Body care routines have become a trend on social media, and conversations on hygiene have become a mix of sisterly advice and misinformation. It’s become such an influential trend that Vogue Business wrote an article in 2023 on the popularity of filming shower routines on Tik Tok, and how brands have been using it for advertising.
They also published another article this year on beauty trends circulating on social media, including body care. Even director Sam Levinson referenced it in his Emmy-winning show Euphoria in a scene where Cassie spends three hours getting ready every morning.
In my opinion, your first step should be making sure you have an everything shower routine, and then you can decide on your daily routine. Antibacterial soap first, then hydrating body wash. Then I feel like you need a moisturizing lotion and then a lotion to smell good. And did you know Lush is having a sale? Make sure to get their powder so you can put it over your lotion, and before your perfume.
From Tik Tok to Instagram, beauty routines have always been popular. Yes, I believe we all want to see how Rihanna’s makeup artist does her everyday makeup routine, how Leah Kateb smells so good, and I absolutely want to know how Toni Bravo is glowy every day. And there’s nothing wrong with that – it’s just girls helping girls…until it isn’t.
I also feel like we can’t possibly miss out on the fact that social media has given users people to look up to; take into consideration girls that didn’t have anyone to teach them. A lot of female influencers have taken to giving their own advice and routines to not only their audience that asks for it, but for girls who weren’t taught how to get stains out of their favorite white top (god knows a whiteout game and a tailgate don’t go together sometimes – thank you, mom for getting the tough stains out).
But advice may also be needed for girls who need to know the weird yoga pose to put a tampon in, and how to go about daily life in a world that shames women’s bodies. Some influencers have become the older sister that you need, but at what point do our older sisters do us harm?
If you’ve seen the influencers that recommend you clean your entire body with Dial soap first, and then a hydrating bodywash, I’m here to tell you that I personally don’t think you’re dirty if you don’t use two soaps or that I think you need two soaps.
There’s been a lot of claims that Dial soap in particular is perfect because it’s antibacterial and will clear away acne. Unfortunately, this might be the misinformation of your online older sister: Dial soap being used on your body everyday dries it out, and it also means you’re killing the bad bacteria and the good bacteria that’s on your skin. According to the FDA, regular soap and water are enough to keep you clean, and there’s yet to be enough evidence to say antibacterial soap is better.
Dr. Raina Bremby, a board-certified dermatologist, noted that its high pH can cause drier skin, especially for those who are eczema prone. Sticking to regular bodywash keeps your skin barrier intact and clean.
As for vaginal washes, Healthline recommends water and a washcloth on the outer areas of your genitals is all that’s needed. According to the National Library of Medicine, feminine washes aren’t needed, and they’re especially harmful if they have a fragrance or aren’t sensitive. Nothing goes inside because it’s self—cleaning.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t take advice from influencers online. There are many doctors, estheticians, and board-certified doctors on different social media platforms trying to give information in an accessible way.
And sometimes we do connect better with people who have had the same problems as us or want to heart their stories on how they got to a better point, but we have to consider not only the misinformation given out, but why it’s there. Obviously, a part of it is out there could be because some content creators are giving routines without fact checking, but what made this niche side of social media become so obsessive? And at what point do we realize women are being targeted?
Often, I feel like women have been dehumanized through their hygiene. There’s misogyny-based insults thrown based on a woman’s body or her personal health. Women who are sexually active are often called dirty through hateful discourse online or in-person.
Social media has started a pipeline of odor-related insults. Something as common as sweat is seen as attractive on men in the media, like when we see Chris Evans in the first Captain America movie, but are never used as a basis for a woman to be attractive.
And when we come to talk about intersectional feminism, how two parts of an individual’s identity cause unique experiences, we must talk about black women and douching: Black women were sold products from brands like Lysol to do harmful hygiene practices to fight against the stereotype that black women were hypersexual and unclean.
Without proper education on not only hygiene, but the lack of global education on female bodies, women are told their own bodies are unhealthy or unwanted because of odors, scars, and other natural processes.
Maybe some of our “online older sisters” need advice too. I think that some of them have lacked the same education opportunities and guidance as their audience. Their risk of spreading misinformation on social media is high, but I think it’s also likely they’ve been at risk of handling the battle of hygiene on the internet.