I need something to reasonably explain to my wife that all these things don't work, the brand indoctrination is profound and the credit card bills hefty.
Any good study on all the things that don't work?
I think the personality types you generally find in tech, which are so focused on what we can produce / output, don't understand that consumption is a perfectly valid hobby or interest for people to have.
I'd wager very few people actually buy the miracle claims on the products. I think they instead just find it fun. I gave my SO a lot of crap before realizing that some people just find stewardship of an object enjoyable. There's a whole subculture related to it. The ownership, displaying, and usage _is_ the hobby.
It's more common to hear people say, "it probably isn't doing much, but you never know." This is similar to people buying lottery tickets, "I doubt I'll win, but you never know."
"I just enjoy it, ok?" is probably what someone would say to get rid of a pestering husband. :)
An alternative is that bringing up this type of topic ends up sounding like some form of:
"Hey, you know all that stuff that stresses you out everyday? Well, regarding one of the less important ones, you are doing it totally wrong and I want you to correct yourself."
Even you are technically right, there is very little upside to bringing it up, especially out of nowhere. Assuming, of course, they aren't doing anything wildly dangerous.
Not if there are negative externalities associated with this hobby (i.e. fast fashion) which leads to ecological collapse and depletion of resources.
So most product will produce a small effect.
On top of that they smell good (rich), which is probably also an important part of the experience.
You really can't "red pill" people, and the closer they are to you the lower the chances of success.
You can, however, ask (non leading) questions and listen. If you can't start by being curious, don't expect them to make that leap first... and thats really where you have to start before you can change your mind.
its a completely emotional topic too, logic flew out the window already
theres a reason why marketers make huge bucks on cosmetics and diet pills.
No it is not.
https://examine.com/topics/wrinkles/
https://examine.com/topics/skin-quality/
https://examine.com/topics/skin-elasticity/
... among others.
Unfortunately there's not a lot of great science out there, which is crazy given that the cosmetics industry is nearing $0.5T annually.
And even then, you probably still want to let that one go. You likely also spend/waste money and time in ways that your wife finds less than rational. We are socialized to nag you a bit about it, but ultimately, not to take action against our men’s “harmless” wastes of money and time.
Separate checking accounts are underrated. My grandfather kept one paycheck a month, out of which he paid the mortgage, and gave the other to my grandmother, who paid all the other household expenses. What happened to the rest in each of their accounts was pretty much their own business.
* if her brand loyalty is to something sold by an MLM, then you do have cause for intervention - “I can get a fantastic discount by becoming a seller!” is the trap that catches a lot of women.
Some products are flat out dangerous though, and regulation is scant.
When my MIL was dying of cancer eventually then sent her home and "prescribed" various homeopathic concoctions (German insurance covered all this). At first I was appalled but eventually realized that as there was nothing left to do for her, the homeopathic bottles of water were a form of palliative care: giving her a sense of agency. I came to realize that it was a kindness.
Wearing makeup is often less critical, but given how important appearance is in culture, literature, and stereotyping, providing a sense of agency can be of enormous psychological value.
She explained it to me as such: it wasn't so much an anti-aging regime, as a protection from the elements regime -- in particular pollution, as South Korea has some trouble with seasonal fine dust. I suppose it makes sense. And for what its worth, her skin did have a healthy, shiny, glow after applying all the layers -- which is also part of the appeal.
Because it barely does anything at all and certainly won’t change your skin overtime, it doesn’t need FDA approval, isn’t prescription only, and isn’t a medicine.
It’s all marketing that makes you think it’s medical, but they never say it. They just advertise it with white lab coats, sciency sounding weasel words, mathematical looking curves and graphs… but it’s just overpriced and over marketed cream. Your brain is tricked into connecting the dots and concluding it’s medicine but they’ll never say it outright because they can’t because it’s not.
I think this is a little simplistic. The FDA isn't inherently interested in anything effective being deemed a drug, even when it comes to oral supplementation.
Plenty of non-medicine, non-FDA-regulated substances that work like medicines in some situations and do have real, repeatable effects are sold OTC.
Plenty of actual medicines that are FDA-regulated are sold OTC.
The guy is a very funny Aussie. It's Jim Jeffries. His bit went my girl comes to bed with oily skin from those pricy creams.
I tell her look at my face. Not a wrinkle, and I just use soap.
Anyway, when I saw a dermatologist in high school, for years it seemed? He would only recommend glycerin soap, and Certaphil if you have very dry skin. Benzoyl peroxide, erythromycin roll on lotion, and I was on erythromycin pills for bad acne. Think most pores blocked up. He detested dermatologists who sold out, and developed their own phony beauty creams.
This was when some doctors had integrity--80's? And it was starting to change.