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.

@Snoozer11

I think the confidence and comfort of girls is much more important than someone's ideological stance against make up.

Agree with this too. V much

I find a lot if this thread very depressing. The ban make up crew appear to have no depth of understanding of how nuanced wearing make up/not wearing make up is.

Teenage life is fucking hard. As you get older you care less every year about what people think about you. The caring is at its absolute strongest when you are a teen. I think we forget easily what that felt like.

Someone always boast how they are their children don't care about the opinions of anyone blah blah, bully for you. Really. If only all of us could reach those lofty heights of parenting success and self importance.

There was a lad at my school with bad acne. People made fun of him openly to his face and behind his back. I wouldn't wish that on any child.

Exactly pasty. I don't really see why someone else should be able to interfere with whether I feel OK with myself or not -and that should apply whether I'm 14 or 74 - children shouldn't have less rights with regard to that. I don't have a diagnosed condition or disfigurement. And I don't wear lipstick, mascara, eyeliner and so on. But without the foundation/powder on my nose my confidence would've been shot to shit at quite a difficult age. If I don't wear it even now I get people in shops making jokes about sunburn (that's what they assume it is).

I did get asked to wash eyeliner off in high school once and I didn't have a problem with that.

Personally, I'd allow all make-up as I don't feel someone else should be dictating someone else's appearance and that goes for whether they're a child or adult.

Taking face powder away from me would make me feel like shit, and that's not going to change. I don't want to learn to love walking around with a fluorescent burning nose. I'd be interested to know how other women would cope with e.g. a head shave for school as that is simply appearance based too and in a lot of ways more practical.

At school, I’d allow light / natural makeup. Just remembering how awful my acne was, concealer was a confidence booster.

My oldest son had terrible acne too, and I got him acne face cream which was tinted, and I know he’d use it when his skin was bad. He tried a few different tinted acne lotions before we found a good match for him, and I know it helped with his insecurity about his skin.

Unless you’ve had bad acne, you’ve no idea how embarrassing it is, and how self conscious it makes you. Teen years are bad enough, without an arbitrary ban like this. I’m not a fan of rules just for sake of it.

I think a natural make up rule is perfectly reasonable. I went to a school that had a no make up at all rule and I feel it is a rule that is more about control than anything else.

I will admit I was a make up wearer in school and hated the sight of girls with acne being forced to scrub make up off with cheap soap in floods of tears. In that case I slipped back in after with my stash of make up for the girl in question. I was in my last year, she was younger, not my friend, but nearly 20 years later I have still not forgiven that teacher. I am sure that incident had more impact on her education than the make up in question.

I think it is grand for us to sit back from the relative comfort and freedom of adulthood to say, girls shouldn't need make up, no make up rule is fine, but that is to deny how it feels to be a teenage girl. Girls appearance is policed in uniform policy the world over in case it might 'distract the boys', but if girls have a thing for them, in this case make up, that might make the day a bit easier we need to take that away as well.

It is also worth mentioning that UK secondary schools have a very broad age range from 11 to 18. What is an appropriate restriction for an 11 year old might not be for an 18 year old.

Anti make up for kids in school aged up to Year 11.
And if older children Year12/13 6th form want to wear it as they’re approaching adult hood then they need to pick a college or 6th form that has no uniform or a more relaxed approach.

Flip me thay is a bit harsh. Girls have far more restrictions on their appearance than boys. How often is girls learning interrupted for a skirt or a heel length and so much of it has at its core not wanting them to be a 'distraction' to males either students or teachers! As such male education and comfort is prioritised. When they do have something that makes them comfortable the attitude is clear off and find another school. So much of that is wrapped up in attitudes about how a female child should look. Not to mention at 18 we shunt them off into the world to live alone in many cases, but they are not considered worldly enough for lip gloss 3 months earlier!

Surely lots of girls would just start using fake tan and dye their lashes and eyebrows in order to look a bit more 'done' and less natural. That's definitely what I would do - though finding a self tan light enough for my ghostly pale natural appearance might be hard.

