The beauty industry thrives on creating a sense of dissatisfaction with appearance, with social media adding pressure to conform to idealized images of beauty. This has led to a growing use of products for bodily improvement such as facial injectables and weight loss drugs, which have arguably become increasingly normalized throughout society.

This groundbreaking ethnographic study lifts the lid on the dark side of beauty – revealing why young people are willing to inflict self-harm in the pursuit of ‘perfection’ and exploring the motivations for using, buying and selling counterfeit beauty products and services.