Is the quest for ‘glass skin’ promoting harmful ideals of skincare?

Beauty experts are sounding the alarm on why your skin does not need to shimmer with the luminosity of a thousand suns

When a casual afternoon conversation on revenge bedtime procrastination had my former boss recommending K-dramas to me, I couldn’t help having my curiosity piqued. What were these slow-burn romances that had been promised to take my breath away? But even as a set of good-looking celebrities did the will-they-won’t-they dance of contractual relationships and long-lost childhood connections, my attention remained fixated elsewhere: The acres of crystal-clear, poreless and seemingly ageless skin underscored by a lit-from-within luminosity that I could perhaps only lay claim to after downing a vat of liquid highlighter. 

As my infatuation ballooned with this impossibly dewy skin that the faces on my screen—men and women alike—appeared to have been blessed with, the internet was only too happy to feed my obsession. ‘This Korean makeup artist’s glass skin routine is going viral’ proclaimed one headline, while another quickly interjected, “Forget glass skin, mirror skin is the K-beauty trend to know about’. The quest for this covetable complexion appears to be universal—a quick search on Instagram for #glassskin will fetch over 725,000 results for your perusal, with endless step-by-step guides, how-tos and tutorials on skin that is smooth, blemish-free, lustrous enough to give the appearance of glass and, perhaps, unattainable. 

Nobody can have perfect skin

The notion is backed by Dr Kiran Sethi, founder of Isya Aesthetics in New Delhi, who believes that glass skin can only be achieved by a conjunction of Instagram filters and Photoshop—and hey, why not throw in some pixie dust while you are at it? “Frankly, it is impossible to have perfect skin unless you hit the genetic lottery. Our skin is an expression of everything that is on the inside, including our diet, lifestyle choices, pain and stress—so how can it be perfect? The primary purpose of skin is not to radiate like glass but to offer protection against external elements such as pollution, climate changes, toxins and environmental aggressors,” she shares.  

While armchair experts on the internet would have you believe that flawless skin is just one serum away, Sethi is of the opinion that creams and over-the-counter formulas are simply not enough. If you are looking to achieve this ideal of perfect skin, you will need to maintain strict vigilance over your diet—say bye to high-glycemic foods, dairy, whey protein, artificial sweeteners, processed foods, alcohol and cigarettes—while maintaining a consistent sleep sleep schedule and making room in your routine for exercise and yoga for mental peace. You might also have to invest time in treatments like microneedling, lasers and peels for that glass-like glow. And even then, it may not be enough.

“The geographical conditions that you live in—from the climate to sudden weather changes to the levels of pollution—all determine how your skin looks. The bottomline is that nobody can have perfect skin. You may face stresses in life that trigger an errant pimple, and expecting yourself to have perfect skin is impossible. Instead, let’s aim for good, healthy skin and feeling good about ourselves,” says Sethi. 

The wisdom behind her words is echoed by celebrity make-up artist Namrata Soni. “Expecting your skin to be radiant like glass is realistically only achievable if you live in a bubble. Despite having had relatively fewer skincare problems all my life, my skin went for a toss at the age of 37 because of hormonal changes and IVF treatments. As someone who had never had these problems as a teenager, it was hard for me to face this but I am grateful for this experience because it has made me accept myself for who I am,” she reminisces. 

Today, Soni has decided to pour her learnings into her brand, Simply Nam. “As a make-up artist who has been in this field for over two decades, it has been my biggest goal to help people embrace themselves [for who they are]. We reinforce this message through the models we choose for our campaigns and photoshoots by portraying a wide range of skin colours and textures. The message is clear: It is normal to be normal. Real skin has texture, open pores, discolouration and unevenness. As women, we need to strive for good, healthy skin because it is half the battle won and doesn’t need to be covered with endless layers of make-up,” she iterates. 

The winds of change have clearly been sweeping through the industry, and beauty founders like Shamika Haldipurkar of the brand d’you are committed to ensuring that their brand messaging and marketing do not perpetuate unrealistic standards of perfection. She elaborates, “We strongly advocate that skincare is not magical and there are no overnight transformations to be expected. This is reflected in our campaigns which are devoid of Photoshop and retouching. We also look to pick models of all skin tones, shades and skin textures. Having ‘good skin’ is not a selection criteria, so any model who fits the campaign brief is chosen.”

At the end of the day, Haldipurkar believes that while products can work to a certain extent, showing love to your skin is most crucial. “Every few months, there is a new buzzword for what your skin should be like—there’s glass skin, dumpling skin and even mochi skin. But skin is skin, not food. Real skin has texture, pores, hair and, most importantly, it’s a living tissue that magically regulates itself. The only standard for skin should be healthy skin, in whatever raw form it exists,” she concludes.

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