title: Psychosocial aspects of beauty: how and why to look good.
abstract: It is difficult to pick up a paper or magazine today or turn on the television without being reminded that ours is a culture of youth and beauty. Bookstore shelves sag under the weight of enticing tomes devoted to the subject. We are bombarded with advertisements for any one of thousands of different products, both prescription and over-the-counter, that claim to be able to restore our youthful appearance, banish wrinkles, tone skin, and remove cellulite, among other promises that often sound, and probably are, too good to be true. Health food stores and sales catalogs are replete with myriad products, so that one wonders how the average person, in face of such bombardment, can either resist the temptation to buy or make an informed selection from the veritable feast of goodies put before them. Billions of dollars are expended each year, and false claims abound, but fortunately, there are many preparations and procedures that, in skilled hands, can really make a difference.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. dr_caroline@directvnet.com
authors.forename: Caroline S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Koblenzer
mesh_terms: D001504:Beauty; D001828:Body Image; D001905:Botulinum Toxins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003357:Cosmetic Techniques; D006801:Humans; D009465:Neuromuscular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011584:Psychology
chemical_list: D009465:Neuromuscular Agents; D001905:Botulinum Toxins