Beauty in the Time of Pandemic [Opinion Piece]

The year 2020 brought us many surprises that we would rather have avoided. Massive fires in Australia, a plague of locusts in Africa, and a new virus pandemic spreading throughout the world. Scientists and sociologists around the world are wondering how this will affect society and our lives after the pandemic.

There is no doubt that the current situation will affect us. In recent years, we have been traveling more and more often and it can be said that the world has opened up to us. The increase in the standard of living has allowed us to focus on internal development during many activities, including fitness clubs and yoga schools. We also spent a lot of time in cafes and restaurants, meeting friends or at work. Now all this has been taken away from us and many people feel trapped. We have to face a new reality, very limited in previous pleasures.

Psychologists are speaking directly about the increase in anxiety disorders. There is no doubt that a lot will change in society in the coming weeks. However, let's consider something new. How will the COVID-19 pandemic affect our perception of beauty?

The canons of beauty have changed over the centuries, and among these many, sometimes enormous changes, there is one main assumption that invariably unites all centuries: people want to look good and… young. For centuries, people have been rejuvenating their faces in various ways. Will this change now? Will people forget about emphasizing their beauty?

When discussing this topic, it is worth noting that it is already clear that people will always strive for beauty. Even in such a new situation as the emergence of the need to wear masks, people have after a while found the opportunity to find beauty everywhere. Many companies have very nobly started to help medical workers and sew masks for them. You can see that these masks have ceased to be typically medical, and have appeared on the market in colorful and patterned ones. Why is this happening? One might ask, why look for beauty in such a pragmatic thing as a medical mask? Well, beauty affects our well-being, and in such a difficult situation it is all the more worth taking care of.

Returning to the canons of beauty and the pursuit of youth... In times of plague, beauty and youth are cultivated even more because it is associated with health and improves well-being. People in the face of death often affirm life. And the adoration of youth is one form of such affirmation.

So what can we predict for the coming weeks? The above-described tendency to find beauty in every object is already visible in society. As for beauty, the lack of access to aesthetic medicine and cosmetology services will increase the need for home care to take care of yourself and maintain a young, healthy appearance and good skin functioning. An excellent example of meeting such needs is the operation of the Beauty Embassy in Warsaw, where a point of sale of professional cosmetics for home care has been launched.

How do you affirm life?