How to glow up. How to lose weight in 3 days. How to be the prettiest girl in every room. Her feed is inundated with beauty tips.
Shadows stains her under eyes, swaths of purple and gray. One swipe of concealer and they vanish. Her face is marked with imperfections, old acne popped and squeezed and scratched. One brush of foundation and they vanish.
Sculpted face, shimmering eyes, perfect pink cheeks. Will anyone know what’s underneath?
Makeup is marketed to promote self-esteem. With hokey messages like “be the best version of yourself” and “enhance your natural beauty,” companies advertise their products as miracle elixirs for confidence. This faux-inspiring messaging is used to divert consumers from how their products are really being used—as face-fixes that cause users to hide their features rather than embrace the face they were born with.
Indeed, applying makeup can be an enjoyable hobby and a creative form of self-expression, and in moderation can even inspire the feelings of confidence that the advertisements love to proclaim. But when social media gets involved, what begins as excitement and experimentation turns into an obsessive need to fix all parts of a face—every video unlocks a new facet of self-doubt.
Teenage insecurity is often exploited by social media and content creators. Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have transformed the beauty industry, flooding images of flawless skin, perfect features and “effortless” glam to users–often without acknowledgment of filters, editing or professional makeup techniques.
While beauty influencers have played a major role in making makeup trends more accessible, they have also contributed to the growing pressure to meet unrealistic beauty standards. For many, this constant exposure fosters insecurity, self-doubt and the belief that natural beauty is never enough.
Scrolling through social media, it can be easy to believe that everyone else has effortlessly radiant skin and symmetrical features. This is far from the truth.
A recent survey by the Dove Self-Esteem Project of over 1000 girls aged 10-17 found that half believe harmful beauty advice on social media lowers their confidence. Additionally, 90% of the girls reported following at least one account that damages the way they view their appearance.
Adolescence is a time when emotions are the highest and self-esteem is the lowest. To be inundated with a cesspool of images about what a body is supposed to look like does more than just make viewers wish they looked like the influencer in the video. It triggers long-term damage to girls’ outlook on themselves.
Beauty Matter reports that 72% of teenagers feel that they must attain a “perfect” look as a result of social media. Three in four believe these beauty standards are driven by the frequent use of filters, while one in four admit they feel uneasy sharing unfiltered or makeup-free photos online.
There are videos on how to thin noses. How to brighten eyes. How to cover acne scars, hide double chins, grow breasts, lengthen eyelashes. There are videos for every inch of a girl’s face and body instructing her how to make them look better.
Many influencers promote beauty products while using softening filters, skin-smoothing edits or even by undergoing cosmetic procedures–all without full transparency. This leads their followers to believe that achieving flawless skin or perfectly sculpted features is possible through the products they promote.
The rise of “clean girl” and “no-makeup makeup” trends further perpetuate these unrealistic standards. What is presented as effortless beauty often requires expensive products, professional treatments or even digital enhancements. Instead of celebrating natural beauty, these trends reinforce the idea that looking naturally perfect with no flaws is the main goal.
While social media isn’t disappearing anytime soon, change is possible. Influencers and brands must be transparent in their promotion of products.
On an individual level, social media users should be more conscious about the beauty content they consume and the way it affects their mental health. If a video inspires someone to use makeup as a form of self-expression or confidence enhancement, it can be beneficial. If it causes viewers to view themselves as problems in need of repair, the detriments should not be underestimated.
For every makeup advertisement and sponsored video, every GRYM and celebrity endorsement, viewers should take a moment to question whether purchasing the product would make them feel better or worse about the way they look.
Ultimately, beauty should be about self-expression not self-comparison. By shifting the focus away from impossible standards and toward individuality, in order to create a more inclusive and empowering digital culture.
