WHAT ARE THE BEAUTY STANDARDS WE SHOULD LEAVE BEHIND?

Beauty standards have changed a lot throughout history. And they apply to absolutely everything - our bodies, shape, fitness, self-care rituals, clothing, and overall appearance. It’s interesting to watch how beauty standards and trends arise, improve, change, and sometimes disappear. However, while many beauty standards can be taken easily and ignored, others can really harm and have a very bad influence on your health.

Created artificially on social media, magazines, and television, these beauty standards do not only apply to women but to men as well. That’s why we wanted to share some thoughts with you regarding the beauty standards we should leave behind. Continue reading and check which beauty standards influence your life and which you would like to leave behind.

Body Shape

As we said, beauty standards influence not only women but also men. And one of the harshest beauty standards concerns body shape.

In the last decades, women and men are expected to have a perfect body shape and look like photo models - and only a few pay attention to health and real fitness.

Remember, healthy is always beautiful and it is a forever standard. We all have different body shapes and we all look different. Body shape is not a reason for comparison and there is no perfect body shape. Of course, you can look like whatever you want, and have any body shape, but the only and most important thing is that we all need to be healthy, to solve existing big and small health problems, to take control of our health, to take care of ourselves and our loved ones, and prevent the dangers that may threaten our health.

Clothing Standards

Have you noticed that no matter what the clothing trends are, we are always expected to dress in such a way that we look thinner, taller, and more attractive in any outfit? You know you are free to look like anything you want. Of course, you can highlight what you wish, whichever part of your body you want to be more noticeable or anything. But you are never obliged to look the way others want to see you․

Dress in a way you feel better, and don’t overthink if you look thinner or taller or pleasing in any way. Dress up for yourself, and choose clothes and fabrics that you find suitable for your body, mindset, and mood.

Skincare Standards

Some of the most common beauty standards apply to self-care, particularly, skincare. This one includes a number of dangerous standards that become trendy from time to time. We will list a few, so next time you’ll know whether it is a necessary component of your care or an imposed standard.

A Multi-Step Skincare Routine

You’ve probably read a lot about multi-step skincare routines that “solve all your skin problems and make your skin glow”. Of course, if you like to apply ten products to your skin, do it to feel good (but don’t harm your skin with over-layering products). However, the multi-step skincare is a beauty standard that you’d better leave behind this year.

If you are an ordinary person with ordinary life trying to find your life balance between running to work in the morning and finishing your all household tasks in the evening, then you most probably don’t have enough time to apply ten products to your face.

You can switch to a minimalist skincare routine and have only 3-4 quality products that will replace a lot of products but still give you the best results without any harm to your health.

Men Don’t Do Skincare

It's interesting how beauty standards dictate the rules of a game where men don't need skincare. In fact, the key steps for effective skincare are mainly the same both for men and women. Our skin knows no gender, it just needs to be taken care of.

DIY Skincare

From time to time we notice how people start making and using DIY products at home with no proper knowledge about skincare formulation. They just enjoy experimenting with different ingredients and applying homemade substances to their skin thinking that homemade is better than store-bought products. It’s a trap: if you pick and mix all the ingredients by yourself, it doesn’t mean that it’s good for your skin. Moreover, DIY skincare can harm your health badly, so leave the standard of preferring homemade to purchased․

To Sum Up

All of us feel the influence of beauty standards on our lives. It is not always possible to resist existing standards and constantly go against popular and accepted opinions. But if you try, you’ll know that it’s the only way to choose wisely what you really need, and what is a forced component in your life.

Be careful what you read, what social media pages you follow, what channels you are subscribed to, and what TV shows you watch. It’s easy to get influenced: don’t let your guard down so you don't sacrifice your health for beauty standards

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