Don't Obsess Over Beauty: Navigating Digital Standards and Islamic Moderation

In the age of social media, skincare has become a lifestyle, with increased awareness of hygiene, skin health, and cosmetic choices among various age groups, including men. This trend is fundamentally positive, encouraging self-care. However, it can escalate into an excessive phenomenon known as cosmeticorexia, an over-desire for beauty products and routines beyond actual needs.

Social media influence and content creators are pushing children and adolescents to adopt complex routines unsuitable for their age. Early use of multiple products can cause skin issues like redness, stinging, dryness, and inflammation. Simultaneously, the portrayal of perfect beauty on social media can trigger social comparison, damage self-confidence, and create emotional pressure for young people.

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Indeed, Allah is beautiful and loves beauty.

This situation highlights the importance of health literacy among consumers. Society must understand cosmetic ingredients, identify true skin needs, and resist being swayed by digital trends. Unregistered products, banned substances, and misleading marketing claims also require attention to protect consumers. Aesthetic treatments like lasers, injections, and microneedling are becoming more accessible. While certain treatments are safe when performed by certified practitioners, unsupervised procedures carry health risks and financial losses.

In Islam, maintaining cleanliness and appearance is not forbidden, as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "Indeed, Allah is beautiful and loves beauty." However, beauty should be accompanied by the principle of wasatiyyah, or moderation. Adornment should not lead to wastefulness, harm, deception, or extreme changes to one's natural state. Surah Al-A'raf, verse 31, also reminds people to "eat and drink, but be not excessive," a principle highly relevant to the growing digital beauty culture. Therefore, self-care should be guided by needs, health, and well-being, not by pressure to meet unrealistic beauty standards. True beauty reflects not only appearance but also one's wisdom in managing desires moderately and responsibly.

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eat and drink, but be not excessive