The great rebellion of Generation Z. They are fed up with beauty rituals

This seems to have gone a bit too far. After watching one popular influencer plunge his face into a bowl of ice water in the middle of the night (yes, 4 a.m. is still night), I froze. Does he really need this? Does he actually derive any benefits or pleasure from it? However, as the facts show, not necessarily. Forced to report their lives on social media, Generation Z is simply feeling exhausted by the sheer number of beauty treatments they are "forced" to perform every day. What was supposed to be a relaxing ritual has become an unpleasant chore, compounded by societal pressures and a lifestyle imposed by "celebrities." It's no wonder, then, that some may feel truly exhausted by the constant attention to their physical appearance and, theoretically, their overall well-being.

"Girl maintenance" - everything you "have" to do to be beautiful

Recently, the term "Girl maintenance" has appeared online, meaning a set of regular care and beauty treatments performed by women, such as manicures, makeup, hair styling, and spa treatments, which have little to do with the pleasure of a beauty treatment, and have now become the main responsibility of all those who want to look "something."

There are countless discussions online on this topic, questioning the true purpose of beauty treatments. In fact, over the decades, women have been "convinced" that they must utilize certain beauty services to meet attractiveness standards. Therefore, driven by this sense of obligation, certain treatments, whether beauty or aesthetic medicine, have become dangerously popular. Taking advantage of such "benefits" from the beauty industry is now seen as an unquestionable affirmation of one's femininity. This can be truly exhausting.

Multi-step skincare rituals – YES, if you do it for yourself

As experts note, more and more people are currently forgoing salon treatments, which is due to several factors. Firstly, the rising prices of services, and secondly, easy access to such services in the comfort of your own home, using instructions from TikTok or another platform.

Experts believe that using beauty treatments only makes sense if we do them "for our own use" and not to be accepted on the Internet.

Skincare, even multi-step treatments that involve applying multiple layers of cosmetics, should stem from the physical needs of the skin, the desire to feel "taken care of," or the need to improve one's well-being through such a treatment. In reality, self-care should be a series of long-term habits that translate into improved quality of life. If a procedure is both mentally and physically tiring, it's far from being truly beneficial.

You don't drink matcha in the morning, you're a loser

But what about that group of people who believe they maintain work-life balance and practice mindfulness, but who are actually stretching the day to its limits to achieve someone else's "ideal" life? A culture of obsessive self-care can pose serious risks, especially for those who do it out of a sense of obligation. This can easily push them towards depression or burnout.

Watching (let's be honest) your imagined life on Instagram can effectively lower your self-esteem and constantly put you in a "worse" position. Even though it's not actually like that in real life. Life doesn't really depend on whether you put one cream on your face or four. And if someone actually perceives it that way, it means that the "just taking care of yourself" situation has gotten significantly out of control.

This doesn't mean, however, that we should abandon all beauty treatments and "give ourselves over to nature" (though that's fine, if you prefer). It's important to focus on what truly brings us a sense of satisfaction, fulfillment, or relaxation. Regardless of what we choose, we've always loved experimenting with our appearance. Whether in the comfort of our own homes or in a professional salon. And as long as it doesn't become an obsessive attempt to achieve nonexistent ideals, there's nothing wrong with that. Perhaps there are people in the world who love getting up at 4 a.m. to take care of their well-being. Blessed are those who do it of their own free will.