They say outer appearances aren’t necessary, but they might be overlooking one reality in life: Your looks can affect how others perceive you, especially your potential employers. Indeed, you’ll never see a flight attendant with unruly hair or supermodels with body hair.
But this isn’t to say that unruly hair, body hair, and other natural imperfections aren’t okay. They still make us beautiful, but having them fixed can sometimes be beneficial, too. They boost our self-confidence, which makes us eager to take more opportunities and accept more challenges.
Thus, if you’re feeling guilty for purchasing a pair of professional hair-cutting scissors, wipe the frown off your face, because you haven’t done it for silly reasons. By learning the craft of hair-cutting, you’re helping more people build up their self-confidence, and that’s an achievement worth being proud of!
That said, let’s delve deeper into the impacts of a makeover to our self-confidence.
Makeup Makes People Feel Smarter
If applying makeup encourages you and makes you feel ready for the day, you’re experiencing what studies call the “lipstick effect,” which is a psychological phenomenon that boosts self-confidence, making the wearer feel more attractive. Makeup helps people increase their self-esteem and improve their personality.
Studies from the past indicated that the lipstick effect also helps in improving one’s academic performance. This is backed up by a recent study made by researchers from the University of Chieti and the Harvard Medical School. In their study, the participants who wore makeup performed better in the Psychology tests given to them compared to their fellow participants. The latter only listened to positive music while doing the experiments.
The participants were also asked to report how beautiful they felt. Unsurprisingly, the participants wearing makeup reported a higher perception of beauty compared to the bare-faced participants. These findings prove that makeup is more than just products that enhance one’s beauty. They also improve your intellectual ability and self-esteem.
A New Haircut Gives People a Spike in Confidence
There are plenty of reasons we instantly feel better about ourselves after a visit to the hair salon. A new haircut feels refreshing, not just because you’ve chopped off your bothersome locks but also because the new look equips you with the energy to approach life from a new perspective. It seems like an exaggerated effect, but it’s true; it’s the reason women commonly associate a haircut with starting a new chapter in their lives, usually after going through a break-up.
Like makeup, a haircut is also emboldening and empowering, especially if the new style suits your personality well. As such, you’d find yourself often complimenting your looks, which gives you a confidence boost.
Hair, in itself, is also a source of pride for many people, regardless if they style it dramatically or not. For that reason, aging people with receding hairlines and thinning hair often feel insecure. Younger people, on the other hand, tend to feel cranky if they’re having a bad hair day.
These hair-related insecurities pushed for the development of hair transplants and other permanent hair-repairing technologies. And of course, there’s no problem that a good old haircut can’t fix!
Therefore, if anybody tells you that getting a makeover is nothing but an act of vanity, you don’t have to feel dejected because feeling beautiful and empowered is never just about satisfying your vanity. The newfound confidence inspires you to reach more heights and radiate happiness and positivity to everyone around you.
