Beauty, maturity and things like that

It was a hot summer Mumbai afternoon when the sales girl in the neighbourhood departmental store came towards me and started to talk about a new cosmetic brand.

"Madam, we have launched whole new range of cosmetics. Why don't you take a look at it?" she said. I politely said no. Throughout my life I have been averse to cosmetics, I don't even know how to use most of them.

But she would not let it go. "Madam, your skin seems oily. We have a whole new set of products for oily skin. If you can come to the counter there, I could brief you about it."

"Its hot outside and I just came in. How do you think my skin will look? Obviously oily!" I say slightly irritated. But this does not stop her from selling. "But your skin is oily madam."

I am loaded with sarcasm, "Well, lady, my skin is normal. It turns dry during winters. What do you have to say about it?"

"Ah! Now I understand your problem. Your's is a combination skin," she said, adding, "Madam, we also have products for people with combination skin."

I was fuming, never knew what a combination skin meant, and that it was a "problem". "Listen a normal skin is the one which goes dry in winter and slightly oily in summer. Is that clear?"

This is when I realised how these cosmetics sell. They have products for every other "flaw" that we have. There is a cleanser to wash your face, a morning fresh cream to apply after taking bath, a day cream, a sunscreen cream, an under eye gel to be used for day time and one for night, a night cream and so on.

The ads promise to improve our skin and hair. But do they really do that? I have my doubts. As long as I stayed with my mother I used natural products to maintain my hair. My mother used get soap nut powder done in my hometown in Andhra Pradesh. She would force me to use that saying that it would keep my hair healthy.

I never liked because it was a cumbersome process and when once I moved to Mumbai, started using all those fancy shampoos and conditioners, which promised to keep my hair "healthy, soft and manageable". For the last few years as my income grew, my average spend on "hair care" also grew.

These products definitely made my hair soft and manageable. But is that healthy? I don't know. My mom still uses soap nut powder to wash her hair, it hurts when she says, "Not bad, at 25 you have two strands of grey, I am 55 and I have one strand." If greying is a sign of maturity, I don't want to be mature.