Let's face it: we live in a world where beauty standards are often dictated by a curated feed of perfectly filtered images. But what happens when the filters come off?
The Toxic Beauty Standard
"Beauty is subjective; beauty is in the eye of the beholder." These phrases are often used whenever the discussion of beauty standards arises. It's true that factors like culture, era, and geography influence how people perceive beauty. Fair skin might be desired in some countries, while a tan is prized in others.
While beauty has always been a moving target, beauty standards in society are becoming increasingly skewed, favouring a narrow and often unattainable look. Due to media exposure dominated by specific ideals, what's considered beautiful has changed dramatically over the centuries, with one thing (sadly) remaining constant throughout all eras: the pressure to conform to these beauty standards for women.
The Power of Media to Distort Reality
These beauty ideals didn't emerge overnight. Today's standards - flawless skin, symmetrical features, and a specific body shape - often favour a narrow and unattainable look that fails to reflect the true diversity of human beauty. For years, brands have relied on airbrushed models and heavily edited photos to market their products, perpetuating the illusion that being "beautiful enough" means resembling the flawless figures seen on screens and magazine covers. But is this really what beauty looks like? (Spoiler alert: it's not!)
These images are often far from reality, yet they set an unrealistic benchmark that many strive to reach. The media, advertising, and entertainment industries continually promote these narrow ideals, leading to the widespread belief that only one type of beauty is acceptable. This marginalises those who don't fit the mould, pressuring them to modify their natural features to conform to a fabricated standard.
The Outcome
Toxic beauty standards in society are pervasive in media and everyday life, creating a suffocating pressure to conform. Young girls worry about their image when they should be playing freely. Those who don't fit the idealised cut-out box of what's considered attractive might resort to extreme measures, such as seeking out disreputable plastic surgeons, all for the sake of altering their natural features.
Dangerous internet trends have emerged as a result of this obsession with unrealistic beauty standards. Some people seek out unethical plastic surgeries performed by uncertified doctors as a "faster" and "cheaper" alternative, often resulting in permanent damage. Reality TV shows like "Botched" exist solely to document the victims' experiences of such surgeries.
B+ Clinic: Celebrating Your Uniqueness
At B+ Clinic, we believe in finding a balance between enhancing your beauty and maintaining a healthy relationship with our natural features. Instead of conforming to unrealistic beauty standards, consider embracing natural aesthetic treatments. Natural fillers for the face and non-surgical nose fillers offer alternatives that enhance your features without drastic changes. Our aesthetic treatments are designed to enhance your unique beauty, not to make you someone else.
Whether you're looking to refresh your appearance or address specific concerns, our approach is about helping you feel confident in your own skin. Nothing replaces the feeling of contentment that comes from knowing you look and feel your best in real life. That's where our personalised treatments come in - tailored to enhance what makes you uniquely beautiful, with results that reflect your true self.