Is the Beauty Industry Manipulating Your Insecurities to Maximize Profits?
It's now an open secret that most Instagram influencers edit their images: smoothing skin, whitening teeth and plumping curves. We have wildly underestimated how completely the shift to a digital-first culture is unmooring us — or, at least, some of us — from material reality. And this has accelerated a transformation that has been underway for over 50 years, in which commerce and innovation turn inward from exploring (and exploiting) the world towards doing the same in the human body and the human soul.
To illustrate, let's probe a matter weighing heavily on my heart. It is something that affects every one of us, regardless of age, background or social status. It is the issue of why we wear makeup. Why have we been conditioned to despise the face that Allah gave us? Why do we believe we are unattractive? Why do we accept the costly beauty remedies imposed upon us by avaricious cosmetic companies? Since when was it 'empowering' to spend £50 on a 10ml tube of concealer? But it's a scam. In practice, 'liberating' ourselves from the reality of our bodies amounts, without fail, to increasing our dependence on harsh for-profit chemicals and invasive procedures.
When I say makeup, I'm not speaking about 'light makeup'; I'm talking about the layers and layers of it that makeup tutorials are encouraging us to wear. The idea is that we need makeup to feel confident to face the world. That we use waterproof fixing spray that nullifies our wudu. But we still use it.
All women know firsthand the pressure to conform to unrealistic beauty standards. Our lives are saturated with airbrushed, unnaturally looking models and celebrities with 'tweakments', making us feel inadequate and insecure about our appearances. Marvel superheroes, Bollywood actresses, Pakistani drama queens; nearly every woman you see online is wearing makeup. No, dark circles, no facial hair, no pimples. Every natural aspect of her is filtered out. Real women don't look like that.
The beauty industry perpetuates this pressure by convincing us that we must alter our natural features to be accepted and desirable. And they are making a killing out of our misery! According to market research reports, the global cosmetic industry was valued at around 532 billion USD in 2020. So what happens? We hate our pores because they are too open. We hate our eyebrows and eyelashes for not being long enough. etc., And what do we do? We go buy those fake eyelashes our fav Youtuber 'shared' with us.
Social media has fostered false beauty standards for young women for decades. Since 2020, wearing little-to-no makeup and leaving the skin looking clean and fresh has become trendy. The purpose was to promote various skin types and help women feel more confident; the concept was to build an inclusive culture that lessens the poisonous beauty standards that young women have been accustomed to through filters.
But for many women, removing their makeup does not alleviate their insecurities; instead, it increases their worry and tension. "Women...employ cosmetics to manipulate their appearance, and in doing so, may benefit from a boost in positive self-perception and well-being that appears to be associated with wearing makeup," according to a 2006 study titled "Cosmetics: They Influence More than Caucasian Female Facial Attractiveness" published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology.
The "no makeup" trend took aback women since they had been indoctrinated to feel makeup was a necessity. Because they are not used to enjoying their natural complexion, the transition to lighter coverage or no makeup at all produces increased self-consciousness.
Women have been so firmly associated with this association for so long that it's natural for them to be concerned about the "natural" drive. To many, this felt like simply another unrealistic beauty standard, similar to others that have been reinforced in the media for decades, most recently on social media.
In many ways, the natural movement was viewed as a counterbalance to a social media culture that often made women self-conscious about their appearance. The Intercept reported in March 2020 on an internal TikTok memo that banned boosting material from users with "ugly facial looks." TikTok's administrators stated that videos of persons with "abnormal body shape," "too many wrinkles," "obvious facial scars," and "facial deformities (including, but not limited to, eye disorders, crooked mouth disease, and other disabilities)" are "less attractive, not worthy of being recommended to new users." TikTok is purposely developing an algorithm based on unattainable beauty criteria.
The internal TikTok paper discarding "ugly" appearances came around a year into the natural trend, resulting in faultless natural looks. As part of a movement whose purpose was inclusivity, TikTok's selected content had the effect of producing a less inclusive space.
Self-esteem and comparison are not new concepts; women have long felt obligated to uphold and adhere to cultural standards. Beauty trends change frequently, and keeping up can be difficult. A popular new TikTok craze is "glowy skin." The trend encourages smooth, moisturised, blemish-free skin, creating an almost impossible overlap with the natural trend. Many desire clear skin, yet most are unable to get it.
Hormonal acne is common in women; breakouts can be due to stress, menstrual cycle, diet, or even the simple fact that sometimes you get a pimple, which is okay. The problem is creators on Tik Tok will post a video of their skincare routine where their tip for clear skin is "just wash your face." Social media favours women with no blemishes, scars, texture, or discolouration, couched as "natural."
The truth is that most content creators and influencers use the beauty filter on TikTok, a fact that ought to put a consumer's anxieties into perspective. The feature blurs, smooths, and lessens the appearance of texture and acne, which gives a false reality of how someone's skin truly looks.
Women are brainwashed with messages from the media and society, telling us that we need to look a certain way to be accepted and loved. To be beautiful, we are instructed to have flawless skin, perfect hair, and a specific body shape. But is this true? Is this our destiny? Does our outward appearance define us?
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "Allah does not look at your outward appearance or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds." (Sahih Muslim 2564) This Hadith reminds us that our worth in the sight of Allah is not determined by our physical appearance or our material possessions but rather by our intentions and actions. Our outer appearance is not the most crucial part of who we are as human beings. We don't have to obey the marketing gurus of greed-driven companies mindlessly.
Unfortunately, manipulating women's insecurities has led to a culture where women are expected to be artificial to fit in. The beauty industry tells us that we need to wear makeup, get cosmetic procedures, and use other products to fix our perceived imperfections. This pressure negatively affects women's mental health, leading to low self-esteem and body dysmorphia. But Allah has something better for us. We should not strive to conform to the beauty standards of a society that is ignorant of the truth. Instead, we should focus on cultivating inner beauty, taqwa and character development, adaab and akhlaq.
The beauty industry's obsession with profits has led to a culture where teenagers, particularly, become addicted to makeup. Our worth is tied to our outer appearance rather than our inner qualities. Cosmetic companies care about making money, not the well-being and mental health of women. They create unrealistic beauty standards to sell their products, convincing us that we must constantly improve our appearances to be accepted and loved.
Allah says in the Quran, "O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." (Quran 49:13) This verse reminds us that our diversity is a blessing from Allah and that we should not judge each other based on our looks or our cultural backgrounds. The most dignified among us are the most righteous in their deeds.
We should embrace our natural beauty and focus on our inner qualities. Start being content with your face and body. Stop using negative language. We should strive to be kind, compassionate, and generous towards ourselves. We should focus on acts of worship, such as praying, giving charity, and reading the Quran, rather than obsessing over our bellies! We should remember that our worth comes from Allah alone and that our physical appearances are temporary and fleeting.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "Verily, Allah does not look at your appearances or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds." (Sahih Muslim 2564) This Hadith reminds us that our weight, skin tone or height does not determine our worth in the sight of Allah. May Allah guide us all to what is best.
I explore beauty myths in greater detail in my book Smart Teenage Muslimah. If you have a daughter that needs to hear the Islamic narrative, be inspired to embrace the beauty and teachings of our sacred texts. Then take a look at the book here.
Buy the book for your daughter