Nazhaya Barcelona is quite literally changing the face of the beauty industry. In 2019, a photo of the model and beauty influencer went viral for a reason unusual for most models. No, it wasn’t a major photoshop fail where she was sporting 3 arms or an extra finger. An unretouched photo of the model sporting pastel eyeliner caught attention due to the texture of her skin. Nazhaya had very visible acne. As a woman in her early twenties, acne certainly wasn’t a surprise–just as it isn’t for a lot of us. However, seeing it in all its unedited, filter-free glory on social media isn’t something a lot of us are used to, especially in the beauty and fashion industry.
The photo sparked a myriad of reactions. Some were appalled that anyone would dare hire a model with severe acne for a beauty shot and then choose not to edit her skin. Some users threw gagging emojis in the comment section and hurled insults at the model herself. The usual for those who know little to nothing about acne. “Has she never washed her face!?” She shouldn’t wear makeup, that’s why her skin is so bad!” Others found the photo to be inspiring and incredibly refreshing. They celebrated the model and editing team for promoting a more natural and realistic beauty idea of beauty. “Proof you can be beautiful with acne!” “We need more of this in media!” Any way you slice it, the people were divided. The photo quickly grabbed the attention of what was a practically nonexistent community at the time—and one you still might not have heard of–the acne positivity community.
The acne positivity community is an online group of (mostly) women dedicated to acne acceptance and the idea of loving oneself with acne, not despite it. The truth is over 90% of people deal with acne (two or more pimples on one’s face at a time) at some point in their life and acne is not something to solely be associated with puberty and teenagers. Acne is a sometimes incurable or only partially curable condition that many of us deal with well into adulthood despite what the internet and media might put out there. When her photo grabbed the heartstrings of other women on social media, Nazahaya Barcelona made the choice to take a stand and create a YouTube channel all about her acne journey and life as a woman with acne. And she isn’t the only one who is putting their unaltered image out there in the social sphere.
Many women such as Sofia Grahn and Oyintofe Oduyingbo have dedicated their social platforms to spreading the love for all skin types and celebrating the confidence that comes with owning your own imperfections. It begs the question; how do we feel about our skin? And is that we feel that way. Growing up in the age of airbrushing, skin-lightning, tanning, and more it’s easy to feel that compared to everyone else we are lacking. Joining the acne positivity movement and celebrating our own spots and scars could be the first step to seeing real change in the beauty industry. You can be the face of change by joining the hundreds of women hashtagging #acnepositivty or #realskinpositivity on your next photo and foregoing the filter in your next selfie.
Beauty is more than skin deep and cannot and should not be judged by the bumps, lumps, and different colors of one’s skin. We are at a unique time in history, where long-standing beauty ideals are being challenged and revamped. Now is the time for us to band together and work for change in what is seen as beautiful skin. The idea that skin must be completely smooth and poreless is both damaging and completely unrealistic. While companies like Aerie are celebrating the unedited and real bodies of everyday women, our skin and beauty brands should begin to follow suit. Skin that is cared for is good. Variations of color and texture are just part is being a real human. And being real is a part of fashion that should never go out of style! Let’s work on making it that way.
