I don’t know about you, but when I began my first year of high school, I wore Old Navy rockstar skinny jeans, cringy hot topic t-shirts, tattoo chokers and a bare face. My parents never let me wear heavy makeup until I was around 16 and even then, I snuck fishnet tights and smudged black eyeshadow in the bathrooms at school in secret.
Now, though, teens are booking professional makeup appointments for their first day of high school. That’s right, spending actual money to make a bombshell entrance into class. For millennials and some Gen Z-ers like me, this phenomenon is hard to get our heads around.
Users on X agree, weighing in on whether or not this new trend is too much. User @alyakkkk sparked a long thread of discourse regarding first-day-of-school makeup appointments, tweeting, “The girls in high school now are making makeup appointments for the first day of school lol, times have really changed.”
Most of the comments poked fun at the idea of trying to impress people on the first day of high school, with one user responding, “Cus what? Who ya’ll tryna impress?” Another user was shook at the idea of “children” wearing a full face of makeup, noting how mascara, lipstick and eyeliner were the only things they wore growing up.
Others asked if Brazilian butt lifts were next on the table and inquired about the practicality of the trend. What makeup professionals take appointments at 6 a.m.? Hey, if I were a professional, I’d constantly be getting my money up, so it’s not too surprising.
While some businesses like Authentic Beauty in Atlanta offer teen makeup lessons and appointments, their earliest appoints are at 10 a.m., inferring that most of these other appointments are probably through local businesses or family/friend ties. There are only a handful of professional first-day-of-school makeup videos from 2022-2023, so though this trend is certainly controversial, it seems relatively low-key for now.
Outside of professional appointments, teens are doing their own full-face glam, such as these two girls from TikTok showcasing their long lashes, curled hair and done-up eyebrows. The two are wearing private school uniforms too, which makes their glam even more “taboo” for older people (I can’t believe I’m saying this) like me.
When I went to private school, girls received detentions for wearing mascara and now parents are cool with it! Oh, how times have changed.
But how detrimental are these trends? Are they just fun outlets or reflective of something deeper?
According to an article from NPR, cosmetic and skin care brands are targeting younger girls in recent years, perhaps suggesting “flaws” need to be covered up at an earlier age. There’s even a term to describe Gen Alpha tweens who are obsessed with makeup: Sephora Kids. This group of youth are apparently making themselves the epicenter of “adult” makeup trends. It’s not their fault though, as the beauty business industry targets this demographic specifically. It’s so bad that USA Today claims people have said it’s an “epidemic.”
From 2017 to 2023, self-confidence decreased in girls from 5th through 12th grade, and studies back from 2021 show that teenage years are where self-esteem plummets the most. As someone who does wear full glam, makeup can be a great way to boost this low self-confidence, but having these feelings at such a young age is where things become wishy-washy.
Girls shouldn’t feel the need to use makeup at a younger age to impress people or prevent flaws they probably don’t even have yet. And big businesses need to stop targeting impressionable youth. At the same time, we want to uplift and encourage girls to explore creative outlets to boost their physical self-confidence. If I hadn’t started wearing makeup in my sophomore year of high school, I wouldn’t have had time to perfect my winged liner and contour by the time I started college.
I’m glad I experimented with makeup in high school and wore bright colors and lipsticks because it helped me find my aesthetic. Seriously. I went from wearing neon blue lipstick to looking normal today (no, you don’t want to see the photos—trust me).
All of this to say, high schoolers who do their makeup and feel good about it hopefully feel good because it makes themselves happy and not because they hope to impress others. I’m conflicted about booking actual professional sessions simply for the first day of classes, but all in all, I think it can be a healthy trend if pursued in a healthy manner that boosts self-esteem.
What do you all think? Should girls be allowed to wear full glam makeup during their tween and teen years or should they wait? Let us your thoughts in the comments below!
What's Your Reaction?
