Yesterday I came across an article detailing yet another butt-injection related death. In case you didn’t know, butt injections (yeah, that donk on Nicki Minaj? Not real) have become increasingly popular. So much so that people are letting themselves be hoodwinked into letting folks with no credentials, licenses, or medical expertise inject them with God knows what. So far I’ve heard of cement, pig fat, petroleum, caulking, and industrial grade silicone being pumped into people’s behinds. It’s just crazy to me!

First of all, it should be common knowledge by now that you get what you pay for when it comes to medical care. Cosmetic procedures have been woefully underregulated for years now. Since these procedures are elective, the medical (and legal) community don’t take them as seriously as they should. It’s true that licensed plastic surgeons have done residencies in their field. However, things like Botox and butt injections can be performed by any medical doctor. I don’t know about you, but I don’t trust a chiropractor whose seen a couple of Botox demos to inject poison into MY face. No thank you! Still, even those circumstances are rarely fatal because it’s taking place in a sterile environment, with the proper equipment, by a medical professional who will follow up with the appropriate after-care. The problem is that since the standards are lower, people think that just anybody can perform these procedures. Even LaKeisha down the block. -_-

But what really saddens me is the lengths that women go to to prove that they’re beautiful. Ladies, we are literally killing ourselves trying to achieve an ever-evolving standard of beauty that almost no one can reach without limitless time and money to spend on perfecting their appearance. And maybe not even then. The money we spend on all these lotions and potions to erase the wrinkles, define the curls, smooth the jiggle, etc is unfathomable. It’s not enough to put chemicals on our faces and hair, now we’ve got to put it in our bodies just to think that we’re presentable! There was a study done saying that looking at thin models and plus size models makes women feel bad about themselves, which tells me that a lot of us are just downright uncomfortable with our bodies. Which is sad because it’s supposed to be a temple that we cherish and celebrate.

I like to consider myself low maintenance, but Lord knows I’ve fallen prey to the Beauty Industrial Complex too. When it comes to hair products? You name it, I’ve probably tried it. And even though I’m not a spendthrift, I’m going on a shopping fast because I honestly don’t need anymore clothes or shoes right now. I just want all of us to realize that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. There’s nothing wrong with the body you were born with it as long as you take good care of it.