Before and After Ads: The Psychology of Manufactured Flaws

Before and after ads feel like proof. One image is meant to look like reality. The next is meant to look like a result. The product sits between them like the explanation. That format is powerful because it does two jobs at once: it creates a flaw, then sells relief.

How the “Before” Creates a Problem

The “before” is built to make us notice something negative fast. That might be a blemish, a fold of skin, a texture, a stomach, a thigh, a jawline, a scalp, a patch of “dullness”. The image is often set up to make the feature stand out with harsh lighting, a closer crop, or a severe expression.

Then the copy labels it. "Problem areas". "Uneven". "Imperfect". Even if the words sound casual, the message lands clearly; something is wrong, and it needs fixing. Our brains are wired to spot what looks “off” more quickly than what looks fine. The before image becomes a prompt to scan- not just for the feature in the photo, but for the same feature on ourselves.

A conscious thought like “this is edited” does not stop our brains from absorbing the image as a reference point.

The after image is not just “the same person with a product”. It is a staged outcome. Lighting changes. Posture changes. Expression changes. Hair and makeup change. The photo is sharper. Texture is softened. Sometimes the entire image is edited. The after is designed to feel like safety. Like being back inside the line of what counts as normal. That is why it hits, even when we know it is manufactured. The emotional part is automatic. A conscious thought like “this is edited” does not stop our brains from absorbing the image as a reference point.

The Attribution Trick

Before and after ads do not just show a change. They attribute credit; they imply the product caused the outcome, even though they rarely say it in a literal sentence. They do it by putting the product in the centre and stripping away everything else that could explain the change. In real life, most “afters” are not caused by one thing. Even when a product works, it is usually only one factor in a pile of many others.

In real life, most “afters” are not caused by one thing. Even when a product works, it is usually only one factor in a pile of many others.

Skincare is an obvious example. Skin changes with time, hormones, sleep, stress, illness, sun exposure, hydration, diet, alcohol, medication, and cycle shifts. It also changes with makeup, facials, peels, lasers, injectables, antibiotics, and prescription treatments. The ad collapses all of that into one neat story: cream equals transformation.

Weight loss marketing does the same thing. A body change can involve diet changes, exercise, appetite shifts, coaching, illness, stress, sleep, medication, and sometimes multiple interventions at once. Even with weight loss injections, the outcome is not just the jab. The ad often frames the drug as the single cause, then uses the before and after as the “proof”.

Sometimes it is worse than that. The product may not have been used in the way the viewer assumes. The timeline may be unclear. The before may be taken at a different time of day. The after may be weeks or months later. The ad stays vague because vagueness protects the story. The result is a false equation. Buy this, get this. One lever, one outcome. And when the outcome does not happen, the brain has an easy place to put the blame. Not the ad. Not the set-up. Not the missing context. Us.

How Before and After Ads Train Self-Scrutiny

This is where the damage builds. Before and after ads train a habit of problem-finding. They teach our brains to scan for flaws first, then look for a fix. Over time, that scanning can become automatic. A mirror. A photo. A fitting room. A shop window. A front camera. The brain goes straight to assessment mode.

The ad does not need to mention mental health to create mental load. The load comes from repetition. The same kind of “before” framing. The same kind of “after” reward. The same story that relief is something we buy.

Some of us can shrug this off. A lot of us cannot. If we already feel shaky about our body or skin, before and after ads do not just sell a product. They land like evidence that the insecurity was correct. They turn a normal human feature into a project. That can feed body dissatisfaction, checking behaviours, appearance anxiety, and the kind of rigid thinking that shows up in eating disorders and body dysmorphia.

What a Safer Standard Looks Like

Brands can show products without teaching self-criticism. A safer standard means no fabricated before that frame parts of the body as the problem. No lighting tricks that turn texture into a crisis. No blurred or retouched after presented as reality. No vague timelines that hide what actually changed. No claims that imply one product is the sole cause of a complex change. It also means showing real variety, so one narrow “after” look does not become the baseline for normal.

Index:MH sets measurable standards for the tactics brands and retailers use, based on mental health impact. Then we certify the ones that meet the standard. If we want beauty marketing that sells without training shame, we need a line that is clear and enforceable.

Add your voice to demand change.