Beauty Tips For Body Care
Have some words of wisdom and a self-realization story from a woman in her late twenties who is hooked on skin care routines and this subreddit. It's long, so TLDR: Posted some photos of my face online, which made people feel bad. Then realized how deceptive photos can be. Really cemented how deeply social media can influence our norms and expectations of ourselves in an unhealthy way.I am in my late twenties. I grew up in the sun, with little care for my skin until my early twenties. Now, I have a few fine lines and wrinkles. I have acne scars, freckles, eye bags, and texture. Some days I feel confident about my skin, some days I struggle with the fact that my skin is aging. I buy into the various serums and ointments for anti-aging and have a strict routine, but still have aging signs. I'm prefacing my story with this information so you understand that I am not an air-brushed-appearing being.This morning, I was outside and snapped a quick video and selfie of myself in the early morning sunlight and posted it on a social media platform. My skin looked surprisingly flawless in this video/selfie I snapped. I could see my pores and freckles, but no eye bags, acne, or wrinkles. Soon afterward, I went inside to get ready and immediately noticed how different my skin had looked in the natural sunlight compared to the harsh lights of my bathroom; it looked like I had aged twenty years when I walked into my house. All the lines, texture, uneven tone, dark bags under my eyes, and other flaws that weren't noticeable in my video now stood out in stark contrast in this light.Soon I started receiving notifications about the picture/video I had taken. People praising me for my flawless skin, lack of wrinkles, asking me about my skincare product routine, complimenting how I still looked like a teenager, etc. I read these praises while starring at my very different, tired-appearing face in the bathroom, feeling like I had tricked these people. At the same time though, the photo/video I had posted had been an unedited quick snap of my face, so how could I be misrepresenting myself?This prompted me to take photos throughout my day in various lighting situations and angles to compare how my skin looked. I had the original selfie outside in low sunlight, bathroom light, high midday sunlight, fluorescent lighting of my work, a selfie at golden hour, and lighting of a warm lamp. I then asked a friend and family member to guess when I had taken these photos. Both of them assumed the photos were taken at different years, while I was at different ages. When I told them it was the same day, today, they asked if I had face-tuned the pictures where my skin looked "younger and nicer". No, it was truly just good lighting that had two people close to me fooled.I typed this long story up to tell you that, people are mostly posting their best photos of themselves. I posted the photo of me in nondirect natural lighting, rather than the fluorescent lighting because I looked nicer in the first condition. As a result, others my age are comparing their skin to mine while it was on display in the absolute best conditions possible. These people are feeling inadequate (based on their self-deprecating comments) about their skin now, thinking that my skin is perfect when in reality have just as many lines and scars as others my age, possibly more.So while you're scrolling through reddit, Instagram, tiktok, just be mindful of this. A good portion of people are not posting photos of them in their office under harsh lights or under the harsh midday sun. People often post when they look their best. Some people even use facetune, filters, or make-up to look their best. Remember this the next time you look at someone's nice photo they took and think that is the normal standard to aspire to.Just, follow your doctor's orders, moisturize, drink water, wear sunscreen, and don't worry. Your skin looks great :)
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by AbundenceofGus
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