Ms. Mull nails the inherent dilemma of most beauty product customers. It costs money you don’t have to test products enough to find one that works, and meanwhile Instagram posts and magazines provide delusions of grandeur most people won’t achieve. It helps to have honest writers who highlight the issue, and also tie it to larger societal challenges.

Those who are less well-off, unemployed, underemployed, etc., cannot afford healthy places to live—much less healthy food to eat—safe cars to drive, or access to medical care to treat any illness. It can feel like having control over some piece of your life to think that a cream may help you look better, which might lead to a (better) job or some other improvement. We cling to those small things, recognizing that the larger issues are often beyond our control.

Edie Patterson

Richmond, Va.

I was moved and impressed with Amanda Mull’s article on skin care and wealth. I know that she is right; I have aged into my mid-40s only to see the prices of skin care go up depending on what you want to do. Those with means can afford to spend in a single afternoon an amount that would be equivalent to a week’s worth of healthy groceries for a working-class mother of two.

The more important conversation, about our perception of ourselves and the desperate need to appear youthful and wealthy, is highlighted here, and it was refreshing to read.

Carrie Mayo

Baton Rouge, La.

A note of congratulations to Amanda Mull for her darkly observant analysis of women’s skin-care trends and the class disparity thereof—a truly brilliant piece. As a Millennial woman to whom all these products, tips, and tricks are marketed, I loved the irony! Here’s to “the modest goal of looking totally fine.”

Sylvia E. Smith

Denver, Colo.

While this article brings up many good points, the sentence suggesting that most people’s skin will be fine if they eat healthy, exercise, and get enough sleep is highly offensive to the many of us struggling with common but difficult-to-combat skin issues such as cystic acne and psoriasis. I would urge the author to realize the role that genetics plays in “good” skin before writing statements such as that, which serve to only frustrate further those of us who have tried everything from diets to more sleep to cure common skin conditions.

Ashrita Rau

Medford, Mass.