instant results.

DID YOU KNOW...one 'unit' of a Botox injection is enough to kill a mouse. and to paralyse the forehead it can use up to 60 injections!

A minority of people are may be allergic to Botox, so it is not administered to them. Some common side effects include: nausea, flu syndrome, respiratory infection, forehead drooping, eyelid drooping, and headaches.

Some of the lesser common side effects are redness, pain, swelling, numbness, bruising, muscle weakness and bleeding, which mainly come from the injection.

You may have problems swallowing, speaking, or breathing due to the lost usage of some muscles. Swallowing difficulties may go on for several months. It can also lead to tiredness, other muscles weakening and loss of bladder control.

Botox does not usually have any long-term side effects. Those who are taking anti-biotics are not allowed to have Botox and people are not allowed to have more than one injection every 3 months. 'Botox Parties' are also more common now, where people socialise and inject Botox not in a safe medical area.

Plastic Surgery

Plastic surgery was originally used for medical purposes like botox. Now days it is been more commonly used for cosmetic reasons. People try to restore their bodies to leave them ageless, restoring looks or creating 'perfection'. But plastic surgery is usually irreversible because it is 'invasive' surgery which cannot be undone. It is much like when hemming a skirt and cutting off the hem, you cannot make the skirt longer again. So when cosmetic surgery goes drastically wrong there is not much you can do to change it, apart from getting more surgery!

Although people are getting surgery increasingly, researchers believe that it is influenced by psychological disorders more than the media. It can become very expensive and is not covered by medical insurance unless done for a medical reason.

The amount of teenagers getting surgery is on the rise especially in the US. It is not so common in Australia. The most common procedures teens choose include nose reshaping, ear surgery, acne and acne scar treatment, and breast reduction. Surgeons will not perform certain procedures on a teenager unless they have stopped growing.

Teenagers usually get surgery to fit in and feel accepted in society. But everyone is self conscious and ask yourself whether it will pass with time. So if you are considering plastic surgery ask yourself if you are willing to risk the minor flaws you have now to potentially major mistakes. Before undergoing cosmetic surgery, or any surgery, consider the risks involved:

-Infection
-Excessive or unexpected bleeding (hemorrhage or hematoma)
-Blood clots
-Tissue death
-Delayed healing

-Bruising (temporary)
-Anesthesia risks (numbing drug which can cause side effects like)
-Pneumonia

- Breaking of some bones
-Loss or change of sensation
-Need for more surgeries (not satisfied with results )
-Paralysis or less severe nerve damage

Instead of plastic surgery...

Stay healthy! Eat well and exercise regularly. Things like weight-loss can be changed in a non-surgical way. People's emotions also depend on how they see themselves. If you think that plastic surgery will solve these problems, it probably won't. If you have really bad thoughts toward yourself, seeing a therapist can solve your emotional difficulties.

Influences

The media, Internet, toys, our family and friends. EVERYTHING that surrounds us! Famous people especially. These influences can be both positive and negative. We see millions of ads and pictures everyday showing us what to buy, what is cool and what isn't.We see pictures of them everywhere and we are pressured to look good as celebrities constantly do and when we buy magazines headlined "stars without make-up" we buy it to feel better about ourselves. We need to stop comparing ourselves to them, because they have gone through painful procedures and risky processes to look how they do and sometimes this still doesn't fix their problems.

We, as a modern culture, need to start accepting people and not judge by looks.

Help

How can we help people become aware of these risks?

Help from resources- Girls Stuff by Kaz Kooke is a motivating book encouraging and informing girls about how to feel good and about teen age years

This blog!

Help from good alternatives- http://www.naturallysafe.com.au/

Help from foundations- The dove campaign promote good body image.

Help from the community- Emotions have a lot to do with body image. Communties can host things like laughing classes to make people feel good about themselves!

Conclusion

After weighing up the pros and cons of certain beauty practices I think it is up to you whether you are willing to risk the health affects to look superficially 'beautiful'. Try to not let your thoughts be influenced by the media and ruin your perception of beauty.

I think this blog is very important because I go to an all girls school who worry about how they look and what others think of them. People are also searching for who they are and who they want to be in teen years, making them very aware of how the come across to people. I just want to make society aware of the risks, alternatives and help.

"Change your mind, not your body"

~Positive body image slogan