Life in Plastic: The True Origin of Cosmetic Medicine
My first love was plastic surgery - and I always find it interesting to see the connotation associated with it today. People call women “plastic” as an insult, evoking the image of a Barbie doll, shaped and unnaturally molded to a male-centric ideal.
That is not what plastic surgery (or aesthetic medicine) is, was, or should be.
Plastic comes from the Greek “plastike”(teckhne) the art of modeling or sculpting, meaning return to form and function.
We know how much I love my medical history, and the origin of all cosmetic treatments really stemmed from the devastating facial traumas that were seen after the World Wars.
More articles on Medical History
We all know I love a little bit of medical history - but I thought I would change it up a little in this article and focus on a pioneering woman in beauty history.
In the late 19th century, Sarah Breedlove—later known as Madam C.J. Walker—emerged as the first self-made female millionaire. The first child in her family born into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation, Sarah’s early years were steeped in adversity. Yet, from these humble beginnings, she rose to become an emblem of resilience, ingenuity, and empowerment for African American women across the nation.