An Influencer Highlights Her Mustache and Encourages Women to Ditch Filters and Enjoy Their True Selves

It has been found plenty of times in the past that women feel way more dissatisfaction about their bodies than men do. It’s the beauty standards that are always shifting as we keep entering new eras. And Joanna Kenny knows a lot about how not being able to keep up with these standards can knock a woman’s self-esteem down. As an esthetician, she meets many women who struggle with different things that make them doubt their attractiveness.

Bright Side chatted with Joanna and would like to share some of her photos and opinions about today’s beauty standards.

She says we need to stop striving for what someone else thinks is beautiful.

“What’s becoming more frequent is people’s desire to achieve the same ‘poreless’ skin as their social media filter. This warped perspective of what skin should look like creates unobtainable skincare goals and any real progress is overlooked. It’s my responsibility to manage their expectations and remind them they have pores and not flaws.”

Joanna became viral when she showed off her mustache.

“Me highlighting my mustache hair is not me saying ‘Hey, you SHOULD find this attractive.’ Instead, it is serving as a reminder that they don’t HAVE to remove their facial hair to be seen as feminine. In 2021 a woman’s existence is still largely centered around how attractive men find them. I want people to make choices about their bodies without fear of judgment.”

She has also struggled with acne and not removing her hair has helped her face clear up.

Joanna would use any product to remove her facial hair and, as a result, her acne would get much worse. She also understands that “there are people who have a hormonal imbalance or have to take medication that makes their hair grow excessively. And right now they can’t keep up with the societal pressure to remove or bleach every single hair to fit in. There are also people that can’t afford to have their hair removed professionally and DIY methods aggravate their skin.”

She showcases how filters alter someone’s face into looking “perfect.”

She advises people to stop using filters when they don’t feel beautiful without them and they are just not fun anymore. Also, they are a problem if you don’t want to see your friends in real life because they will see your natural face. If you start to compare yourself to your filtered image, then you surely need to erase them. We all have bad skin days, but you shouldn’t let them make you feel unworthy.

She wants everyone to understand that women are not made to please others.

“There are people who struggle with acne or facial hair and who will read the hate comments. These will be all the confirmation they need that they won’t be accepted as the human that they are. I’m not sorry if visible facial hair makes people uncomfortable and I certainly don’t care if men find me less attractive. I do not make decisions about my body to please other people and no one should.”

Do you struggle with acne or facial hair and, if so, how do you deal with the stigma that follows them? You can follow Joanna on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok for a daily reminder that you are beautiful just the way you are.

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