Science of Beauty

Within the beauty industry there remains a stigma. An association with the image of the failed “beauty school drop out”, ruled over by self-obsession and vanity. It is due to such connotations that the career of a makeup artist goes unacknowledged and looked down upon by many outside the fashion industry. Through “Phase Change” this stigma is challenged as the infrastructures of chemical biology, physics and cosmetics become knitted together for the creation of a new breed of editorial photography that exposes the complex relationship between the Earth’s biological structure and our own.

Chosen image to accompany article - Intro Image

Science is the base point of all things beauty. The process of “phase changing” follows the basic chemistry of how a substances construction alters from solid, to liquid to gas. In many cases the construction of cosmetic products follows a similar process. Biochemistry builds the very foundations of makeup, the study of cosmetic reactions to the skin and even the most organic products take their benefits from the substances of Earth itself. At every corner the biological and chemical connections stand. The most everyday of beauty essentials frequently construct their key ingredients from the organic environment, in this instance focusing on the basic facemask. Fullers Earth remains a fundamental natural ingredient in most mud mask treatments; due to its bentonite properties it absorbs dirt and oil to leave the skin free from impurities. What remains unrecognised is just how heavily connected such a product is to the natural environment despite its fundamental role in modern beauty regimes.  This development from natural matter to cosmetic tool demonstrates within itself a form of phase change, whereby the structure is altered from a solid to creamy liquid for the purpose of our own skin management. Through this series of images, “Phase Change” depicts an exploration of the connection between the behaviour and terrain of the human body to the textures of the natural environment.

The process of examining the biodiversity, weather patterns and conservation of the Earth’s elemental landscape, exposes the similarities between the human skin too an extreme detail. Within their landscaping both work in near identical behaviours, for example both our skin and the Earth produce moisture under the pressure of heat, the pattern in how liquid follows the concaves of each face mimics that of rivers, and the very patterns found within the structure of both terrains are shared. Skin in particular carries such detail within the fine textures that on a macro scale the two’s differences are almost unrecognisable. Through photography the combination of both these substances; natural skin and soil, enable the similarities to be reflected more obviously when placed next to one another. These resemblances in texture can be exposed further through the medium of thermal technology whereby the heat readings of the human body mimic that of the natural landscape. Both the furthest points of each, be it human or organic appear purple in thermal tone, suggesting their cooler temperature. Areas of heat appear redder, enhancing the production of moisture on both the skin and terrain. Finally aquatic elements appear a mid tone of blue. When placed alongside one another each image depicts both the Earth and skin’s development through the phase change process, as both the body undergoes the process of solid to liquid.

From this the connection between the behaviour of the human skin and Earth, and the natural ingredients required for beauty products are combined into a visual representation. Beauty, be it organic or chemical requires the intervention of science. We ourselves represent a living organism that functions in mimicking the behaviours of the very life form from which our beauty ingredients are plucked.