When Does Self-Care End and Beauty Insecurity Begin?

When Shay Mitchell announced the launch of rini, a line of sheet masks created especially for kids, the backlash came swiftly. People had concerns about many aspects of this launch — from the environmental impacts of sheet masks, to the capitalism of it all (do kids need above-and-beyond skincare? Obviously not). And one major concern? The beauty standards being thrust upon young kids.

Except...is that what's happening here? As I see it, the marketing around them feels much more oriented around the experience of using them, rather than the results you can achieve. There are no promises of glowing skin or acne reduction, just messages about how fun it can be for kids to have a little self-care spa experience (while possibly seeing some soothing benefits after, say, being out in the sun and feeling some skin irritation). 

Obviously, kids products and adult products serve different purposes and are marketed in different ways. But this launch is giving us a clear look at how we have culturally muddled the ideas of self-care and beauty standards. And the concerns about the overcomsuption angle here, while valid, also feel misdirected: After all, plenty of adults have 12-step skin care routines.

This brand is pretty clearly, at least as I see it, more about giving kids a taste of what it's like to practice self-care, yet the reactions are clearly tying this to chasing beauty standards at a very young age. And it's making me realize: Even for adults, the line between showing up for and caring for yourself and letting the beauty standards of the world lead you is razor thin.

Is scheduling a pedicure a matter of self-care? Or is it chasing an aesthetic expectation placed on women? What about getting regular facials? Applying makeup? Doing your hair? Putting on a cute outfit? Taking an everything shower?

There’s a lot of discourse online recently about how getting up and getting dressed every morning can make you feel good, even if you’re staying home all day. That feels like the perfect representation of this: Yes, taking some time to put yourself together even if you won’t be seeing anyone can feel like a way to pour into yourself…but it also feels like it can quickly slide us into this ethos about women “letting themselves go” if they don’t look a certain way.

I don’t know where exactly self-care stops being about truly caring for yourself and starts being about chasing some beauty ideal. Maybe it’s different for everyone. But it’s something worth thinking about.

Ask Clara: How much skincare do I need?