The pressure to look beautiful

Given all the star searches and reality programs we have today, it is so much easier for today’s young ambitious generation to get into the limelight these days. But the question is: How long will they stay in the business?

Basically, there are two main ingredients to staying power. One is talent. If an artist has talent, then he only has to cultivate it. He can even develop that further through the years and become an even better performer.

And then, of course, it is also basic for the artist to have good looks. Unfortunately for today’s generation of stars, there is so much pressure on their part to look perfect — or as they say in today’s lingo, flawless. It’s not enough to just have fine features. You have to conform to what is in at the moment.

In the early ‘70s, there was a demand for the moreno and the morena — the kayumangging kaligatan — which was perfect for the brown-skinned Filipino.

Today, however, it’s back to fair skin for most stars. And it’s not just enough for the artist to be fair. He or she also has to glow. Also, since they are always under close scrutiny (and today’s fans are so critical), their skin has to look even.

Dr. Michelle Cruz and I talked about the pressure for today’s stars to look extraordinarily good at the opening of the new Forever Flawless branch (it’s the 18th clinic now spread all over the country) at SM Muntinlupa last Sunday, Nov. 25. The affair was arranged by Forever Flawless liaison Francis Labora and in attendance also was lady boss Ruby Coiyuto.

In our observation, today’s stars are so dependent on their doctors to  look good — as in really flawless. Although there are a lot of photo-shops being done in magazine spreads, you cannot do that in the movies and especially not on TV where everyone is rushing.

In the old days in Hollywood, some of the great stars were being photographed through gauze and even locally, cinematographers took time to light and choose the best angle for their stars back then. You cannot do that anymore in TV because when everyone is in a hurry, you will be branded maarte if you still bother to check on your best angle and suggest how to be lit and photographed.

Your best defense is to have perfect skin. In the case of Mark Herras, he  has to undergo power peel every so often. Basically, he already has good skin, but he needs the power peel at Forever Flawless to polish it (by removing dead skin through exfoliation) and make it look perfect for the camera. He also has body scrubs in Forever Flawless (he’s the only male client allowed because this procedure is now only for female clients) just in case he has to take his shirt off in some projects. The body scrub procedure also exfoliates the skin and lightens it because again, sigh, there is the need to look fair since it is the in thing these days.

Mark, by the way, is a dream client. “The Forever Flawless staff always tells me that he is very nice and courteous to them,” volunteers Dr. Cruz.

Mark, however, is very quiet — in contrast to another Forever Flawless endorser, Yasmien Kurdi, who loves to talk and talk to everyone. Yasmien actually has her treatments done side by side with the other Forever Flawless clients and she enjoys exchanging notes with them.

At the clinic, Yasmien has everything done (foot spa, scrubs, facials, etc.) — including glutathione and placenta treatments.

Actually, it was only during the opening of the Forever Flawless branch in Muntinlupa that I learned (belatedly) that glutathione was first administered and is still being given to patients with Parkinson’s Disease, particularly in the US, Canada and Italy. It also helps boost the immune system and it may surprise you to know that it is even given to kids in shake form.

For the side effects (although non-harmful), it whitens and evens out the skin and gives it the glow that is so required of every young star today. At least, they have skin clinics today like Forever Flawless that help them achieve their goal to look extraordinarily good. But I swear there is a tough call for all of them to look almost perfect — with no pores visible on the skin, if possible (can you believe that?).

Beauty is just skin-deep, as they say. But this is show business — where the requirements are different, where there is no room for imperfection and where everyone has to look flawless.