First commercially available in 1872, mascara has been a staple in the daily routines of millions throughout the world for centuries. The simple but popular cosmetic product is used to darken, thicken, and lengthen one’s eyelashes, ultimately meant to make the eyes “pop”. The first modern version was created by a man named Eugene Rimmel, whose petroleum jelly and coal ash combination made for a messy, albeit highly sought after, merchandise. 

Though multiple companies advertise multiple sorts of mascaras to accomplish multiple purposes, every ingredient list is essentially identical. While some parts, such as castor oil and carnauba wax, are hardly harmful, there are certain things that can be alarming. Along with oil and waxes, many mascaras, among other makeup products, contain varying amounts of parabens, propylene glycol, formaldehyde releasing preservatives, and even benzalkonium chloride. The latter being a respiratory, immuno, gastro, and nuero toxicant, as well as a severe human skin and eye irritant, put into something meant to be used around the eyes. No thanks. 

Even knowing these facts and experiencing the inevitable loss of lashes that comes with the everyday wear of mascara, countless women and girls continue to use this stuff daily, but why? I myself am among that group of people who continued the use and suffered the consequences and though I don’t use it often now, I did at one time, and so I can attest and give my answer to the question in two words: external validation.

Validation, to paraphrase an article I once read, is like a mental checklist for feeling deserving, significant, and enough. As a social species, it’s in our nature to want to be wanted by those around us, even if this means changing bits and pieces of ourselves to better fit into the everchanging puzzle of society. In recent years, social media has amplified the population’s needs for external affirmation and has even become a method of achieving it.

There is a vicious cycle when it comes to apps like Instagram that I’ve found just about everyone experiences. We make an account, log onto the platform, and scroll through photos of models, actors, friends, and family members, all attempting to look the best in the eyes of the person on the other side of the screen. Oftentimes, this works for them. With the help of filters, photoshop, and yes, mascara, they become a person we the viewers aspire to be like. We pick out the parts of them that look especially alluring and reflect on them to point out our own insecurities. From there, we sulk and make unfavorable comparisons. “Everyone else I see has more…” More money? More friends? A better body? A nicer face? We use these self-created doubts to begin the process of conformity. We take pictures of ourselves, of our lives. We edit them to hide the parts we find undeserving, and we post them online for everyone to see. We sit and wait for the likes, the comments, the reassuring “You look Beautiful!” ’s in hopes that this will make us feel better, and for a while it does. Assurance feels good. 

So one may be wondering, “Where does something as small as mascara fit into all of this?” and the answer is simple. The path to external validation starts with something as small as a tube of makeup. We see how it works for others, makes them a bit prettier, their lashes a bit longer, their eyes stand out a bit more, and we feel inferior. We try it for ourselves, see it makes us prettier too, and start to feel the effects of the dopamine. After a while, we notice the damage validation seeking does to us. With mascara, it’s skin irritation. With social media, it’s insecurity. With toxic relationships it can lead to trauma. However, we can never put an end to these things because the endorphins are addicting.

Now I am not saying not to wear makeup or have social media accounts or build relationships, in fact in a healthy mindset and lifestyle these things can be gratifying, but I am saying that it’s important that we make a conscious effort to break the cycle. Instead of relying on outside factors, we should look inward for validation. Give up harmful habits for a while and turn to things like journaling, exercising, or prayer. In the end, you have full control over whether or not you can check off the things on that mental checklist. You get to decide if you’re worthy, important, or enough.

As for mascara, for making people feel pretty, I give four stars, and for causing ruination, I give one star. Averaging the two creates my final opinion of mascara being two and a half out of five stars, the perfect rating for an imperfect product of the Anthropocene.