Offering authentic connections

From Ayurvedic hair-oiling practices to incense-burning traditions, many time-honoured beauty and wellness rituals that I’m pitched stories about appeal on various levels. They chime of holistic-health aspirations and the blurring of beauty and mindfulness, galvanised by these highly fraught times.

What sometimes feels strange, though, is when their traditional origins are overlooked.

There’s no denying that cultural appropriation is a problem in the beauty and wellness industry as a whole, with white Westerners profiting from traditional practices of often-marginalised communities. It should be our collective responsibility to address this.

Whether in press releases or published articles, acknowledging the origins of something should be standard.

When we are pitched products with such connections, what works is providing context, facts and stats, as much as a clicky hook. Access to an expert with authority in these subjects is valuable too.

It might not be possible (or relevant) to offer editors a meaningful, educational connection to a practice. But where it is possible, it can be very compelling.

In the media we all want to be part of the zeitgeist and to talk trending topics, but real, authentic storytelling should take priority.