Looking like you is a big flex. When did the goal of beauty become trying to look exactly like everyone else?

Every time you open social media, there’s a new standard to follow, a new filter to mimic, and a new aesthetic that suddenly everyone is wearing. But the true point of makeup, haircare, and skincare isn’t to chase what everyone else is doing. It’s to approach beauty from a perspective of what makes you look your absolute best. It’s about diving deep into what makes you the best version of yourself, rather than asking, “How can I force my face to fit this trend?”

Take some of the viral trends we’ve seen lately. Somewhere along the line, an internet personality decided it was a great idea to heavily line only the upper lip with a black pencil. Almost overnight, thousands of women started doing it, completely ignoring the fact that on a lot of faces, it just ends up looking like a mustache.

Or let’s talk about the chokehold that “baby edges” have on us. Natural 4c adult hair simply doesn’t have baby hairs, and honestly, that should be left for actual babies. I have yet to see an adult whose unique, stunning beauty was elevated because of glued-down hair on their forehead. No shade to the baby hair enthusiasts 🤣, but I just think it’s funny how grown women spend time gluing hair to their skin to look like infants.

How to look authentic in today’s beauty climate?

If everyone had the exact same face, we’d lose the magic of our individual personalities. Our faces carry our stories. The best way to approach makeup is to use it to accentuate our inherent strengths, not to mask them. For instance, if you have distinct, uniquely shaped eyes, why hide them behind a wall of heavy, identical strip lashes? You can make them even more mesmerizing by creating and using your own eyeliner technique or adding a custom made flattering color combo designed. The goal should never be to erase your face; it should be to highlight the best of it🤍

This same logic applies to nails, which is incredibly important. So many women have stunning, naturally long nail beds that, with just a little care and cuticle oil, could grow out beautifully. Yet, they don’t feel “glamorous” unless they file them down and cover them in heavy acrylics just to look like everyone else’s glam. You can nurture your natural nails and style them beautifully.

These nails are stunning and can be perfectly styled💅

That’s exactly why at Turning Heads Salon, we don’t just copy and paste the latest internet trends onto every client who walks through the door. Some trends are fundamentally damaging to your hair, skin, and nails. When you come to us, you get a much-needed free consultation so we can figure out what actually serves you.

Following trends can become toxic, and historically, it always has been. Think about the super-tight corsets from the Victorian era that literally caused women to pass out, which society accepted as normal until people finally realized how absurd and dangerous it was.

And if we look globally, beauty standards have pushed women to do unimaginable things. In China, there was a centuries-long practice of foot binding, where young girls had their toes broken and bound tightly against their soles to stop their feet from growing. Why? Because the society of the time dictated that absurdly small feet were the ultimate beauty standard. They believed it simply because others told them so. I have normal-to-large feet, and I have always loved them. Why? Because no one ever taught me to hate them.

Trends almost always stem from a desperate desire to fit a mold. Because of that, you have to approach them from a place of self-preservation. A trend must serve you; it should never try to erase you or mold you into a stereotypical clone. We live in a world where everyone is walking around with the same eyebrows and contour, you start to crave natural faces. You start to truly appreciate uniqueness. Often, the very thing you admire in someone else’s face is the exact feature they grew up feeling insecure about.

We always hear the saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” In this context, it means that beauty isn’t a fixed, viral standard. It isn’t a monolith. True beauty is subjective, and the moment you decide to behold your own features with grace, you set the standard for yourself. Approach your beauty and skincare routines from a foundation of self-love and self-appreciation. That is the only way you will be able to filter noise and protect your beautiful uniqueness.