I've just seen a photo of myself and I look dreadful

[StopMeLookingShit]

My hair looks really yellow, my teeth look horrendous and I just look really bloody boring. I also have terrible skin.

I've had issues with myself ever since I was a teen when I overheard someone say 'she'd be hot if she had a bag over her head'. I don't mind my body so much, I just really hate myself from the neck up.

I used to shy away from photos but I started to regret having no photos of myself to look back on, and now I bloody regret letting anyone near me with a camera.

What are your tips for making yourself feel better? I am in the process of looking into braces for my teeth, which I hope will make a big difference.

I think lightening my hair would also help, but I follow the Curly Girl method now and I can't work out whether bleaching it will damage the curls.

I'm only bloody 28, I really don't want to be feeling this rubbish about myself when I should be feeling my best.

I'd post the picture, but I don't have a thick enough skin to deal with the negative comments.

My glasses prescription isn't high at all - it used to be terrible but I had them lasered a few years back, and it's just deteriorated a bit since then.

I'll have a look at that redken sulphate free shampoo - sounds perfect!

What is composite bonding? I'm wondering if that's what I have on my front teeth already.

It's basically the stuff that they use for fillings but on your teeth to give them a uniform shape/colour - this can be whitened too! It needs about 13-16% to work on them though.

Ah yes, I do have that! I had it done (very very badly) as a teen, and my current dentist has slowly been replacing them under NHS care. So I think I have three front teeth done well, one that looks rubbish but isn't a dental health issue, and one which has nothing on. I wonder if I could just get the odd ones re-done nicer after a brace.

I had mine done after my brace, I'm really happy with my teeth now.

I had a 'fast brace' the train tracks for 6 weeks then a month or two later got the composite done

I think you look lovely, OP. Not just saying that - the "bag over head" person is a waste of space, honestly. I am useless with make-up and don't dye my hair or anything like that, so can't give you any advice in that regard, but two things struck me - 1) I think everyone has pictures of themselves that they HATE and 2) you don't have any really disturbing oddities that detract from lovely regular features, I cant see any of the bad bits you mention take care of yourself and be happy - I hope the way you feel about yourself improves with time.

OP I think we all pick out the worst things about ourselves, but others just don't see us the same way. I do think you are being very harsh on yourself, however I do get that sometimes we just feel that way and get a bit stuck in a rut and need a little pick-me-up to feel better about ourselves.

I do think your glasses are a bit dark for your face - have you ever considered contact lenses? would that be an option worth expoloring? (apologies if that's already been mentioned, i haven't read every comment!)

You say your skin is bad, although that doesn't show on the photograph - and I just wanted to say that not only drinking lots of water, but also what you eat plays a major factor. I have recently (last 6m to 1yr) totally changed the way I eat and I now cut out the majority of processed foods, eat lots of veg, some fruit, no cereals anymore (as they are heavily processed) only porridge/eggs/fruit&yoghurt for breakie and definitely no white bread/pasta etc and I noticed a remarkable improvement in my skin within a couple of months - someone even commented on how clear my skin was! and I never cleanse/tone etc, just a quick face wash and a bit of good moisturiser. Perhaps that is something you might want to explore?

OP you really do look nice and I don't just mean pretty, although you are. You look friendly, fun and kind which is attractive.

In men, I love slightly uneven teeth, it's hugely sexy. I think embracing your quirks and imperfections isn't just about accepting negatives - they can actually be what make you attractive, especially if you're confident. I have a friend who has a squeaky voice. She hates it and wishes she could change it. But when she told me that I was shocked, because I think it's one of the things that makes her unique, charming and just herself. I don't think "oh her voice could be better" - I think "oh that's my friend X!"

You say yourself you have an issue. it's not about what you look like, it's about confidence and how you feel. I do know what you mean as I can have days when I feel like the back of a bus and days when I feel like I look fab – but it's the same person in the mirror.

But don't fall into the trap of thinking if you could force everything about yourself towards a more standard, narrow ideal of beauty, you would be better. Work on accepting that it tales all sorts and people can't see how special and lovely you are if you're just like everyone else.

And work on banishing that twatty comment from your teen years. It didn't mean anything except "I'm an insecure person who needs something scornful to say to make myself feel better". The person may even have thought you were more attractive than them and it made them uncomfortable so they wanted to slag you off. That comment was their problem, not yours.

So I think you should pop the top bit up of your hair with a nice clip,because your face is lovely.

Secondly, I think the other photo the recent on isn't directly after you've put makeup on and are posing. It's a really normal, photo of anyone.

You are beautiful. You are a good person.

I'm also going to suggest bigger glasses! I think they would highlight your face.

Powdery pink lipstick and paler clothes will look really nice on you ❤️** do you blow dry your hair?

I did used to always blow dry my hair, but I've stopped doing it now. Mainly because my hair is in much better condition now I've stopped forcing it to do something it doesn't want to do, and because I'm outside so much, the blow dry never lasts.

You are so lucky to not need to blow dry it.

Get a clip and show of your pretty face, some pink lipstick and a plummy blush! You are beautiful

Genuinely, you should be much happier with your looks. A lot of people would be delighted to look like you

I was once described as nice from a far but far from nice. I don't let it bother me!

Please try to appreciate your looks now as one day you'll look back and realise you were gorgeous but it'll be too late then

Highly recommend therapy for your self confidence. Haven't read through the whole thread but you look lovely - fantastic hair and your skin looks good too.

It's a shame you don't have many photos of when you were younger as you'd probably look at them now and realise you looked lovely - that certainly happened to me, and now I've realised that in ten+ years time I'll look back on photos of me now and realise the same. However I also look at those photos and wish I'd been more adventurous with hair, makeup and clothes, so I try to keep that in mind. Regular haircuts, dentist, manicures etc all make a difference to self confidence. Good luck OP!