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Ieva Pečiulytė

57 Things Women Did To Their Bodies As Teens Because Beauty Standards Said They Should

We’ve all tried some beauty hacks or tips thinking they’d make us prettier or give us glowing skin, and most times they backfired in ways we never expected. As women, it is sort of normalized that we will try to keep up with the latest beauty trends and if we fail, we’re usually our own toughest critics.

Whether it’s because of the media, the society, or boys, it’s way too easy for teenage girls to get sucked into a wormhole trying to fit beauty standards.

Recently, some women took to TikTok to share those moments when they realized, way too late, that all the things they were doing to their bodies to feel “prettier” — the stuff that felt normal at the time — were actually hurting them. Some of the hacks they tried are totally wild and we hope no one ever tries them again.

Woman’s teen beauty 'hack' sparks a wave of confessions

#1

When I used to nail file my teeth to look like vampire teeth.

#2

I sucked in my belly so much I developed hourglass syndrome and still can’t fully relax my stomach muscles when standing 😩 also always feels like I can never take in a full breath.

#3

I put ice packs on my stomach thinking I could 'freeze the fat off'. It went numb after 45 minutes and I forgot, my stomach got hard and waxy so I poured boiling water on it to thaw it out and now I have a huge ice burn scar from 5 years ago.

Unrealistic beauty standards have always existed.

Take 13th‑century China, for example, where tiny feet were considered beautiful and women went through the painful practice of foot-binding to get them. Or the Victorian era, when the “tuberculosis look” was all the rage — pale skin, red lips, and super tiny waists were considered the height of beauty.

Today, with screens right in our pockets, being able to see what other women from around the world look like just makes it worse. Constantly comparing ourselves to celebrities and influencers can make us feel like we’re not measuring up.

The recent “Slavic” trend online is a glaring example of this. Women are being pressured to look ultra-feminine and soft, yet strong and distant or mysterious — basically fitting all the impossible beauty standards.

The internet has been full of videos like ‘How to Be a Slavic Doll’ or ‘How to Date a Slavic Woman’ — the trend which quickly went viral openly promotes unhealthy beauty ideals, stereotypes and fetishization of Eastern European women.

But then again, why do we feel like we have to meet certain beauty ideals? And who decides what’s “beautiful”?

#4

I scrubbed my front teeth so hard and overly brushed them for hours bc I thought it would make them white now I have an enamel of an old person.

#5

I stabbed myself over and over again with a sewing needle and put brown ink from a pen in the open wounds as an attempt to get freckles and I will say 14 years later they are still very much there:/

#6

When I was younger I used the edge of my toy house to push my front teeth together bcs my gap was actually tragic (and It worked LMAO).

#7

I put rubber bands around my two front teeth to try and get rid of my tooth gap 😭

Being considered good-looking can open doors in ways most people don’t even realize. While this has been true throughout history — Edward Thorndike even described it in the 1920s with his Halo Effect — the idea of “pretty privilege” became popular more recently, especially in online feminist conversations and social media platforms.

Research shows that looking a certain way often feels linked to being accepted, confident, or successful — so it’s easy to feel like you have to meet those beauty standards just to feel valued.

Experts say these standards are learned from culture, family, and social norms, not naturally hard‑wired.

Compliments on how you look or comments about body shape during childhood can deeply affect how you look at yourself later in life.

#8

I faked every eye exam because I wanted to look like the cute quirky book nerd. And get prescribed glasses. My eyes adjusted, and now I actually need the glasses.

#9

The way I slept in saran wrap every night at 11 was criminal.

#10

When I wipe my makeup off and see the beauty mark I tattooed with eyeliner and a needle at 16.

Trying to keep up with a trend or comparing yourself to unrealistic body images can leave a long-lasting impact. It can even lead to serious physical or mental health issues, such as anxiety and eating disorders.

It’s easy to feel conscious or unhappy with your own body when you believe you need to look a certain way to be seen as attractive or even accepted in the society.

Such beauty standards can affect people’s overall well‑being — lowering self-esteem, and even keeping them from hanging out with friends or getting into relationships.

#11

I always sucked in my stomach when I was little and now i have horrible flared ribs.

#12

I used to shove earrings through my ear when I wanted new piercings.

#13

I was constantly trying to slouch and stand leaning on one leg to appear shorter. I’ve always been tall and wanted to be short and cute like my friends. Now I’m shaped like a question mark permanently.

#14

Anyone else chemical burn their skin trying to remove their freckles only for it to be trendy when we got older?

#15

I had a mole on my face and cut it off.

Knowing the difference between what is real and what isn’t, especially when it comes from an online source, can make a huge difference when it comes to self-confidence and body image.

Following more body-positive celebrities and influencers is one of the ways to stop yourself from feeling insecure.

At the same time, it’s also important to surround yourself with people who value you for who you are, instead of how you look — people who don’t constantly comment on your appearance, or give unsolicited advice on diet and exercise.

Some experts also give pointers on how not to fall prey to unrealistic beauty standards.

“Talk to older people and ask them what trends were popular when they were younger. You’ll realise that aspirations were very different even 10 years ago, and will therefore likely change in the future,” professor of psychology Phillippa Diedrichs told The Guardian.

But if you find yourself going deeper and deeper into the wormhole, it is important to reach out to a therapist to understand the thoughts and emotions that can stem from the pressure to meet impossible beauty standards.

#16

I liked Gerard way a lot so I practiced the way he spoke out of the side of his mouth for hours and now I look like a 50 yr old chain smoker without the cigarette hanging out of my mouth every time I talk.

