Do you believe?

Gallery

Posted on by

There are times when we just want to believe. It doesn’t matter what “it” is but we want to feel “it” is the answer. Right now I want to believe that the new health care law will be “better.”

In February I always want to believe that I will get money back when I file my taxes. So much for those pipe dreams.

Last summer a friend of mine was convinced by her hairdresser that a new product will make her hair thicker. The product was expensive but my friend believed. In fact, she had me excited about it but I decided to see if she liked it after six months or so.

A couple of days ago, one of our local stores was having a sale on the product so I emailed my friend. She laughed (through email if you can imagine that) and said that she didn’t see results so she stopped using the product and was on to something else that would help.

I smiled. How many times had I bought hair or skin care products expecting….well….a miracle? Not just healthy hair or skin but YOUNG, VIBRANT, healthy hair or skin. Maybe this new fandangled product would make my hair better than it was when I was twenty! And crazier yet, I was willing to pay a good price for that miracle.

At one point there were eight different shampoos on the shower shelf with several different conditioners all guaranteed to make my hair luscious. In fact, there wasn’t any room for the beloved husband’s Pert which had to sit on the floor!

YOUNG, VIBRANT, healthy hair or skin — that’s not going to happen. That shipped has sailed and with it went the gorgeous hair and tight skin. The disappointment is always painful. Now I am grateful if my sink isn’t stopped up with head hair and my face isn’t sprouting anything. (There are products guaranteed to fix that too!)

What is it about the promise of something better that always sucks us in? It’s not just beauty products. It’s the promise of something new that will be better for your life. It could be a gym membership to make you look….different, like you have always wanted to look (taller, will it make me taller?). Or a natural supplement that will do something wonderful (do they eliminate cellulite? help with forgetfulness?).

Publishers Clearinghouse has been successful because we believe and the lottery! Well, someone has to win, why not me!

As you get older you lose some of the willingness to believe. That is a real shame because then you turn into a grouchy old person who won’t try anything new. You call yourself a curmudgeon but you are a grouchy old person. No one wants to be around you. Certainly no one wants your advice on how products don’t work either.

So what is the answer? To be hopeful but not get suckered in? To cautiously try new things or not?

Enough of this. I just heard that there is a new laser out that does wonderful things for the skin. It will make you look 30 years younger! I have to research this…..

Video is from Cher’s official site and photo is from macfred64 via Flickr.

20 thoughts on “Do you believe?”

  2. I believe! I believe! You are so “right on” with this post Kate. Can’t tell you how many hair and skin products have wound up in the trash. The promise of eternal youth keeps calling. 🙂

    Like

    • I recently bought a “hair shine” product. I love shiny hair! After I got it home I realized that it looked vaguely familiar. I had bought it several years ago and since I didn’t remember it, it probably didn’t work all that well. Talk about dumb. However, I am so believing that I believe they changed the formula and this time my hair will look like patent leather!

      Like

  3. By buying all those products, you are creating jobs! Annual revenue for the beauty industry is around $125 billion. It’s almost like a civic duty to buy those products.

    Like

  4. Snake-oil salesmen and Madison Avenue have my number. I’ve bought into the mass-media hype over the years, still willing to believe. But, you’ve got me thinking … Great post.

    Like

    • Oh yeah! I sent for a “free sample” of a hair shampoo/conditioner/treatment only to find out that it was only free for 30 days and then it cost $90/month and they were kind enough to put you on a monthly delivery so you wouldn’t run out. Cancelled that sucker fast! For that money I expect more than a miracle!

      Like

      • Kate … I just finished Nora Ephron’s, “I Feel Bad About My Neck,”and I just had to share this with you. Great minds think alike:
        “When we hear about the latest ludicrously expensive face cream that is alleged to turn back the clock, we will go out and buy it even though we know that the last five face creams we fell for were completely ineffectual We will do crossword puzzles to ward off Alzheimer’s and eat six almonds a day to ward off cancer …” (I’ve just read 3 of her books and would highly recommend them.)

        Like

        • Thanks! I love her stuff. She says it in a way that makes us laugh at ourselves. BTW I do count out 6 almonds when I have them in the house.

          Like

  7. I go for hair products, as in dryers, stylers, rollers, you name it. I have the hair gullibility DNA switched onto high. Someone say no for me.

    Like

  8. I am a BIG sucker for hair and skin products. I’ve been a believer all my life that all I need to do is find the right product and I will be beautiful. A marketer’s dream.

    Like

  9. Oh my, this line made me laugh: “Now I am grateful if my sink isn’t stopped up with head hair and my face isn’t sprouting anything.” Now that’s the truth! Great post, Kate. ~Dawn

    Like

    • Yeah, I could do a post on the funny things that start sprouting from your skin all over! Never had a skin tag until a couple years ago. Now they come in litters!

      Like

  10. Funny as always! True, we do have a tendency to believe that new things will be better somehow!

    Like

Comments are closed.