Beauty myth debunked – it’s bad news for the 32% of women who believe in it
A survey of 2,000 women revealed that 32% have adhered to the myth that avoiding shaving their legs will result in thicker hair growth, despite the fact that it has no impact on the colour, thickness or speed of hair growth. Meanwhile, 22% have resorted to using toothpaste to alleviate spots, unaware that it can actually exacerbate skin irritation.
Other beauty myths that women have fallen for over the years include the belief that crossing your legs leads to varicose veins, plucking grey hairs results in more growing back, and eating chocolate causes spots.
Some women also believe that cutting hair encourages faster growth, despite this having little effect on growth rate, or that overplucking eyebrows is harmless as they will regrow.
However, the study also found that more than one in twenty (6%) have been physically harmed by a beauty myth they tried, with some experiencing skin reactions, bruising and even burns.
TV presenter Frankie Bridge, an ambassador for beauty supplement brand Perfectil, which aims to debunk beauty myths, said: “I’ve spent a lot of time in the past googling various beauty myths and then giving them a go, hoping they would be the quick fix I was looking for. As you can imagine, I was almost always left disappointed. I’m sure we all have our own mishaps and stories to share.”
“I feel like a lot of women a similar age to me are probably guilty of over plucking their eyebrows back in the day – that was definitely one of my mistakes.”
“It’s so hard to know exactly what’s real and what’s not, especially with the internet and social media making it so much easier for false pieces of advice to quickly become viral and therefore we all seemingly jump on them.”
“However when it comes to our skin, hair and nails, we all want to make sure that what we are doing is not going to do more harm than good.”
(Image: PinPep)
The study also found 58% of women believe there is more fiction than fact out there when it comes to beauty advice. Great reviews from customers (39%) are most likely to make someone trust a beauty product, along with knowing it has gone through a scientific trial (39%), and an explanation of the science behind the product (29%).
For Gen Z, a social media video showing it being used (22%) and influencer recommendations (12%) are also key. But just 7% of all women tend to believe the results shown in before and after photos – with older generations of women more sceptical than their younger counterparts.
Generally, just 16% trust beauty information they see on social media – but this rises to 41% of Gen Z. The study also discovered that a quarter of women have been influenced by social media to purchase a beauty product – this behaviour being twice as common among the Gen Z and Millennial generations compared to Gen X or Boomers. Nevertheless, just 45% were satisfied with the results of these products, according to the statistics from OnePoll.
Perfectil’s Susanne Bisinotti, who with aesthetician Katie Onyejekwe created a guide to debunk the UK’s most prevalent beauty myths, noted, “It can be overwhelming to sift through the vast amount of beauty advice available today. Perfectil is striving to provide clarity by debunking common beauty myths and assisting women in making informed decisions about their beauty regimes, leading to real, positive outcomes for their skin, hair, and nails.”
TOP 10 MOST COMMONLY BELIEVED BEAUTY BELIEFS – FACT OR FICTION?
- White spots on nails signify vitamin deficiencies (Partially true).
- Daily intake of two litres of water leads to clear skin (Partially true).
- Daily makeup application is harmful to skin (Fiction).
- Shaving legs stimulate thicker hair growth (Fiction).
- A daily face wash is needed to maintain clear, healthy skin (Partially true).
- Gel manicures can damage nails (Partially true).
- Haircuts accelerate hair growth (Fiction).
- Toothpaste helps reduce pimples (Fiction).
- Washing hair less often can train it to produce less oil (Fiction).
- Eating chocolates causes breakouts (Fiction).