#17

Had a skin tag and cut it off now I have a hole in my skin.

#18

i used to spend about an hour per day dragging my face across carpet flooring cause I liked how red faces looked.

#19

I would press my fingers into the sides of my face hard to try and get dimples. I now have small varicose veins there 🤣 and no dimples.

#20

I used to stare at the sun for like a couple seconds till my eyes hurt cause I was jealous of people wearing glasses as a kid.

#21

Me when I used to put rhinestones on my teeth with NAIL glue.

#22

When I was little I was sooo insecure abt my arm hair so I poured clear nail polish all over my arms to convince my family I had a skin disease so they would have to shave my arms ?? the doctor came in w nail polish remover so fast😭

#23

I used to shave my entireee face and one day my mom said “did you shave ur face??” In front of all my friends I was so embarrassed.

#24

When I look at my wrist and see the heart shaped scar because a friend in high school said she could give me a pencil “tattoo.”

#25

I use to wear a Bobby pin on my nose to make it smaller.

#26

In elementary school I wanted chin like Demi Lovato so I scratched a line on my chin for a few months until my mom saw the scab and made me stop. I still have a scar 😭

#27

This is me wondering why my heart beats so fast all the time and remembering I used to eat so many little packets of salt as a snack.

#28

I blame the YouTube videos that told me to put loom bands and earring backs on my teeth for fake braces.

#29

Used a nail file on my nose because it’s too big, scratched my eyes to try get glasses and repeatedly banged my face on my bunkbed to make my teeth fall out because people younger than me were getting adult teeth before me.

#30

I used to wake up at 3am every morning because I read it was the highest your metabolism was so I could do 150sit ups.. which did nothing because I refused to eat, so I just sucked in my tummy all the time and now I have tummy pains and my body can't tell me when I'm hungry until I shake.

#31

Had me up all night doing “Ab workouts” and drinking lemon water by 8am at 12.

#32

I wanted braces so bad that I’d wrap rubber bands around my teeth that my friend, who actually had braces, gave me. Now my two front teeth tilt towards each other bc the bands pushed them together :/ tragic

#33

I pierced my own lip twice it was very graphic, painful and unsanitary.

#34

I used to put salt in my eyes so that I can wear glasses and look cool😭now I have eyesight problems.

#35

Me with my horrible posture and scoliosis because I thought having bad surfer girl posture looked cool as a kid.

#36

I once cut my eyelashes with nail clippers bc everyone at gymnastics told me they were really long so I interpreted that as a bad thing lmao.

#37

when I was younger I used to violently squeeze and press my nose together with my fingers to make it smaller (im talking the bridge bone as well) and now I have a deviated septum on one side 😇

#38

I “pierced” my own bellybutton when I was 15. I used an earring use for ear piercings.

#39

I literally would put straight raw honey in my eyes because the internet told me that could lighten them in color...anyway so I appreciate dark brown eyes now.

#40

I used to purposefully put bruises on my legs when I was younger so that I looked cool. I would push corners into myself so hard, that now I'm stuck with dents, marks, and easily bruise-able legs.

#41

Me laughing at the comment section till I remembered how I created my back dimples in middle school😂🤦🏽‍♀️welp guess we all had no dollar and a dream.

#42

Would wear a side bang over one eye so I could get glasses. now i have a lazy eye and permanent side bang.

#43

I’m flat footed so I would purposely stand on the outside of my foot but now I permanently walk bowed legged & my spine is crooked.

#44

Oh and I painted my hair red with edding because I wasn‘t allowed to dye it yet. Needless to say it didn‘t work and my neck, my clothes etc. Got red from it :)

#45

When I was younger I hated my blonde hair and so I took my black mascara and spread it all over my eyebrows and I used coffee grounds and eyeshadow to dye my hair 😭 my eyebrows stayed dark the rest of my teen years.

#46

I used to not be able to raise one eyebrow, but I really wanted to. So I would practice all the time in the mirror, holding one down with my finger while I tried to raise the other. It worked, but now one of my eyebrows is pointy and the other isn’t.

#47

When I was 9 i was so sick of sweating because i got made fun of my sweat patches in pe and thought spraying deodorant all over my body would make me never sweat again. To this day I am covered in burn scars.

#48

After a while i stopped losing baby teeth. So one day I just started pulling and got the last 3 out in like an hour.

#49

Where are all the girls that got dimples using a pen on their cheeks???

#50

I used to wake up at 4am everyday in freshman yr to do my makeup cause i was so insecure and felt like i needed to put on a mask.

#51

I faked needing glasses when I was 9 to cover a mole on the side of my nose and now I cannot see anything beyond my hand.

#52

Used to be obsessed with smirking and smirked every time I was asked to smile when I was younger. now whenever I smile my smile is lopsided and whenever I talk I talk lopsided.

#53

one of my eyebrows is permanently lifted in photos and in general bcuz I rly liked how Bella Swan did it so I forced myself to do it automatically.

#54

I would scream in a pillow so my voice would be raspy.

#55

I used to purposely stay up late and not sleep so i could have "cool" under eye bags now i just constantly look slightly sick.

#56

I thought it’d be cute and quirky to have a high pitched “adorable” sneeze and now I can’t stop I literally reprogrammed my freaking sneeze.

#57

In 5th grade I was obsesses with Quinn Fabray from Glee and I copied the way she purses her lips when she talks and the way her voice is very airy and I realized literally like a week ago that I STILL talk like that. I was sick.

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