What are people doing to their faces?!

[Mania89]

I am mid 30s. Colour my hair, wear makeup, thread my eyebrows etc so not completely natural but my goodness what are people doing to their faces?! Young women who are beautiful now have so much injected into their faces that they cannot move them at all. I was looking back at photos in my mid 20s and was wondering why on earth did I worry about my looks at all. Hindsight is wonderful! And I am despairing that girls younger than this have already started to inject Botox and fillers. The world is going mad and don’t even get me started on weight loss injections for those who are not clinically obese! I have two daughters and really feel so worried for them up.

The biggest problem for me is the normalisation of a look that cannot be achieved without cosmetic procedures. The overfilled, unnatural aesthetic that had become so popular has led to the rise in popularity of more extreme cosmetic surgical treatments such as the BBL which has been associated with many deaths. Young women who can’t afford the cost of cosmetic treatments are often tempted by the offer of cheap cosmetic surgery in Turkey, etc. often with tragic results. The idea that you can only achieve today’s beauty standards with surgery means it’s completely justified for Women to question these beauty standards - and speak about about it. It is not a criticism of women who get these procedures done, but of a society that puts such unrealistic beauty standards on women.

This attitude towards woman is awful - filler or no filler! When did it become the norm to talk about women’s bodies so openly and in a derogatory manner?

I’m not a doctor but IMO it’s not wrinkles alone that age you, I think there’s a whole demeanour around looking old - wrinkles sure, weight, teeth, stress, fashion...

Look at you, with the assumption that looking old is a bad thing. You see those little grey-haired ladies with their bad teeth and hair (wait till you hit the oestrogen slump and lose your hair, if happens even with HRT). They are you, just 40 years on. If they were clever, creative, vibrant, fascinating women at your age, they are still that way now. Don't be the kind of person who judges on appearance and never bothers to speak to people who value things other than looks.

Totally agree

I find it quite pathetic, the lips in particular is so ugly , the ridiculous eyebrows, the bum lifts, and they all think they look so natural when they just look so unnatural.
The world gone nuts.
I'm all for making urself look and feel good but this is just so fake. I dread what the younger girls will
Look like when they reach middle age, and I worry what we will be doing to our bodies in 20 years time. And I'm still
In my 40's, so I'm not an old nag I genuinely feel the mental health of the younger generations is so fucked up that they don't realise themselves the harm they are causing their bodies because there's no proper long term research into the effects this will all cause them. Scary af.

I've a group of ex-colleagues - all six of them look identical. Highlighted blond hair, curled to perfection but to look effortless, micro bladed eyebrows, fake eyelashes, lip fillers, fake nails. I have to look twice to know who's who.

Don't get me wrong, I do some of those things and do what makes you happy, but why is everyone trying to look the exact same?

Completely agree with the final point - it is the potential equivalent of smoking in the future.

You could have just @ me if you had something to say - if you read what I wrote without getting all worked up you would have understood that I was replying to someone who asked me directly what I think ages us. I then listed factors that age us, I was NOT criticising ageing and even just bothering to read the full comment would show you that.

Maybe calm the fuck down and go work on your reading comprehension. Now jog on.

@coolkatt "in my 40s so am not an old nag"
I think even those of us with many more years on the clock than you, would not fall into that category.

All those saying "it's personal choice" etc are missing the point. There are lots of things that are 'personal choice' that have wider societal implications. When I was growing up 'heroin chic' was a thing, everyone wanted to achieve the Kate Moss, size zero look and girls were starving themselves and using amphetamines in an attempt to try to reach that beauty standard. Was that their 'personal choice'? It's not "bashing women" or being "judgemental" to say that the fashion and beauty industries were wrong to push an unrealistic beauty standard on young women and girls during that time, and that what those young women and girls did to themselves in pursuit of that look was deeply damaging. Just as it isn't "bashing women" or "judgemental" to say that today's beauty industry, social media companies and certain aspects of celebrity/influencer culture are complicit in pushing an unrealistic beauty standard. Neither do I think it's "bashing women" or "judgemental" to be worried that younger and younger women are undergoing cosmetic procedures, and that my DD will grow up under pressure to enhance her appearance in this way. People are allowed to comment and have views on widespread societal and cultural changes that they feel could have an impact on future generations.

I don't think it's OK that 8 year olds have been brainwashed into thinking they need Retinol.
I don't think it's OK that cosmetic procedures have become so normalised that women on this thread feel justified comparing injectables and BBL's to lipstick and getting your hair coloured. I also don't believe that those two things are unrelated. It's inaccurate to say "mind your own business, it doesn't affect you". It does affect me, because I'm not just an individual, i'm part of a community, i'm part of society and my DC will grow up in that society.

Name changed for this because it’s a bit outing! 😂

Does anyone remember Kevyn Aucoin? He was an American make up artist, the emphasis being on artist. He literally painted faces on people. Other people’s faces.

