The Communicative Dimension of Personal Care and Image Management: A Theoretical Framework

<jats:p>This conceptual study examines the communicative dimension of personal care and image management, proposing an original theoretical framework and an integrative model (KIBIM). Moving beyond traditional aesthetic or psychological approaches, the study positions personal care as a strategic communication practice embedded in social interaction, power relations, and digital transformation. Drawing on a multidisciplinary theoretical synthesis—including symbolic interactionism (Mead, Blumer), Goffman's dramaturgy, Leary and Kowalski's impression management theory, Bourdieu's habitus and bodily capital, Butler's performativity, and Foucault's technologies of the self—the study develops a systematic analysis of how individuals construct and manage their images across face-to-face and digital environments. The study identifies four fundamental communicative codes of personal care: visual (cleanliness, clothing, makeup, tattoos), olfactory (scent as emotional and hygienic signaling), kinesthetic (posture, gait, gestures, facial expressions), and temporal (preparation time, regularity, anti-aging practices). These codes operate simultaneously and strategically, producing meanings that shape interpersonal judgments of trustworthiness, competence, attractiveness, and social status. The proposed KIBIM model synthesizes these findings into a cyclical framework comprising seven components: context and actor attributes, impression motivation, code selection and strategic tactics, performance/front-stage presentation, reception and feedback, and cyclical impression reconstruction. The study further reveals how digital environments have fundamentally transformed image management through filters, retouching, cross-platform code differences (Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok), and the paradoxical performance of "natural appearance"—an ostensibly effortless look that requires considerable labor. Critically, the study highlights gender inequality in grooming burdens, noting that women face disproportionately higher expectations in time, money, and psychological cost. KIBIM offers theoretical contributions by integrating fragmented literatures and providing testable propositions for empirical research. Practical implications are discussed for image consultants, organizations, digital content creators, and educators, alongside recommendations for cross-cultural, experimental, and feminist future research.</jats:p>