I support schools banning it.

No need for anyone to wear makeup and normalising it for young girls leaves them with the expectation that they must wear it.

Support building their self confidence instead.

I don't see the point for the same reason I don't see the point of OTT strict uniform standards - because schools can never justify it in a way that makes sense. The reason for school uniform is always given as to either to prepare students to dress in an appropriate manner as they will have to do in work - except now more and more places employees dress down (or wfh in their PJs!) - and even before then how many women did you see wearing ties to work? The other reason is even more ridiculous - because not adhering to uniform will 'distract' students. I've got a colleague (in a professional role) with constantly changing different, bright and multi coloured hair - can't say that it's ever distracted me from anything she says!

If schools want students to become used to what will be expected of them in work then usually a 'natural' make up policy if they want to, is the closest to what is expected in most workplaces. I also agree that students worried about being bullied, or just feeling self-conscious about their spots probably wouldn't be in the best place to concentrate on their school work.

Also teens today are often REALLY good at applying make up. It's not like back in the day where you had orange foundation ending at your neck. I imagine most of them could easily apply make up that looks natural enough to not be picked up on - with the possible result that those who can afford the best make up will get away with wearing it while the poorer students with less choice won't.

What are they going to do with girls who get semi-permanent eyelash tint or eyebrow lumination done, for example? Keep them out of school for 6 weeks until it wears off? I really don't think that losing half a term's education is a proportionate response.

My school had a strict uniform policy, and no make-up was allowed. It was partly about everyone having equal status — not flaunting wealth or trendiness or presumably beauty!

I don’t think anyone really questioned that. That was a long time ago.

I support it, but it would not be the first restriction on my list. I'd be tackling some of the uniform policies which favour boys or disfavour girls first.

I detest school make up policies.

They normally have a nasty, victim blaming vibe to them. Parents neither teachers own girls.

They should be able to wear whatever mascara, eye liner, foundation, lipstick they want without being blamed for "distracting the boys," or "looking sexualised."

If a grown adult thinks a 13 year old girl in make up is sexy, he is the problem. Not the child wearing some foundation or lip gloss.

Equally, boys treating girls disrespectfully should be harshly clamped down on, regardless as to whether they are wearing make up.

I've always had excellent skin. I rarely wear make up, leaving my pores unplugged. I dont think the two are unrelated. Children suffering from spots and acne would probably benefit from not wearing make up. Prescribed treatments, steaming, and bare skin would be better in the long term.

Unclogged not unplugged

@1Micem0use

I've always had excellent skin. I rarely wear make up, leaving my pores unplugged. I dont think the two are unrelated. Children suffering from spots and acne would probably benefit from not wearing make up. Prescribed treatments, steaming, and bare skin would be better in the long term.

Well good for you. As someone who has suffered from acne on and off my entire life I can tell you you are very lucky to have such excellent skin and you have no clue what you're talking about.

I previously worked in a secondary school, some of the girls would come with lashes and a full face of makeup.
I was chatting with some of the year tens and telling them I didn't even have hair straighteners at that age or wear makeup to school. I was being that annoying women telling them that I'm glad as it has made my skin better in adulthood.
There is so much pressure on teenagers and even younger to look a certain way. It makes me so sad. Even going out people spend hours getting the right photos. I remember having a disposable camera on a night out! Definitely not Instagram ready pics. I think no make up is good however I completely understand that this would cause so much stress and anxiety for some. The world we live in is so different

Hi, I was at school on the early 1980s in the U.K. some girls wore make up in the last year of high school, which was 15-16 yo. U could leave school at 16 then. I must admit I never wore face makeup, but wore pale or clear nail varnish occasionally. But I felt intimidated by the girls wearing it, as I still felt like a child. It annoyed me that I didn’t go there to compete with the girls and their make up. It’s a distraction, and people should be equal. Also not everyone can wear it, allergies and rules at home about makeup, for example some of the Asian and Indian girls were not allowed to wear it at all. So yes, I think a foundation and concealer rule is a very good idea, in the case of spots, acne and disfigurements.