The evolution of beauty trends have made women and men everywhere slaves to their appearance. There's just too many standards to follow, and sometimes, the effect of fulfilling those standards will have you pay a bigger price than the reward was worth. Here are some examples:
1. Lead foundation
IMAGE YOUTUBE/lisaeldridgedotcom
Venetian Ceruse - white face paint with lead
During the 16th century, a whiter than white complexion was popular among women. It was a style that reflected a higher social status and beauty, which were regarded as most important than anything else. However, the perks end there. The white lead foundation, or Venetian Ceruse, had severe effects on the skin—burns, blisters, enflamed pores, etc. The more they used to paint on their faces, the worse their skin became thus increasing the need for the poisonous face paint. And just to paint a realistic photo for you, according to the rumor mill, there was one queen in Europe who went mad because she never took the poisonous paint off and would just reapply the next day.
2. Teeth blackening
IMAGE peterbrown-palaeoanthropology.net
Ohaguro - teeth blackening in Japanese
Throw out your teeth whitening kit because the Japanese have better ideas. Blackened teeth were a trend in Japan during the Edo period, and was considered beautiful even when worn by geishas. And despite the crazy color, the coating helps prevent tooth decay and was the look to have for married women and aristocrats!
3. "Bagel head"
IMAGE mix108.com
After a saline solution injection on the forehead
"Bagel head" as a name of a trend might sound innocent, but it's really not. This trend from Japan convinced people to inject saline solution into their foreheads and flatten the blob's middle to form a donut.
4. Elf ears
IMAGE mydisguise.com
Before and after shots of an elf ear procedure
Elf ears. This surgery removes bones from the ear to make it more pointy, then stitch the skin together to form the point. We're blaming this one on video game/book characters.
5. Lip injections
IMAGE INSTAGRAM/kyliejenner
Kylie Jenner shows off her new liquid lipstick shade
Lip injections are not too extreme per se. It's only the sudden increase of people getting them recently that's concerning. Sure, people have been getting lip injections years before Kylie Jenner seemed to have gotten hers, but after a while, everyone and their mothers suddenly had bigger lips, too. Who knew a form of plastic surgery would be a bigger trend than lipsticks?
6. Fake makeup
IMAGE fashiontimes.com
Fake Urban Decay Naked Palettes
Makeup is a luxury not many people are willing to invest on, so settling for fake products seems like a brilliant idea when you're on a budget. However, this obsession with branded beauty products is flushing the importance of quality makeup. Fake makeup is not only harmful to the original creators of the product, it can also harm the buyers because of the questionable formulations. Why buy fake when our local department stores have affordable and better quality products?
Bottomline, beauty shouldn't be a source of your pain. It should be about discovering yourself and not spying on what others are doing. Also, always follow your instincts when a certain trend is asking too much from you. Don't let anyone exploit your insecurities by forcing you to change them through a beauty procedure.
