In the past, taking care of your skin was as easy as washing your face with soap and water and then putting on a little bit of your mother’s cold cream. But skincare has changed a lot over the years. Today, taking care of your skin means using cleansers, toners, serums, acids, oils, retinols, sunscreen, and a lot more.
Modern Skincare Culture
Taking care of your skin is no longer just about basic hygiene. For a lot of women, it has become a way of life, a way to make a statement, and a way to take care of themselves. Millions of people around the world now do what used to be a luxury every day. Teenagers are looking into products that make their skin glow, and adults are spending money on products that make them look younger. Skincare has become a passion for people of all ages.
From the old-fashioned glow to the Gen Z glass skin
We talked to mothers and daughters about what skincare meant to them back then and what it means to them now to see how people’s views on it have changed over time.
“I’ve never really put anything on my skin,” said Aasia Aslam, 57. We used soap to wash our faces, but we didn’t do it very often. We just didn’t think about taking care of our skin.
“I wash my face every morning with a face wash, and I never go outside without sunscreen.” “I wash my face well at night and usually put on a niacinamide serum,” she said.
She also said that she is thinking about getting laser treatments for facial hair removal.
The Rise of Cosmetic Procedures Beyond Products
Skin care today goes far beyond creams and serums. Laser therapy, hydra facials, carbon peels, microneedling, Botox, fillers, and other cosmetic procedures are now widely available.
According to 26-year-old Masooma Bashir, hormonal imbalances have made it more common for women to grow facial hair.
“I didn’t have a lot of facial hair, but I chose laser removal because I could afford it at the time.” “I got hyperpigmentation later and tried a carbon peel,” she said.
Even though the procedures didn’t work for her, she still uses brightening serums, hyaluronic acid, sunscreen, moisturizer, and niacinamide, which she had used before and had good results with.
“We were naturally pretty. She remembered, “We played in the dirt all day and our skin was fine.”
She talked about easy routines that used Multani Mitti, Tibet Snow cream, Nivea cream, and old-fashioned remedies like putting raw milk or tomatoes on your skin.
Taking care of your skin every day
For a lot of women these days, taking care of their skin takes time and effort. Samra Khalid, 31, sticks to a strict schedule and doesn’t leave anything to chance.
She said, “In the morning, I put on a 20% vitamin C serum and then sunscreen.” She also talked about how she switched from local to Korean sunscreen.
She uses 0.5% retinol at night, which she mixed with shea butter before.
“Retinol works differently for each person. She said that beginners should start with 0.2% and that she plans to move up to 1% after she finishes her current product.
She uses an oil-to-milk cleanser, a cleansing gel, and retinol at night.
On the other hand, her mother, Yasmeen Khalid, 59, never thought about taking care of her skin.
How Social Media Changed Everything
Social media has turned a simple cleansing routine into a complicated skincare routine with seven to ten steps. Because these routines often cost a lot of money, it’s hard to keep them up.
At the same time, a lot of local skincare brands are quickly entering the market, and many of them market themselves as organic solutions. There used to be only a few brands, but now there are hundreds that say they can fix any skin problem.
Statista says that the global skincare market will make $198.35 billion in sales in 2025, and that it will grow by 3.53% each year from 2025 to 2030.
It’s getting harder and harder to say “no” to “buy now” because of persuasive marketing, influencer discount codes, flash sales, and brands owned by celebrities. Seeing perfect celebrities share their routines makes people want to look like them.
The Korean Skincare Trend
Korean beauty and the glass skin trend are two things that everyone talks about when they talk about skincare. Korean brands have quickly become popular in Pakistan, especially with young people who watch K-dramas and read beauty reviews.
Influencers have made the trend even bigger by talking about new formulas, attractive packaging, and routines that take more than one step.
Korean skincare is often thought of as a miracle cure that promises perfect, glass-like skin in a world where fair skin is still quietly seen as beautiful.
Korean skincare has gone from being a luxury that people only used sometimes to an everyday need on many vanities thanks to e-commerce growth.
The Quiet Pressure to Be Perfect
This boom in skincare has also put unspoken pressure on women to always look polished and on-trend, especially those who can’t afford expensive routines.
Rabia Anum, a journalist and salon owner who runs her own business, thought back on the past.
“Women used what they had at home.” “I saw my grandmother use beetroot on her cheeks and lips,” she said.
She said that women didn’t have to worry about always looking perfect.
She said, “People don’t say it out loud, but they think women have to look a certain way to be accepted.”
A lot of women now think about drinking enough water, walking, and exercising as part of their skincare. Some women even do full ten-step routines in the morning and at night.
This pressure also affects men, as the expectation to look “perfect” often spreads to them as well.
Rabia made a disturbing observation.
She said, “A young girl once told me she was one of the smartest students in her class, but no one talked to her because of her skin color.”
Picking What Really Works for You
It’s okay to embrace a 12-step skincare routine if it makes you happy and gives you confidence and comfort. But if it makes you stressed, anxious, or puts a strain on your finances, staying natural is just as valid.
