Why beauty can’t quit talking about anti-ageing

This article is part of our Vogue Business membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to our weekly Beauty Edit newsletter, which contains Member-only reporting and analysis, the Beauty Trend Tracker and Leadership Advice, sign up for Vogue Business membership here. From the splashy headlines about 56-year-old Pamela Anderson’s makeup-free face at Paris Fashion Week this season, to 71-year-old Isabella Rossellini’s un-retouched cover for Vogue Italia’s October issue, the question of how women should age is still a topic of hot debate. In beauty, this is manifesting as a backlash against products that claim to be “anti-ageing”— something critics point out is an impossible promise. For brands, this presents a conundrum. The language may be increasingly problematic, but the desire to prevent or slow down the visible effects of ageing prevails — and drives sales. Some skincare brands, including Tula, Olay and Dove, have introduced terminology such as “ageless”, “age-defying” and “pro-age”, which are intended to have more positive connotations. Yet, “anti-ageing” and “anti-wrinkle” claims are still widespread. The global ideal of youthfulness is hard to overcome because ageing suggests a lack of willpower, reflects Sarah Lamb, a cultural anthropologist and professor who studies ageing at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. “There’s this idea that to be a good person is to be in control, and that we have individual responsibility to be in good health so that we’re not a burden on society. Being healthy, fit or thin gets wrapped up in that,” she says. “Younger people have the tendency to see ageing as a kind of project that they’re supposed to take control of.” Brands have seized the opportunity to convince consumers that the “right” way to age more gracefully is by using the products that they sell. With claims of more rigorous research, efficacious ingredients and science-backed formulations, they can charge more for those products too. Swiss high-end skincare brand La Prairie’s Platinum Rare Haute Rejuvenation Mask, which launched this month and claims to provide the “ultimate anti-ageing nighttime care”, costs an eye-watering $1,779. A 30ml bottle of Dior’s Le Nectar Premier, the LVMH-owned house’s first anti-ageing serum, launched in September, is priced at $860. French luxury beauty company Sisley Paris’s anti-ageing fluid and cream from its reformulated Supremÿa range cost $940 each. Some beauty brands interviewed by Vogue Business say their products are not designed to help “cure” the natural ageing process, but rather play a role in helping to prevent skin damage or support cell rejuvenation. That still creates a cycle in which consumers feel the need to buy products they believe will help them stay looking young — and with that, uphold their value in society, experts warn. Ageism has become so blatant that it’s no longer disguised, says Brandeis University’s Lamb. “We call it an ‘anti-ageing’ industry. People are so comfortable with the notion that ageing is ‘bad’.” Anderson, Rossellini and other celebrities like 78-year-old actress Helen Mirren, who has featured in campaigns for L’Oréal, may seem like positive examples in a youth-driven world, but cultural historian and author Larry Samuels caveats: “These are famous people. It’s the same old thing: it’s just about PR and celebrities getting a share of voice. It makes the marketers of products look good by featuring these people but these are really rare exceptions. The media makes a lot of noise about them but the narrative really hasn’t changed at all.” Consumers’ obsession with youth is here to stay, and it’s only starting younger, says Samuels. This week, Dior launched a new line of skincare and fragrance for infants (prices go as high as $230 for a bottle of perfume). There are also newer brands such as Florence by Mills and Bubble Skincare coming to market that claim to help younger consumers have a more positive relationship with beauty. Samuels points to a controversial filter on TikTok that went viral in March for using artificial intelligence to show how they might look in older age. Kylie Jenner, founder of Kylie Cosmetics, tried it. “I don’t like it,” she says on the video. “I don’t like it at all. No. No.” Very few young users responded favourably to the filter, recalls Samuels. “The subtext of all this is about decline and death. That’s what’s really behind all of our fears. The idea of being irrelevant and disappearing one day.” Despite calls to embrace age, many consumers will “do everything that they can to look as young as possible”, and brands have little incentive to change this mentality, Samuels believes. “[Anti-ageing] is a huge business and huge margins are to be made.” Yet, today’s consumers also expect brands to be more thoughtful with their approach to ageing and beauty. Some 86 per cent of beauty consumers in the US would like to see realistic signs of ageing in beauty and grooming advertisements, while 61 per cent felt that the industry has a negative view of ageing, according to 2022 data from Mintel. Sixty-nine per cent also agreed that the society’s view of beauty is still too rigidly defined. Brands have an opportunity to change how they communicate with consumers by better relating to them, says Mintel’s director of global beauty and personal care Lauren Goodsitt. Meanwhile, consumers, celebrities and influencers are increasingly revolting against perfectionism in marketing. Last September, 33-year-old actress Julia Fox shared a viral TikTok video embracing ageing. “If I see another product that says anti-ageing on the label I’m going to