{"title":"The Nature of Skincare: Categorising Cosmetics with Bioactive Ingredients in the Case of <i>Quenty-Cosmetic</i>.","authors":"Gina Maria Klein","doi":"10.1080/00026980.2025.2456889","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The beauty line, <i>Quenty-Cosmetic,</i> exemplifies the ambivalent construction of naturalness surrounding an early cosmeceutical product in 1970s West Germany. This line of skincare products, featuring biologically active ingredients, was marketed as a preventative solution for skin ageing, revealing tensions between societal perceptions of ageing and the ideal of the \"natural look\" in the context of a polluted environment. <i>Quenty's</i> presence in pharmacies, drugstores, and health food stores illustrates its role in blurring the lines between cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and natural products, reflecting Ilana Löwy's \"boundary concepts.\" Drawing on the archival resources on <i>Quenty-Cosmetic</i> of Bayer Archives Leverkusen, this article examines how nature is simultaneously portrayed as both a hero and an adversary in the quest for the \"natural look,\" revealing the complexities inherent in the cosmetic industry's construction of naturalness.</p>","PeriodicalId":50963,"journal":{"name":"Ambix","volume":" ","pages":"47-57"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Ambix","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00026980.2025.2456889","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/2/6 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The beauty line, Quenty-Cosmetic, exemplifies the ambivalent construction of naturalness surrounding an early cosmeceutical product in 1970s West Germany. This line of skincare products, featuring biologically active ingredients, was marketed as a preventative solution for skin ageing, revealing tensions between societal perceptions of ageing and the ideal of the "natural look" in the context of a polluted environment. Quenty's presence in pharmacies, drugstores, and health food stores illustrates its role in blurring the lines between cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and natural products, reflecting Ilana Löwy's "boundary concepts." Drawing on the archival resources on Quenty-Cosmetic of Bayer Archives Leverkusen, this article examines how nature is simultaneously portrayed as both a hero and an adversary in the quest for the "natural look," revealing the complexities inherent in the cosmetic industry's construction of naturalness.
期刊介绍：
Ambix is an internationally recognised, peer-reviewed quarterly journal devoted to publishing high-quality, original research and book reviews in the intellectual, social and cultural history of alchemy and chemistry. It publishes studies, discussions, and primary sources relevant to the historical experience of all areas related to alchemy and chemistry covering all periods (ancient to modern) and geographical regions. Ambix publishes individual papers, focused thematic sections and larger special issues (either single or double and usually guest-edited). Topics covered by Ambix include, but are not limited to, interactions between alchemy and chemistry and other disciplines; chemical medicine and pharmacy; molecular sciences; practices allied to material, instrumental, institutional and visual cultures; environmental chemistry; the chemical industry; the appearance of alchemy and chemistry within popular culture; biographical and historiographical studies; and the study of issues related to gender, race, and colonial experience within the context of chemistry.
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