Worry Creams.(use of anti-aging creams for women)(Editorial)

Byline: Linda Wells, Editor in Chief

I've always found the expression "hope in a jar" to be patronizing. This is the phrase Charles Revson, the creator of Revlon, cooked up to describe his marketing strategy. The concept went something like this: He wasn't selling moisturizers or wrinkle creams; he was selling hope. To me, the expression sounded like a pat on the head--"Tut, tut, little lady, here's your pretty jar: Dream big." The idea played off insecurity and dissatisfaction, and it didn't matter if the product actually worked.

Now, if a new scientific study is correct, he may have been right. Dammit.

Women are more likely to use creams, vitamins, and dermatologic procedures to look younger, according to this study, if they believe these tactics aren't working. The researchers at the University of Bath in England and Qatar University chalk up the results to anxiety, saying that the women who were trying to avoid "a feared self"--a vision of themselves as old and wrinkled--were more motivated to keep slapping on creams and popping vitamins. The numbers are discouraging: When women felt that the anti-aging methods weren't working, 73 percent wanted to continue with them, compared to 45 percent when the women believed the treatments were effective. "When people dwell on a negative future, they are motivated by fear," said Rana Sobh, one of the researchers. "Yet as they move away from ...