sue, because I’m going to age regardless,” she says to the camera. The medicalisation of beauty Research into longevity and ageing is a growing priority for luxury companies including Dior, which claims to be the first cosmetic brand to move into the field of “reverse-ageing” applied to the skin. In April, Dior announced the launch of the first ‘International Reverse Aging Scientific Advisory Board’, made up of 600 researchers and 18 experts, including Dr Nicola Neretti, a biologist at the Institute for Brain and Neural Systems at Brown University; and Dr David Furman, director of the 1000 Immunomes Project at Stanford University. In June, the board convened for the first time in Paris and met with Dior researchers to discuss the topic. As wellbeing and health become synonymous with luxury, Dior sees an opportunity to invest in scientific research that identifies the signs of ageing and develop solutions that can “make us live healthier, longer lives”, scientific communications director Virginie Couturaud tells Vogue Business. “Ageing is a process that leads to disease, so the aim is to reduce the number of age-related illnesses, and to reduce the time we spend sick in favour of time in good health.” The focus for Dior is on the regeneration of stem cells, elimination of oxidised proteins and ways to take action on micro-inflammations, says Couturaud. Its first steps into reverse-ageing came in 2022 having “discovered that stem cell respiration and energy diminish with age, and that this explains the slowdown in cell renewal and the acceleration of the signs of ageing”, she adds. The Prestige Le Nectar Premier and Capture Totale serums address the inflammation of the skin and the regeneration of dermis cells from deep within. More reverse-ageing skin products will be available in the next few years. “We don’t just act on the symptoms, but on the causes of ageing,” she says. Skin rejuvenation is a key area of research for La Prairie, which has a patented Macro-Infusion Technology that it claims allows for the effective delivery of large biomolecules into the skin for immediate benefits. Until now, large biomolecules, such as hyaluronic acid and collagen, could not permeate the skin’s barrier without the help of aesthetic procedures, according to the brand. The “macro-infusion technology”, combined with key active ingredients, is what makes its Platinum Rare range its most high-end of skincare offerings. It’s not just marketing, insists La Prairie’s science and innovation director Dr Jacqueline Hill. “With topical applications, a real rejuvenating effect is possible. We see with our products that we can improve the way things function in the skin, which is going to be the reason you see results. What we want to do is bring the stimulus that can help cells do their jobs better and more like when they were younger. We’re working with the function of cells to lead towards a better skin structure.” The challenge is that benefits tend to not be visible immediately. “You don’t see how your skin is functioning directly, but you [may later see] the [results] of an improved skin structure, because it’s going to have texture and firmness,” explains La Prairie’s Hill. “But, if you’re expecting the equivalent of surgery, then you need to manage your expectations a bit.” The democratisation of science, made possible through improved educational messaging, can help build confidence among consumers, who are more informed ahead of making costly beauty purchases, says Mintel’s Goodsitt. “The medicalisation of beauty is leading to more demand for proof behind the claims and creating value through ingredient-led products. As the hunger for efficient and potent products and treatments grows, consumers are looking further to find proof that their money is being well spent.” A more holistic approach Consumers should think about ageing as part of a larger holistic lifestyle choice, believes La Prairie’s Hill. “Rather than use terms like anti-ageing, we talk about rejuvenation and what we can do to help prevent disease. You shouldn't have spent the last 40 years of your life sunbathing and smoking everyday, not doing any exercise and eating sugar all day long and then think you can repair things by putting product on your skin.” There’s more brands can do to improve the narrative around age, experts say. Instead of zeroing in on people’s vulnerabilities, brands could advocate for health equity, while encouraging age diversity in the workplace and tackling conversations about ageism in the media. In some parts of the world, discussions about death and ageing are normalised, says Brandeis University’s Lamb. “Rather than having a deep-seated fear of growing older, reincarnation is part of everyday talk. There’s this acceptance that nobody can last forever and change is normal.” Samuels recognises that “we all want to maximise the way we appear because we’re judged by that and when we look good we feel confident. Preventing or reversing ageing [claims] are expected from the beauty industry. It’s how they make their money.” However, he recommends that brands — and consumers — should think about ageing not only from a physical point of view, but also a psychological one. “The best ones frame it within wellness or mindfulness, so that it becomes a holistic experience where you’re using the product and you’re getting benefits but in a more internal and intrinsic way. When you get ‘better’ as a person, it’s not just about your physicality, it’s about your whole being.” Vogue Business and Vogue Italia share the same owner, Condé Nast. Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.

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