Makeup and Teenage Girls
by Lilah Haynes
I was 12 years old when I first started wearing mascara. I can remember finding the tube of mascara in my mother's bathroom. Curiously, I unscrewed the top of it. I could see the thick black formula on the wand. I carefully brushed it through my eyelashes and looked at the mirror. I remember that moment. I felt so pretty and so happy. Little did I know, this was the moment that my bare face had become less acceptable, inappropriate, and through my eyes, ugly. From that moment on, I wore some form of makeup every day to school from 7th grade through sophomore year. This is true for the majority of teenage girls.
While makeup can be used to express oneself creatively, one of its primary uses is to cover up flaws and insecurities. This is especially dangerous to teenage girls. During middle school and high school, all students are going through a multitude of changes physically, mentally, and emotionally. Physically, the muscles and bones in their faces are growing and most struggle with some form of acne. While we should be using this time in our lives to become comfortable with who we are becoming, makeup is causing us to hide behind a thick mask of products every day. If we don’t embrace how we look without makeup in high school, it can cause a negative self-image for the rest of our lives.
The biggest mistake that I made and that teenage girls usually end up making is that they feel the need to wear it every day. Last year I would apply mascara and blush before going anywhere. This included school, tennis practice, the store, and even the pool. Makeup is a very powerful tool if you take advantage of it. The way I used it, and many others are, is dangerous and toxic. I got so used to seeing my face with curled, black eyelashes, my blemishes covered with concealer, and having pink, rosy cheeks, that I started to hate myself when I didn’t have any makeup on. When I didn’t have time in the mornings to apply mascara or cover up my acne, I would bring it to school and apply my mask in secret. If I couldn’t do that, I would go through the rest of the day feeling extremely ugly, making sure not to be in any pictures and being embarrassed when talking to another girl who was wearing makeup. It is almost impossible for teenage girls to accept their natural beauty when they hardly ever see it. They get so accustomed to this version at themselves that it makes the other version seem less beautiful. Makeup has the power to hurt us but only if we allow it.
During my sophomore year, I realized that the way I was obsessed with wearing something on my face at all times was hurting the way I saw myself and I needed to make a change. I decided to stop wearing makeup altogether. Not permanently, just until I was able to appreciate the way I looked without the shield that makeup was providing. This was not an easy task as I had been religiously wearing mascara since the seventh grade. Choosing to show up to school without anything to hide the dark circles under my eyes and nothing to hide the acne on my forehead was scary. I felt vulnerable and honestly, hideous. After a few days passed, I started to feel less ugly and less exposed. After about a month passed, I was able to appreciate what I looked like without makeup. I became more confident and was able to focus on the aspects of my life other than my appearance. It also became much more special when I began to put on makeup for special occasions.
I believe makeup is a very powerful concept and can be used to enhance your natural features, as long as we don’t forget how beautiful we are without it. I encourage any high school girl who is struggling with this to take a break and to let their incredibly unique features be shown and embrace them.
