Fine Lines: Cosmetic advertising and the perception of ageing beauty

Despite the rapid ageing of Western populations and preponderance of older people in society, older people, particularly women, still perceive the need to retain a youthful appearance. Thus 43% of women questioned by Mintel (2012) considered looking young to be highly important. Moreover, with an apparently youth-obsessed media constantly reinforcing the negative aspects of ageing, it is no surprise that there is a strong market for products which claim to slow, or even stop, the ageing process. As science comes to a greater understanding of the ageing process, more and more sophisticated “anti-ageing” products and treatments have been developed. The pace of change quickened with the licensing in 2002 of botulinum toxin A (BotoxBotox™, Allergan, United States) for the reduction of facial wrinkles, followed in 2005 by Restylane® (Medicis Aesthetics Inc., United States), the first of the injectable fillers containing hyaluronic acid, which can replace facial volume lost due to age.

This is the contemporary cultural background that forms the background for our research that has investigated cosmetic advertising and its putative role in shaping our expectations and understandings of age and ageing. The authors will present findings from their analysis of the changes in the language of advertising before and after these transformational developments in aesthetic dermatology.

The exciting and provocative paper will stimulate new perspectives on the role of the body and beauty in later life and above all present a critical review concerning some of the ways in which ‘age’ is marketed in the 21st century.