The body- positivity movement is growing and its impact on society is noticeable in our everyday lives. Certain fashion brands, such as Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty lingerie brand, feature models of different sizes in their campaigns. Mainstream magazines also embrace diversity. Cosmopolitan featured an article about women of different sizes who talked about their wellbeing. Yet, even though the world is becoming more and more open towards various body sizes, what is often omitted is the skin-positive part of the movement. Body-positivity is an umbrella term which encompasses and embraces all aspects of our bodies, whether it’s the size, body hair or the condition of our skin. This plurality is key as it enables every one of us to be a part of this beautiful and inspiring movement, whilst dismantling the harmful beauty standards in society and embracing diversity.
The Acne Problem
Due to the fact that acne does not fall within the rigid frames of canonical beauty, it is often underrepresented. Acne is not considered hot nor beautiful, hence it rarely appears on mainstream social media accounts. Yet, even though we do not see it very often, acne is not uncommon. It is said that acne touches around 80% of adolescents and in 2015, around 633 million people were affected by it.
The lack of representation of people with acne on social media or in cosmetics campaigns may affect one’s self-esteem to a great extent and even cause ‘levels of anxiety and depression akin to a chronic illness‘. Therefore, acne may impact our lives to a great extent in terms of our self-esteem, wellbeing and mental health.
What to do then?
Despite promoting the very harmful beauty standards, the internet isn’t always a depressing and daunting place. Sometimes we can find great support and inspiration on social media, even when it comes to acne-positivity. There are plenty of Instagram profiles which normalize acne through sharing stories, posting pictures of acne and showing the beauty of it. Being a part of such a community and inspiring people through hashtags such as #acnepositivity help in accepting ourselves and the condition of our skin. Self-love is key to well-being and mental health and influencers who openly talk about acne might help in dealing with insecurities regarding our skin.
Summing up, body-positivity and acne-positivity are important for every one of us. Everybody may struggle with accepting their body, especially in a world where companies and social media promote unattainable beauty standards. Sometimes, a very simple yet revolutionary remedy might be filling your Instagram feed with accounts that show true and body-positive content and surrounding yourself with people who have similar experiences. After all, beauty has many different faces.