The Return of Realistic Beauty: How Gen Z Is Finally Ditching Over-Editing

Over the past couple of decades, social media has reshaped what beauty looks like. From airbrushed Instagram photos to the smooth, beige-toned presets dominating influencer feeds, the pressure to appear perfectly polished has become routine. But recently, there has been a noticeable shift. Gen Z is moving away from perfection and toward something more grounded: authenticity. 

How Trends Have Shifted Over Time 

Beauty in the late 90s and early 2000s did not aim to look natural. Photos often featured 

• Bright, bold colors 
• High contrast and heavy flash 
• Shiny lip gloss and metallic eyeshadow 
• Retouching that removed nearly all texture

How Editing Took Over 

As editing apps became more advanced and accessible, photo retouching moved from professional studios to everyday photo screens. Suddenly, everyone could even out skin, brighten eyes, refine jawlines and control lighting in just a few taps using apps like Facetune or Adobe Lightroom Mobile. 

Photographer-made presets also played a major role. A single preset could define the look of an entire feed: muted colors, soft light and uniformly smooth skin. These tools gave photos a cohesive, professional feel, but they also had a side effect: they blurred out individuality. Freckles, undertones and natural texture in people often disappeared, while subtle details—like the vibrant glow of the sunset or the textures of food and decor—could be altered in pursuit of a “perfect” aesthetic. 

While many people enjoyed curating polished feeds or admiring them on others’ profiles, the expectation of constant perfection quietly raised the bar for what “normal” looked like online. Over time, a pushback emerged, driven by movements embracing authenticity and unfiltered content, so that personal preference now guides how people present themselves. 

Some still use presets, while others barely edit at all. The difference is that no single approach feels mandatory anymore, because the cultural conversation around beauty and online presence has shifted to value individuality over uniform perfection.

The Emotional Toll of Perfection

Seeing flawless images every day did not necessarily make people feel better about themselves. Research shows that frequent exposure to edited or idealized social media content is strongly associated with increased body dissatisfaction, appearance anxiety and unhealthy comparison among adolescents. 

For Gen Z, who grew up with social media, it meant comparing their real reflection to someone else’s edited post, often without realizing just how much the image had been altered. Beyond comparisons, many also turned to social media for guidance, relying on it to keep up with current trends and using it as a platform to form opinions, connect with peers and explore identity. Eventually, many began questioning the point: if everyone has to retouch themselves to feel confident online, what message is being reinforced?

A Return to Realism

Now, many young users are rejecting heavily-edited images and re-embracing real skin and candid photos. Instead of smoothing every detail, people are choosing to show texture, acne, uneven lighting, imperfect angles and candid moments.

Celebrities Helping Reshape the Standard

Many celebrities have helped normalize a more realistic public image. 

• Alicia Keys chose to step away from heavy makeup and retouching on magazine covers, calling attention to how rigid beauty expectations can be.
• Florence Pugh posts unfiltered photos showing natural skin and texture, going against the notion that public figures must look flawless. 
• Selena Gomez regularly shares makeup-free TikToks and emphasizes transparency around how she shows herself online. 
• Pamela Anderson attended Paris Fashion Week without makeup, which became a widely discussed moment, largely because it was unusual yet refreshingly grounded 

These choices matter, not because wearing makeup or editing is wrong, but because they show alternative ways of being visible in the public eye and being comfortable doing so.

A Healthier Relationship With Beauty

The return to realistic imagery is not just a visual trend, it reflects a wider cultural shift. For Gen Z and future generations, embracing authenticity in media could help reduce the pressures of unrealistic beauty standards, promote healthier self-esteem and encourage more honest online interactions. This shift may influence how young people approach mental health, shape societal expectations of appearance and even guide how future generations interact with technology and social media. 

Editing is not disappearing, and it does not need to be. When used creatively rather than as a requirement, it becomes a tool not a mask. Gen Z and future users can approach editing with intention: enhancing a photo for artistic effect, highlighting lighting or emphasizing mood, while resisting the pressure to erase natural features or conform to a single “perfect” standard. By making conscious choices about when and how to edit, social media can support self-expression, not comparison, helping maintain a healthier relationship with both images and self-image.

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