The Skincare Matrix Revealed

It's Everywhere — By Design

The skincare matrix is in your everyday conversation, in the content you consume on every media channel — TV, radio, print, billboards, online. The biggest skincare brands are giant companies owned by even larger conglomerates — the same conglomerates responsible for most of the consumer goods you see in most stores. Those corporations are run by a small number of people at the top, all with ties to government, academia, and media. They own each other. They work with each other. That is why you see skincare everywhere and no one is saying anything about it.

The Business Model Is Not Your Skin — It's Control

Skincare ads pay for the news. Skincare executives play golf with the politicians who are supposed to regulate them. Skincare corporations donate to academic skin research and doctors. Their business model is not to produce the best product, encourage the best habits, or make your life better. Their business model is control. Control achieved not through force — but through convincing you that you simply cannot live without them.

The Buy-In Seems Small. The Trap Is Not.

What if someone spent a couple of dollars on a product and their skin magically transformed? Or prevented eczema, or skin cancer? And what if the next hottest product was just a few dollars more? And when people start to doubt — you produce something new to keep them on the treadmill a little longer. You go through enough of this cycle with enough good, trusting people — and you have a system that feeds on itself indefinitely.

Appeal to Emotion

Get people to feel intensely enough about something and they will move — especially with negative emotions. They're afraid they won't look good. They're afraid of missing out. They're afraid someone won't love them. They'll do a lot to escape that feeling — especially if the fix seems simple. A cleanser. A lotion. A sunscreen.

Appeal to Authority

A doctor. A celebrity. A flawless-looking person. They must have done something right — they're using big, beautiful words and graphics. It's all natural. It's all scientific. The FDA is okay with it. The government wouldn't allow a scam to just keep going — right? This is what makes the decision go down easily.

The Sunk Cost Fallacy

After you've invested enough in skincare — admitting you made a mistake is a tough nut to crack, especially when everyone else is doing the same thing. Stop what out of ten or twenty things you're already doing? And do what instead? If you're at that point — you're actually far closer to the truth than you realize.