This one day, I was just mindlessly scrolling through Instagram (as one does), and a friend's reel popped up. She was hilariously lamenting all the cash she'd blown on guashas and jade rollers, all thanks to targeted Instagram ads promising to banish 'cortisol face' or ‘moon face’. Turns out, they were total duds, and now she's trying to offload them!

This is a common thing these days, right? With social media’s reach and the endless stream of 'influencing,' there's a product for every perceived flaw. Suddenly, we're all stressed about 'cortisol face' (which, let's be real, didn't even exist in our vocabulary five years ago) or 'buccal fat.' Seriously, I just learned eyelid surgery is a thing – apparently, you can get fat removed from your eyelids for a 'refined' look. It's like, name a body part or function, and the market's already invented a new insecurity around it. 

We live in a world saturated with images and trends, and the beauty industry is constantly evolving, with new standards emerging and fading away just as quickly. Honestly, it's exhausting, and it's time to take a closer look at how these standards are changing and what we can do to maintain a healthy sense of self-esteem.

The Aesthetic-ization of Beauty (or When Did We All Become Doctors?)

Beauty is increasingly inspired by, or perhaps held hostage by, medical aesthetics. Now, it’s all about "efficacy, precision, and preventive care." Suddenly, we're all experts on lasers and injectables, casually dropping terms like "collagen stimulation" like we didn't just learn them from an Instagram reel five minutes ago. 

What really makes my blood boil is seeing these trends sink their claws into young teens. It's actually heartbreaking! Have you all seen the endless Reddit threads and pop culture chatter about that young actress? (not mentioning her name cuz she is still a minor) When she was barely 14, she was already morphing into a young adult in her early twenties, all thanks to fillers and boob jobs. Seriously, it's messed up when girls that young become prey to this. Imagine being her age, scrolling through Insta, seeing her, and feeling like crap because you don't look like that! And the worst part? There's zero accountability, zero transparency about how this look is anything but 'natural.'

Kim Kardashian basically set the standard for what a "perfect" body should look like for a generation of young girls.

Remember when it was all about the junk in the trunk? Kim K's hourglass figure, the plumped lips, it was the look. But now, surprise! It's all about that Ozempic chic. The "Kardashi-thin" sisters, as The Sun dubbed them. So, are we supposed to surgically enhance our butts and then dissolve them a few years later? How are we supposed to keep up with these ever-shifting goalposts? Does Kim even realize the chaos she's unleashing, or is she just trying to stay relevant in a world that's constantly demanding something new? Honestly, it's exhausting just thinking about it.

That's why I'm giving Khushi Kapoor props for recently spilling the tea about her nose job, nano-blading her eyebrows, and other procedures. She wanted to feel good, and she went for it. No harm, no foul, especially because she's owning up to it. At least young girls who admire Khushi Kapoor know it's not all genetics, unlike countless other actresses including her elder sister, who btw is also a victim of patriarchy so they feel ashamed in admitting, for the longest time have been saying 'I used malai or dahi on my skin' and drink loads of water to keep my skin tight and pores free.

The endless market for insecurities 

In 2021, Google's annual Year in Search report revealed a surprising twist: looks dominated the "how-to" searches. Out of the top five questions starting with "how to," two were fixated on appearance. "How to be more attractive" landed in the second spot, just after "How to be eligible for a stimulus check,". Snagging the fourth position was "How to be a Baddie". To put this in perspective, the top "how to" searches of 2020 revolved around words like "donate," "make," and "help". This shift highlights a growing interest in appearance-related queries. 

The beauty industry's latest frontier? Vaginal "rejuvenation," or as some might call it, the final frontier of insecurity. The global vaginal laxity market is booming, projected to reach billions, driven by a desire to "regain their shape post childbirth" or simply achieve a "Barbie doll look". This includes procedures like labiaplasty, vaginal tightening, and even hymen reconstruction, all fueled by a quest for the "perfect vagina". As one Indian study showed, the demand for aesthetic vaginal procedures has skyrocketed. It isn't difficult to see how women internalize the message that their bodies are projects to be optimized, leading to a cycle of self-doubt and endless pursuit of often unattainable ideals, all driven by cultural pressures and the relentless marketing of insecurities.

And now in addition to this, we've got a whole new arsenal of insecurities to contend with. Remember when hip dips were just, like, part of having a body? Now, they're a PROBLEM that needs to be 'fixed' through surgery or some seriously strategic posing. And who knew sunken eye sockets were a thing to worry about? Apparently, we're all supposed to have perpetually wide-awake, 'youthful' eyes, which, of course, can only be achieved through a needle full of filler. Then there's the whole 'snatched' jawline obsession, achieved through buccal fat removal (because who needs fat in their face when they're older, right?). Oh, and let's not forget the quest for the perfectly smooth, Botoxed forehead, because wrinkles are, like, so last season. And finally, the ever-shifting goalposts of lip size: one minute, big lips are in; the next, they're so over.

These trends, fueled by social media and celebrity culture, create a constant sense of inadequacy, driving women to seek drastic and expensive measures to conform to fleeting ideals. It's a never-ending game of catch-up, where the goalposts are constantly moving, leaving us feeling perpetually behind and increasingly vulnerable to the next big insecurity the beauty industry dreams up. Women think that vaginal reconstruction will increase their self-confidence and comfort, which is so far from the truth. The only thing surgery reliably reconstructs is your bank account balance, as your self-worth is more about self-acceptance than conforming to a "perfect" vagina.

AI in the game

AI is muscling its way into the beauty game, promising personalized solutions and recommendations based on, well, algorithms that probably know more about our browsing history than our own mothers do. AI-powered tools can analyze skin types (apparently, our mirrors are obsolete), recommend products, and even create customized beauty routines. "Consumers will work smarter (not harder), combining knowledge, tools, and technology to achieve personalized solutions for superior results," according to Spring Fair. Nothing says "self-care" like outsourcing your entire skincare routine to a robot.

So, how do we navigate this minefield of manufactured insecurities? How do we avoid spending our life savings on the latest "must-have" product that will inevitably be replaced by something even more ridiculous next month?

Challenge Beauty Standards: Recognize that many beauty standards are arbitrary and socially constructed. "The large majority of beauty standards are about oppression and power, and we are participating in our own oppression by adhering to the standards without question", states Weightless.

Focus on Health and Well-being: Prioritize your physical and mental health over achieving a specific appearance. If you love yourself enough, you probably don’t need any external validation to seek that somewhere else. 

Embrace Individuality: Celebrate your unique qualities and features. Avoid comparing yourself to others and focus on enhancing your natural beauty. God has made you one of a kind, be grateful for that :)

Limit Social Media Consumption: Be mindful of the amount of time you spend on social media and the types of content you consume. The brain rot is not worth having. Go out and take a walk in some fresh air when you feel the need to scroll mindlessly or do something that keeps you joyfully busy. 

Bottom line? The beauty industry will keep churning out new ways to make us feel inadequate. The key is to cultivate a healthy dose of skepticism, a strong sense of self-worth, and the ability to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Let's reclaim our bodies, our minds, and our wallets, and redefine beauty on our own terms. Because honestly, who has the time (or money) to keep up with this nonsense?

Author Bio:

Disha (she/her) believes she's half therapist because people spill their guts to her with ease. But for now, she's writing sassy pieces on the internet about all things fun and pop culture. With a flair for wit and a curious spirit, she is all about digging into the saucy details of human intimacy.