Not only that but it's an industry built on beauty being perpetually unattainable. As soon as a certain percentage of women are able to access whatever standard exists, than the standard is changed, to keep women permanently off-guard, and constantly chasing (using up all their energy) to obtain the next Beauty goal.

If the beauty standard is waifish thin-ness, and enough women obtain that, than the next trend will be a tall hourglass figure. If the trend in Spring is a certain shape of eyebrow, then next Spring, the beauty standard will be a different shape. And this os not just over short periods of time, but also over longer periods.

Before the fitness craze in the 20th century, the English beauty was plump, with pale skin and naturally pink cheeks, thus proving that you were a woman who was never touched by the sun, like those peasant women who worked outdoors. Once poor women begin emulating that style, proving it was achievable, the standard twenty years later, was the exact opposite, a tanned complexion from engaging in outdoor activities. When the beauty standard is excessively thin, and some women start achieving that, than the standard changes to rounded and fit.

The current trend is emulating the physical attributes (lips and butt) of Black women, who of course can never meet the physical standard of whiteness anyway. If young women are spending all their time and money chasing the newest beauty trends, they have little time and energy for very much else.