You are made up of more than your makeup. Before I continue, I would like to be fully transparent. I am a female who wears makeup. But lately I’ve been seeing more and more mention of women feeling insecure or not themselves without makeup. How did we get here? When did this become the social norm?
What makes you feel beautiful? Is it when you have a full face of makeup, your hair, and nails done? Is it when that cute guy in class looks at you, or when the popular girl compliments that top you got from the latest trending shop? Here’s another question: Would you ever comment that you prefer someone with makeup on?
In different cultures, we see beauty standards ranging from foot binding in China in order to achieve the “golden lotus” (tiny feet), to lip stretching in Ethiopia using lip plates. We see beauty standards at odds with each other as well. In places in West and South Africa, they celebrate strong and curvy bodies with melanin-rich skin. But in Japan, they celebrate small faces, thin figures, and porcelain-white skin. My point being that there is no one perfect being. You may be considered the most beautiful girl in the world to one part of the world and unattractive in another part.
And now the cosmetic industry isn’t just targeting women anymore; they are targeting girls younger even than 8 years old. Kids who were still at the age to steal their mom’s makeup bag, smear lipgloss and put dramatic eyeliner on. Now they are using similar products in their everyday routine. At that age, makeup should be more about having fun and a way to express yourself, rather than a necessity you need to feel pretty. A survey by the National Library of Medicine found that 70% of children twelve or younger were found to have used makeup or body products in their lifetime.Tweens now have ten-step skin care routines, while they haven’t even hit puberty yet. They use retinol cream–retinol is used to boost collagen levels and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. But MCDS Dermatology says, “Starting in your mid-20s, collagen levels drop by about 1% per year—and this decline accelerates around age 40.” Collagen levels only start dropping during the mid 20s, and you start actually noticing its effects around age forty. Yet they seem to think they need it. Who made them think this is something they need? Why do these children believe their eyelashes aren’t long enough and their cheeks aren’t rosy enough?
Young kids also lack the discipline and responsibility (which they are not expected to have much of at such an age) to form the healthy habits that come with taking care of your skin when you wear a full face of makeup such as cleansing your face, removing the makeup before bed, and choosing products that suit your skin type in order to avoid premature aging and irritation. So make sure you are building these healthy habits when you start wearing makeup.
This isn’t to shame someone for wearing makeup. This is to build awareness that more and more women, young and old, recognize their real, natural beauty because of the toxic beauty standards and societal pressures we created. The best advice I can give any young girl who is thinking about starting to wear makeup and feeling insecure about herself is to think deeply about this: what do you truly enjoy wearing? If that is a sparkly unicorn shirt, then wear that. Because no matter what, someone is going to have something to say about anything. So wear what makes you feel comfortable. Plus, that encourages others to feel safe in wearing what they actually want to wear rather than being concerned with blending in. That is also how you find people with similar taste, by being exactly, unapologetically who you are.
