Cosmetic... serving an esthetic rather than a useful purpose.    

A surfboards useful purpose is for catching and riding waves. Most of the performance short boards we see are fabricated  just for that useful purpose. No color, not shiny, just the basics.

Many other surfboards go beyond the basics. With color and shiny finishes, sometimes with colorful fins, special wood combinations for stringers, pin lines or striping. Long boards could have nose and tail blocks. All this stuff can and does make a surfboard look nice. But in reality it's all cosmetic.

Cosmetics are used to make things look beautiful. For the surfer a well shaped surfboard is a thing of beauty. A well shaped surfboard doesn't need cosmetics because it looks good with out make up.

 But you know what? There isn't anything wrong with taking a well shaped surfboard and dressing it in it's Sunday best. Sometimes you can have a hard time waxing  a new surfboard dressed in it's Sunday best, have second thoughts about getting it wet.

Yeah, and then over time the Sunday best starts to look a little rough or tattered. No more pretty shine, some patches here and there, dirty wax. It once looked really good... but the cool thing is it still rides really good.

   

It's OK because what's under the cosmetics is a well shaped surfboard. And all the rough and tattered part... it's called character. The well shaped surfboard with character has a story to tell.

D.R.