It is obvious that social media creates tremendous pressure and unrealistic expectations on young people (and older ones as well): people often post photographs of themselves looking immaculate and perfect, courtesy of filters, clever lighting and other tricks.
So a week or so ago, I posted a photo of my face au naturelle and in not-so-flattering light, showing my crows feet, laughter lines, lines on my forehead, bags under my eyes and uneven pigmentation in their full glory. My imperfections are my life story – my manic laughters with equally crazy friends, my love of pulling funny faces, my many long days spent under the sun (not so advisable, in retrospect), my hormonal journey, my travels (jet lag).
Sure, I am as vain as the next woman but I don’t worry too much about my lack of aesthetic perfection. I just use sensible measures – good nutrition and good hydration, enough sleep, less stress, healthy living – as my “skincare routine” rather than expensive creams and equipments. I think it’s good for society anyway, to see an imperfect “real” face now and then.
And talk about imperfections, I had a juicy pimple and its friends sprouting out a few days ago (yeah, outbreaks at my age…aaaargh!). My skin is also mottled and rough at present…
This happens when it’s my time of the month (oh menopause, where are you? Why aren’t you here yet??) or when I eat a whole chocolate cake. If the cause of my current outbreak is the latter, then the unsightly pustules is a wake-up call for me to clean up my act.
Of course, I could slap on the make-up to cover the offending blemishes up. But nawwww, the world is too obsessed with unreal perfection as it is, and I am not going to tip the balance further….and guess what, there is a ACNE POSITIVITY MOVEMENT to encourage people to go bare-faced, despite their “imperfections”. Yes, folks, there is more to life than trying to achieve the pointless.
I absolutely love it this “show your bare face” movement. I believe it started from an article in The Guardian.
Yeah, be brave. There is beauty in absolutely everything, and after all, “beauty” goes beyond the skin to the person within.
Disclaimer: I am not advocating young people to go out there to get acne / pimples to look cool, but this is a rallying cry to see beyond the falsity of pursuing perfection all the time.
Click here to read the article in The Guardian.
www.lifeGO.me 