There are few trends that have taken stronger hold of the skincare industry than casual effortlessness.  The days of heavy makeup use and a perception of working hard to look a certain way are long gone, having been replaced by “just woke up like this.”  This breezy and effortless style of beauty has gained popularity and been disseminated widely via social media.  However, this ideal can have major impacts on the self-image of everyone exposed to it.

A funny thing happens when you spend multiple hours a day scrolling through endless pictures of people online with perfect skin and a “just woke up like this” charm.  An even funnier thing happens when you’re told, repeatedly and endlessly, that these women are able to achieve this look without even trying.  That this is how people are naturally supposed to look with only minimal effort.  That most people are naturally as flawless as the girls in the skincare ads and the Kardashian-Jenners.  That you, too, not only can look like this, but should look like this. 

For the small price of buying a new moisturizer, or wearing sunscreen every day, or eating more fruits and vegetables, or thinking more positive thoughts, or trying a new skincare regimen, you as well can look just like the models in the ads.  And considering how easy and effortless it seems for them to look this perfect, for you to not have perfect skin must be a failure on your part.  It must be a sign of your laziness or lack of hygiene.  Having acne or visible skin texture must be a sign that something is wrong.  You must be physically ill or unclean.  And nobody wants to feel unclean or unworthy. 

Being exposed to these ideas repeatedly as an impressionable teen, you come away, consciously or unconsciously, with distorted ideas of what the average face looks like.  So you buy the products and buy into the toxicity of skincare culture.  

However, there is a hidden truth to the allure of perfection — it is impossible to meet.  The same celebrities and makeup brands that are planting the goal posts that we must all aim for in regards to skincare and appearance regularly utilize filters and Photoshop.  Instagram influencers who have unlimited resources, including the money to devote to their physical appearance, still need to employ lighting tricks and FaceApp to meet our cultural idea of perfection.  

We are all locked into a race to meet standards of appearance that are ultimately unattainable in real life.  There is a fundamental disconnect between the way skincare is advertised, as offering a kind of physical perfection that is easily achievable for everyone if you put the right products on your face, and the simple fact that nobody can truly meet this standard in real life. 

Skin naturally has texture, pores are naturally visible, and people of all ages can have breakouts regardless of how “clean” or physically healthy they are.  Having skin that isn’t always dewy or is never quite clear does not make one unclean, or unnatural, or in need of some sort of purification ritual.  These facts, though they might seem simple, are ones that the skincare industry is trying to subtly condition us to forget. 

Because, after all, a culture of teenagers who feel unworthy to be seen in public if they have a pimple is a tantalizing profit opportunity for a skincare company.  Those offering cures to these perceived ailments will find their companies devalued greatly if we were to all wake up and decide to stop punishing ourselves over our natural skin features.     

This is not to say, of course, that all skincare is should be abandoned.  There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to take care of yourself, and I’m not saying you should throw your face wash away.  However, we must examine critically how social media has warped our perception of physical appearance, and how our desires to fit in and feel healthy are being exploited by those whose sole aim is to profit off us.