8 Unusual Beauty Standards in Different Asian Countries

Despite the global beauty standards that we see in glamorous magazines and fashion shows, every nation has its own unique features, traditions, and customs that are related to female beauty. For example, while people in other countries spend a lot on straightening their teeth, in Japan, women pay to make their teeth look snaggled. So we can say that beauty is indeed a relative term.

Bright Side has collected the most unusual beauty standards of the Asian region. And although some of them have historical roots, some women still follow them even today.

1. Unibrow (Tajikistan)

While women in different parts of the world pluck their eyebrows and use wax to get the perfect shape, for women in Tajikistan a natural unibrow is a traditional sign of beauty.

Those girls who were not gifted with bushy eyebrows use a special leafy green herb called ‘usma.’ They even color the space between eyebrows and create a unibrow. Parents are applying this easy trick to the brows of their daughters from their very childhood.

2. Neck elongating (Thailand)

Long necks are symbolic of females in the Kayan tribe. There are different roots to this tradition, and many believe that in the early days it protected women from slavery. However, some people say that with their long necks the women resemble dragons, which are important figures in the local folklore.

Girls start wearing brass coils when they are 5 years old and get more and more rings that elongate their necks as time goes on.

3. Teeth filing (Indonesia)

For people in Bali, tooth filling is a traditional ritual. This procedure is mainly done by teenagers in order to ’ward off evil spirits.’ Filed teeth in Indonesia are a sign of maturity. After this procedure teens are ready to marry.

Although the tooth filling process is not that harsh and not as widespread as it used to be, some Balinese people are still doing it even if they live far away from their homeland.

4. Long toenails (India)

In 2015 Shridhar Chillal from India became the person with the longest fingernails on a single hand ever recognized by Guinness World Records. However, Indian women don’t stop at long fingernails, they also grow long toenails. Unlike world trends, long colored toenails are considered to be popular here.

5. Heart-shaped face (South Korea)

South Korea has the largest number of cosmetic procedures in the world per capita. Face contouring is on the top-3 list of most popular plastic surgeries in South Korea. Despite potential risks, women may undergo cheekbone reduction, V-line, and jaw correction to try to obtain a heart-shaped face.

6. “Yaeba” — crooked teeth (Japan)

While people in other parts of the world spend a lot of money on straightening their teeth, the opposite trend is happening in Japan. Here, women pay to make their teeth snaggled. This tendency is called yaeba or “double tooth.” Dentists make “snaggleteeth” by putting permanent or temporary plastic fronts on upper canines.

These crooked teeth make women look younger and hence are popular among Japanese girls.

7. Black teeth (Japan)

Teeth blackening or ’ohaguro’ is a Japanese custom of dyeing teeth black with an iron liquid. Although currently, nobody uses this practice, it is worth noting that black teeth were considered beautiful in Japanese history. Ohaguro was a status symbol mostly used by females to show their beauty and their readiness to marry.

8. Nose bandage (Iran)

Due to the huge popularity of rhinoplasty, Iran has been dubbed the “nose job capital of the world.” The explanation behind this is that females mostly cover their bodies and heads and that is why they are passionate about their facial appearance.

The nasal tape after surgery even has a special name: “bandage of honor.” Women don’t try to hide it, but instead, they proudly show this as a sign of their recent rhinoplasty. Some of them continue wearing bandages even long after their surgeries as a symbol of wealth to show that they can afford this kind of operation.

What did you find to be the most unusual beauty standard from this list?