School make up policies

[rrhuth]

Hello, what is the verdict on school policies that do not allow make up at all?

I think they are not OK, because wearing make up is pretty standard appearance management for lots of people.

I had some friends who would have not wanted to go to school without their foundation etc. I do not wear it myself, so wanted to ask what the general feeling is about this. Something has come up at school (policy change). I do not have a make up wearer but was going to put my view in anyway.

I'm assuming that everyone saying make up is completely unnecessary and should be banned has never had a problem with their skin or has always been incredibly confident? Everyone is talking about the odd spot but what about eczema/ rosacea / birth marks etc.

Im nearly 40 and if I don't wear the bare minimum makeup at least I am quizzed relentlessly about 'what's wrong' with me as it's highly evident I have a skin problem.

It's tiring and upsetting.. and these are other adults! Sometimes I wear make up just to avoid the conversation about it. If it makes a kids day a little easier then what's the problem? (I'm obviously not talking about HD brows and false lashes here!)

Teenagers are developing their own identity and exploring who they are. It’s also a time in their development where socialising with their peers and developing autonomy are really important. Increased self consciousness and caring what their peers think of them is very typical in adolescence and is not a bad thing because it’s just a normal part of development.

So, in light of that I think over regulating self expression and teenage experimentation is not good for teenagers.

There really isn’t anything harmful or disrespectful or risky in wearing makeup. These days both boys and girls like to wear it.

Make up can be just as much about creative expression as it can be about covering up blemishes or wanting to improve physical appearance.

I think wearing makeup is a personal decision and teenagers should be allowed to make that personal decision for themselves.

Promote the body positive messages of you are fine just as you are and no one should feel pressure to change their appearance without banning makeup and individual self expression.

DD’s school allows make up and any colour hair of any style, and own clothes. The result is that most of them try a few things, realise it’s too much hassle, and stop within a few weeks. A few carry on with a very distinctive look. It doesn’t seem to cause problems.

@Akire

Kids don’t need make Up they have rest of their lives to plaster their faces to “look better”. Teens get spots that’s life, covering make up makes it worse in the long run. If you say wear as much as you like kids aged 11 will feel they have to and really no need. You have next 70y wear make and change your appearance not asking much not to at school.

If you can prove foundation doesn’t make
Spots worse then maybe but mascara eyeliner and all other kinds of stuff these days just don’t get it. It’s telling kids you can’t leave house unless you “do something” what message is that? If you can’t spend first 15y of your life actually feeling ok when looking in mirror you need more help than make Up can give you. Blanket ban would be better for all. Most teens can’t wear make
Up without looking like they are desperately trying to hard. Still Look 12 trying look 18 what’s point?

Make does not cause spots for god sake! Ever heard of hormonal imbalance?

@ShortDaze

DD’s school allows make up and any colour hair of any style, and own clothes. The result is that most of them try a few things, realise it’s too much hassle, and stop within a few weeks. A few carry on with a very distinctive look. It doesn’t seem to cause problems.

I would love this!

I also agree with this:
So, in light of that I think over regulating self expression and teenage experimentation is not good for teenagers.

There really isn’t anything harmful or disrespectful or risky in wearing makeup. These days both boys and girls like to wear it.

Make up doesn’t cause spots no but covering then with thick layer make up so can’t breath isn’t going make them go faster either. Same any other blemish or rash

@Akire

Make up doesn’t cause spots no but covering then with thick layer make up so can’t breath isn’t going make them go faster either. Same any other blemish or rash

I suggest you do some research in how acne is caused and treated before spouting bullshit on the internet.

I would hazard a guess that the school wants to bring in a "no makeup" policy because they are sick of having conversations about whether the level of make-up that students are wearing is natural or not.

I think a no-makeup policy is fine, although I would possibly add an exception for those with genuine mental health problems due to "bad skin" e.g. those with very visible vitiligo. Yes, some teens may feel better wearing makeup. Many teens will also feel better wearing something other than school uniform, and yet they manage to do that.

@Akire

Make up doesn’t cause spots no but covering then with thick layer make up so can’t breath isn’t going make them go faster either. Same any other blemish or rash

Makeup doesn’t cause spots. A hormonal imbalance and not removing your makeup properly cause spots (ie use a makeup cleanser instead of wipes).

My school way back when had a rule of no make up before sixth form (sixth form also had no uniform whereas years 6-11 did, and it was fairly strict)

DC's school permits discreet make up, but of course that ends to subjective enforcement, which has its drawbacks

@RJnomore1

Of course kids don’t need makeup

No one is forcing them to wear it.

They also don’t need anything except plain clothes and gruel

I believe education is about creating critical thinkers with personal choices, you?

Do you think that the current education system is "creating critical thinkers"? I don't have secondary age DC (thank goodness) but the stories I hear of mass gender confusion seem to imply otherwise. The less pressure on outward appearance at an impressionable stage the better.

@zurala

No one needs to wear makeup. I think schools should ban it and enforce the ban. We need to get away from the idea that women's faces are unacceptable in their natural state.

Disagree with this. You don't hear people saying that we need to get away from the idea that's men's faces are unacceptable in their natural unshaven state. Imagine if all young men stopped shaving completely.

Women's faces are not unacceptable in their natural state but neither are they unacceptable in make up.

