How did Botox become so popular? And why are teenage girls using anti-wrinkle cream? As a new film, The Substance, considers our obsession with youth and good looks, writers reflect on how this has shaped their lives
This Friday, one of the most shocking films of the year opens – a blood-drenched body horror with an unusual theme for the genre: Hollywood’s impossible beauty standards. The Substance stars Demi Moore as a 50-year-old actor who tries a mysterious procedure that claims to “unlock your DNA and a younger version of yourself”. Literally. It’s an extreme take on a universal theme. Here, four women write about how beauty standards have affected their lives.
