On Monday, while most of us probably ventured no farther than the supermarket, a group of women—including pop star Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, and Lauren Sanchez, fiancée of billionaire Jeff Bezos—took a quick, 10-minute trip into space.
The brief spaceflight was aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft. Joining them were aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, entrepreneur Amanda Nguyen, and producer Karianne Flynn.
During their short stay in orbit, the women enjoyed the thrill of weightlessness, floating cheerfully inside the spacecraft. But for observers back on Earth, aside from hoping for their safe return, one burning question arose: What happens to Botox and false eyelashes in space?
Dr. Stanton Gerson, who studies the effects of space on human cells, expressed concern about the extreme stresses that facial features—and fillers—might endure. "It definitely could cause stress and shear forces, potentially causing the filler to shift," he explained.
A brief clarification might help here: shear stress occurs when forces cause layers within a material to slide past each other, potentially affecting implants like those used in breast augmentation or lip fillers. Indeed, a 2013 Yale University study found that women with breast implants experienced discomfort during flights due to pressure changes—suggesting this concern isn't entirely unfounded.
However, another expert downplayed these concerns, noting that fillers made from hyaluronic acid are usually solid and stable enough within the skin to withstand such conditions.
Before anyone points fingers at us for superficiality, it's worth noting that even the space travelers themselves raised these beauty-related questions. In an interview with ELLE magazine, when asked if this would be the first time fully made-up and styled women traveled into space, Perry assured: "Finally, there will be some glam in space." Aisha Bowe added, "I wanted to make sure my hair would survive, so I went skydiving in Dubai as a test."
Journalist Gayle King expressed worry about her eyelashes, openly wondering if they'd survive the trip, prompting Sanchez to confidently reply: "Mine are glued on very securely."
Amanda Nguyen summed up the beauty topic perfectly, concluding that "I think it's so important for people to see us like this—the combination of engineers and scientists alongside beauty and fashion. And I definitely intend to wear lipstick."