I think my view is I would just like women and girls to be able to do what they want. And then I would like to do lots to tackle where it is going wrong for them.

Agree rrhuth. It seems some forms of feminism are often as controlling as the institutions they fight against.

I don't even wear make up but the idea of girls being told to take it off just got to me.

This thread though has been so useful, thank you for everyone. I am less confident in my feminism now that I no longer feel able to answer everything with 'fuck off'

I think it's interesting to consider natural impulses vs societal duties. The urge to attract a mate and procreate is still one of the biggest biological urges in mammals, including humans.

Make up I don't really care, girls will make themselves look ridiculous with make up and cringe at the photos later, the same as many of us did when we were girls (blue eyeshadow, sperm brows, and sparkly pink lip gloss? Really?)

As a teen my school had a no make up rule and I wore what I thought looked "natural". I wear lot less to look natural now that's for sure.

The thing I am sick of seeing on teenagers is inch long acrylic nails and enormous false lashes, they are hugely unnecessary. We had a school class of y11/12 girls doing a health and social care course who came to our workplace, all with massive acrylics and huge eyelashes, none of which they'd be allowed to wear in the workplace. Schools should focus on preparing teens to go out into the world of work, and whether people like it or not, part of that is their appearance because in many fields you can't have all these assorted attachments, or wear loads of make up, or wear a cloud of perfume etc.

Schools should focus on preparing teens to go out into the world of work, and whether people like it or not, part of that is their appearance because in many fields you can't have all these assorted attachments, or wear loads of make up, or wear a cloud of perfume etc.

Maybe the problem actually lies in the workplace policing how you must look. It's part of the reason why I hated and ultimately left office work. I do have to wear PPE onsite for obvious reasons but if I wanted to get an enormous neck tattoo or shave my head/dye my hair pink etc, it'd not be an issue.

False lashes and acrylic nails, heavy make up, and strong perfume/aftershave are all no no's for the risk of cross contamination, infection control, etc in many fields. It's got nothing to do with policing how someone expresses themselves.
I'm covered in tattoos, have pink hair, had an undercut for ages. Still not allowed to wear my facial piercings on shift. Still not allowed to have false lashes or false, long, or painted nails. Such as in the example of these teenage girls doing a health and social care placement completely inappropriately. The school surely have a duty to prepare them for real world working.

@Atmywitsend29 People adapt to different behavioural expectations, rules and dress codes for different environments all the time. From a young age children learn that nursery have rules that are different from the rules at home.

Preparing for adult life in the workplace means understanding what different jobs are available, what qualifications you will need and areas of study to gain those qualifications, what do various job roles entail, and figuring out what type of job you think that you will be good at.

A school can’t replicate every single workplace that exists and their corresponding rules, dress codes, procedures, policies etc to prepare their students for the workplace, that would be impractical.

They can have discussions about different workplaces and have students do a bit of research about different workplaces and in some cases do excursions to learn about an industry.

@RJnomore1

The rules sorry

I’m all for rules with a purpose but not where they are purely about control and power

I'm with you completely there. There seem to more and more nitpicky rules being brought in for no purpose other than control. It's a very concerning trend.

I had and have terrible skin. In my teens acne, blotchy, red. I was also bullied terribly for my appearance, no make would have been awful and made school much harder then it already was. Certainly would have had a negative affect on my learning.

@yorkshireteaspoonie

I'm assuming that everyone saying make up is completely unnecessary and should be banned has never had a problem with their skin or has always been incredibly confident? Everyone is talking about the odd spot but what about eczema/ rosacea / birth marks etc.

Im nearly 40 and if I don't wear the bare minimum makeup at least I am quizzed relentlessly about 'what's wrong' with me as it's highly evident I have a skin problem.

It's tiring and upsetting.. and these are other adults! Sometimes I wear make up just to avoid the conversation about it. If it makes a kids day a little easier then what's the problem? (I'm obviously not talking about HD brows and false lashes here!)

This with bells on.

Although no doubt someone will be along soon to say we are just brainwashed by patriarchal social conditioning into finding spots and blemishes unattractive.

@Akire

Make up doesn’t cause spots no but covering then with thick layer make up so can’t breath isn’t going make them go faster either. Same any other blemish or rash

You really are talking nonsense

My school had this policy. I wore light makeup anyway. I had shockingly low self esteem and someone telling me I wasn't allowed to wear it didn't make me feel any better about myself or my face. Quite the opposite.

In adult life I've had periods where I wore no makeup at all, and times when I wore a bit. I think it can be useful to discuss the motivations and meanings behind it from a feminist perspective, but ultimately it's up to the individual. If I'm 14 and have a big spot on my face, someone else's reasons for not covering it up are irrelevant to me. Whether that's because of worries about beauty standards, the view that it'll cause more spots, or some sense that I'm too young. As someone said upthread, it's my face!

I went to a school that had a no make up rule as a teenager (chap stick permitted only). I never wore make up then and to be honest I don't wear it now, I never had acne but I did have the usual teenage spots and so did my classmates. We didn't care really, it was normal life.

It was never an issue and we grew confident in ourselves. If you are in an environment where no one wears make up, it's not a thing. No one thinks about it, human faces just look normal to you.

If you start at secondary at 11 with this policy, it's just standard school life for you. I could imagine it being a bit trickier if you are an older teen and used to wearing make up and then the school policy changes.