What is an “Instagram Face”? Chances are you already had an image in your head before you finished reading the question. Look-a-likes of Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian; thoughtfully constructed eyebrows, faces heavily contoured and highlighted, lips matte and plump.
Social media has long been hailed for championing diversity, a welcome refuge from the often homogeneous mass media. But these days, people, in particular young girls, are increasingly striving to look the same — on the platform and in real life.
“For teens [in particular], looking good (as defined by norms of one’s social group and the rules of social engagement) is almost always a priority,” Dr. Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center, told The Post. “It used to be a question of not wanting to get caught out in public not looking good; the reach of what’s public has shifted.”
Indeed, social media has increased the pressures to be “selfie-ready” at all times, and arguably homogenized our ideals of beauty. “Social media is the worst thing that’s ever happened to the beauty industry,” celebrity makeup artist Pati Dubroff told New York Magazine. Makeup artist Kevin James Bennett agrees, adding that social media perpetuates but one aesthetic. “It’s like looking at a bunch of clones,” he told the New York Times. “They’re Botoxed, filled and surgeried to look like Kim.”
The social comparison is seemingly having an increasingly negative impact.
“I began working as a makeup artist because I like making women feel good and enhancing their natural beauty,” 29-year-old London-based makeup artist Gabriella Miguel told The Post. “Nowadays, every girl/woman that sits on my chair absolutely hates themselves, openly talks about it and asks me to completely change their face for an Instagram Face.”
It’s not just women adhering to these ideals of beauty; increasingly, male beauty bloggers and the like are also pandering to the “Instagram Face.” Makeup artist James Charles has the same aesthetic, and was recently made the first male face of makeup brand CoverGirl. “It’s no longer just a women’s game,” explained 29-year-old David Yi, founder of Very Good Light, a Gen Z-centric men’s beauty publication.
Instagram recently launched a new algorithm which gives popular posts more visibility, arguably making it more difficult to discover new aesthetics and alternate definitions of beauty.
What’s more, the images shared online are increasingly curated, retouched and reached by means of excessive makeup application and sometimes even plastic surgery; Kylie Jenner, 19, and Kim Kardashian, 36, have both admitted to having had work done. The demand is reflected in the real world, with plastic surgeons reporting a dramatic increase in people requesting “Instagram-worthy” surgeries.
According to Dr. Tijon Esho, celebrity plastic surgeon and resident doctor on hit British TV show “Body Fixers,” social media and influencers like Kylie Jenner amplify and accelerate trends. “At The ESHO Clinic lip fillers make up 70 percent of my daily list, which is a 45 percent increase over three years. I get over 150 requests per week, this has almost doubled in the last three years,” he told The Post.
Indeed, according to Dr. Ali Souied, plastic surgeon at the Skin and Follicle Clinic in London, “there’s been an increase in social media driven procedures that will augment or enhance social media presence or likes.” These, he told The Post, include lip fillers, cheek enhancements and non surgical rhinoplasties, many of which are signifiers of the “Instagram Face.”
“They want to look like computer-altered versions of themselves,” Esho explained. “Lots of my patients bring in images of themselves where [Instagram] filters have been overlaid and say that they want to achieve the look that the filter has given them.”
As Sarah Buglass, Ph.D. researcher at the Division of Psychology at Nottingham Trent University told The Post, comparing ourselves to others — in particular models and celebrities — is not a new phenomenon, what’s different now is that the people we’re comparing ourselves to are being presented to us in a more “real” environment. These days, it’s not just the rich and famous we’re comparing ourselves to, it’s our ‘friends’ and social connections, not to mention filtered images of our own face.
“Seeing such highly curated images validated online, by being ‘liked’ and commented on favorably by many others, gives an indication that the beauty ideals displayed are normal and socially desirable,” Buglass said. This may in turn have a negative impact on our self-esteem and mental health.
“Pre-social media, people were concerned that beauty ideals were being warped by the distribution of curated images (i.e. models, actresses) via mass media. The argument was that if women could see images of other ‘regular’ women, it would solve this problem,” Dr. Pamela Rutledge told The Post. “Now, of course, there are many more images of real people on the Internet than supermodels, yet the concerns over body image remain the same. Thus, we are forced to ask questions about our inherent lack of self-confidence, particularly when it comes to self-presentation.”
Indeed, the definitions and ideals around beauty are ever changing. It was not that long ago that Kim Kardashian, now hailed as the homogenized ideal of beauty, was far from that; many have praised her for broadening the ideals to include a more curvaceous body shape. Indeed, there are and will always be exceptions to the rule. These days, Alicia Keys has been championing no makeup, while the more natural makeup look is apparent everywhere from catwalks to beauty vlogs. Plus, as we increasingly settle into a social media driven world, we can only hope to find more bravery in our individuality.
In her “Saturday Night Live” hosting monologue, comedian Amy Schumer referenced the Kardashian-Jenner family, calling them “A whole family of women that take the faces they were born with as a light suggestion,” and despairing that the bevy of sisters are considered role models.
As Rutledge put it: “Role models can be both inspirational and detrimental to one’s self esteem; social comparison isn’t always negative… If, for example, you want to succeed like Jenner and you work as hard as she does at something, then it doesn’t matter if you try to style your eyebrows or puff up your lips like hers.
“It’s the same for young men who aspire to, for example, become a basketball star. If they emulate the shoes or clothes of a player and expect success, they will be angry and disappointed. If, however, they also spend every waking hour making free throws, the shoes — like the eyebrows — will be inspirational.”