Cosmetics Addiction Among Christian Women
Cosmetic Fixation
Having grown up as an average looking, insecure girl, I could hardly wait until I was allowed to use cosmetics and look like the women that I saw in magazines and on TV. When I was finally old enough to wear makeup, it became an important part of my daily routine. I needed every kind of makeup that I could find. There wasn't one part of my face that didn't need cosmetic aide. My nose was too wide, my eyes were too small, my skin was too pale etc. It took me a good half-hour before I considered myself presentable.
When I had my makeup on, I was ready to face the world. Without it, I wouldn't be caught dead. In fact, if my house had caught on fire at night, I probably would have died in the bathroom with a mascara wand in my hand.
Behind a mask of eye shadow, mascara and lipstick I was confidant and out going. If I were caught without it I was self conscious and insecure. If I went on a trip and forgot some article of cosmetics I had to buy it, or my enjoyment of the trip would be ruined.
I remember going hunting with my father as a teen and getting up before sunrise to wash my face and apply my make up with the aide of a compact mirror and the light of the campfire. Good thing I did too because that very day, 100 miles from home, we ran into a boy from my school who was hunting with his dad! Not that I particularly wanted to impress that boy, but what if word got around school that I had been seen without makeup!
Although this sounds excessive to some people, I think that there are many women who can relate. Thousands of women have relied on cosmetics to the extent that I have.
It took me years to realize and admit that this cosmetic fixation was a problem. I was addicted to makeup. Cosmetics helped me to feel like I was some one different than who I was naturally.
After a lot of thought I have come to see that God made us to look just like He wants us to look. If we have committed ourselves to Him, He has double the right to choose how we look. (It's all about Him anyway, isn't it?) My confidence should be in the fact that God loves me and has given me the ability to live for him. In Him, I have every thing I need, through Him, I can do all things! Without Him, I am nothing, in spite of all the makeup in the world.
Of course, most women would agree with this. Most women will deny that they could possibly be addicted to make up, and anyway, wearing makeup isn't a sin, is it?
First, I will say that I don't think that wearing makeup is a sin in itself. It could, however be listed under the "things that are not expedient" that Paul mentions. One of the main benefits of Christianity is the freedom that we have in Christ. Women, we are not free if we need to have a layer of makeup on our face to give us confidence.
Secondly, if you think that you're not addicted to makeup, try going to a party or an important business meeting with a clean, confident, makeup-free face. Do you feel good about yourself, or do you feel somewhat inadequate without your makeup? (Or do you even have the courage to do it at all?) Do you try to sit in a corner where you won't be noticed, or do you behave in your normal manner? If you notice a change in your behavior, you are relying on cosmetics for your confidence. You are missing out on the freedom that comes from accepting yourself the way that your loving God created you.
Sisters, not wearing makeup means freedom! Freedom to walk in the rain without "melting", Freedom to swim, to laugh yourself to tears, or cry when you are sad without worrying that you're "loosing face". Being free from makeup means being able to give a kiss or a hug without leaving stains! Scratch or rub your cheek without leaving tracks! Go camping and sleep until dawn! You get the picture!
Show the cosmetic industry that you are not buying their propaganda. Banish makeup to special occasions where it belongs. Make friends with your real face and find a new freedom!
Published by Miriam Basye
I am a 47 y.o. Christian who loves rural life! I graduated from the Institute of Children's Literature in 1991 and have had a couple of articles published over the years. A former home school mom, now I hop... View profile
- Can a New Hair Cut Boost Your Child's Self Esteem?This is an article for parents who are concerned about their child's self esteem and are looking for ways to improve it!
- How to Help Your Child Gain More Self EsteemTimes are such that children, especially those who aren't particularly athletic or graced with unspeakable beauty are pushed into the background socially. These children oftentimes find themselves left literally in th...
- How to Boost Self EsteemI used to have terrible self esteem, however, have read a lot of books, and have dramatically changed it, and you can to. This article will tell you how.
- Self-Esteem: Your Teen's Greatest Weapon Against Depression and AnxietyOne of the greatest responsibilities of a parent is to help a teen daughter or son build high self-esteem. The teen with high self-esteem is less likely to develop depression and anxiety.
- Seven Questions: When You Have Low Self-EsteemLow self-esteem can be caused by many things and can dominate your life unnecessarily. Using your own intelligence, ability and innate understanding of yourself, you can raise your self-esteem.
- How Parents Can Help Build a Child's Self-Esteem
- Your Teens Self Esteem
- Is a High Self-Esteem in Children Self Destructive?
- How to Raise Your Self-Esteem in the New Year
- Self Esteem Improvement Techniques
- Tips for Parenting: How to Raise a Child with High Self-Esteem
- The Fallacy of Self Esteem Programs in School
- Many women are unknowingly addicted to cosmetics.
- Christian women can be confident in who they are in Christ.
- Low self esteem is often indicated by cosmetic addiction.
6 Comments
Post a CommentChristians should understand that they are called out, to be separate, unique and different. We should not aim to blend in and get carried away with constantly changing worldly inclinations. I am yet to see a woman with passion for Jesus who can yet afford the time and energy to be excessive in her attention to cosmetics and makeup.
I really want to use eye liner because when I have my hair in a ponytail, I feel u-g-l-y. I avoid putting my hair up as much as possible.
I take dance, though. And one of my teacher's rules is that we have to wear our hair up. ( even for those of us who have short hair. )
Some girls a few years older than me wear eye liner, and I constantly feel myself comparing their face to mine, when I don't want to. When I have my hair up, the circles under my eyes seemed more.....pronounced.
Good for you, Elizabeth. You're daughter will be blessed by your supportive attitude.
It cut off the rest of my comment: I have a baby daughter now, and I want to teach her that she is beautiful naturally and she does not need artificial substances to make her look "presentable." She is exactly who God intended her to be. I am now struggling with getting to know myself completely natural, and to just feel like myself without make up on! Make up is not a sin, but if you do not feel like yourself without it, that is where the problem is. We as Christians do need to focus on the inner beauty, and remember that "natural" is never "Ugly" or "unpresentable!" Thank you for this article!
I am 31 years old and I have been struggling with a make up addiction since the age of 13, when a friend of mine in school pointed out that I had "dark circles" under my eyes. I went home that day and asked my mother for some concealer. My mother is, to this day, and always has been, one of those women who must "put on their face" in the morning. I can't even recall how many times she has told the story of how she put on her make up before heading off to the hospital to give birth to all three of her children! So, naturally, when I came to her as a young, insecure pre-teen, she gladly handed me the concealer instead of explaining to me why it was not important what other girls said about me and that I was beautiful regardless. As I grew and matured I followed right along in her and my peers' footsteps and was never seen without make up on. I became a Christian as an adult, and have had a few years to really look at my life and my choices...as well as the fact that I now have a bab
it's ok to wear makeup, just as long as it doesnt cripple the person. Makeup is there to emphasize our assets and detract from our percieved flaws. it is a form of expression, a form of accessory. for older women it can make them look less tired and more presentable.
it is not a crime/sin to aim to look presentable. we only have one body and we ourselves, our person, is distinct, though not separate from our body.
we only have one body to present to the world. It is our job to present it in the most flattering light.
In this day and age when there are a lot of means for one to groom themselves and look their best, being ugly, or looking less than presentable is considered a sin. By looking ugly or harassed, you become an ocassion of sin to others.