He wrote a few books, in Face Forward he shows how it’s possible to turn yourself into anyone you want using make up and face tape. Aucoin turns Amber Valetta into both Clarke Gable and Carole Lombard.

Ok, they’re caked in heavy make up and it isn’t really a look for popping down to Tesco, but young women now wear so much more makeup than most of us would be comfortable with that I’m not sure they’d find it odd, even close up.

The point is women have been using make up for centuries to make themselves look like something they’re not. Whether that’s to cover up smallpox scars, to hide a ruddy complexion or to make themselves look younger by using blusher for a healthy, youthful glow.

But at the end of the day they wash it all off and go to bed as themselves. It isn’t a permanent change and leaves no lasting impression. Apart from over zealously plucked eyebrows, that is!

Historically women have used products that harmed them, all in the pursuit of beauty. In the 18th Century foundation contained lead which poisoned the user, but it gave the impression of the prized whiter skin - a sign you were wealthy enough not to work in the fields. Women have developed skin cancer chasing a ‘healthy tan’ - a fashion that started because the wealthy were the ones that could afford a foreign holiday in the sun, they didn’t have to spend all their time cooped up indoors working in a factory.

And now women are injecting poisonous substances into their faces to try to achieve a certain look. They trust unregulated practitioners and some of them sadly pay the price. It feels like we’ve gone full circle.

I worked for most of my life as a model. My face, quite literally, was my fortune.

I’m old now. I have wrinkles, I have developed jowls. I am no longer pretty or beautiful.

But I will never have cosmetic surgery or tweakments.

I can still slap on the war paint and look presentable, I haven’t given up on life or presenting my best face to the world! I look like me, just older.

At the end of the day I can take ‘my face’ off and be left with my face. My own face. And I’m happy with that.

It’s a pity so many young women today cannot say the same thing.

Stop jumping at everyone like a terrier, the poster didn't mean that, they were talking about indicators of age. I think you have an issue with aging and are projecting.

And how hilarious I said I valued other stuff over looks and you told me off. Take a breath. @Rubydoobydoobydoo

@FaceWasMyFortune the difference is most women capture their faces on camera a lot on evening’s out & daily. The distortion looks ‘good’ or ‘better’ on camera. Look at Sonia in Gavin & Stacey. The rise of Insta etc.

This!

@FaceWasMyFortune thank you for sharing that. Very interesting.
I think the difference is that, perhaps, when you were in your 20s the pressure to look like a carbon copy of social media imagery was not there. Also, I assume from your career, you have a naturally beautiful/interesting face. So you didn't feel the need to compete or copy anything. Perhaps you also have a good relationship with yourself and value what you have in your body and mind and are comfortable within yourself.
Plus being photogenic- I suspect a lot of people simply aren't photogenic and want to change the photography version of themselves.
I think a lot of younger women a missing some of the above or do not recognise they have some or all of these traits.

There is a lot to be said about looking the right age as a best version of yourself. Facial expressions add so, so much to beauty. More than any makeup could. It's the animated face, happy or sad.And the original natural features play the biggest role here. Altering these artificially will mess everything up and can turn women (and men) into individuals we can find difficult to communicate with because there's something off going there.

Having these things done to you is making someone else wealthier. That's it!

She probably had tons of work done too- they all have. Makes me laugh when people describe celebrities as looking stunning for their age or ageing gracefully- they’ve had every cosmetic procedure under the sun!

@Branster - good observations. Those of us old enough to remember old school cameras, I don’t recall feelings of insecurity around photos? They were about fun & sifting through to find ones without eyes shut? Cramming into photo-me booths with our friends? Now with social media it feels competitive? ‘Oh it’s great of you, shut up’ whilst a friend selects best of them. Iphone Photos at events & phones & heart sinks. Why did I feel I looked better in old school photos? With iphone endless selfies I feel judged.

How are the online doctors allowing her to have these injections? You have to go through a rigorous procedure, sending photos etc before they agree to supply them.

I hope jodie Foster hasn't. Been watching her in True Detective and loving TV with older women with what appear to be ageing faces.

She is a year older than me. Jodie Foster must have had work done as it shows

She did look very old before that whereas I age very well

I guess since people started pimping themselves to the point of ridicule

That’s a very good point, yes for some it might not be what they want but they will go for it to fit in probably. I remember as a teenager how important it was to fit in, and I remember being pressured to start smoking because my friends did, fortunately I detested the idea and didn't succumb to pressure.
I feel sorry for the young girls these days, it seems even their mothers are encouraging ‘beauty’ treatments. Their was a FB ad recently for a 7yr old birthday celebration asking for recommendations for manicure, pedicure beauty treatments for her DD and friends… what happened to bouncy castles and pass the parcel 😢
Let children be children