You may be wondering how makeup can increase your self-confidence and it is definitely possible. Whether you are willing to try it is another story.
In a study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, the research team examined how wearing makeup can boost confidence.
That study also concluded that women wearing makeup actually report feeling more confident. This isn’t the first study to find that women are confident wearing makeup.
In this latest research, the participants, all female, were asked to wear makeup, also known as “glammed up”, for a day.
They were asked to do so for a specific purpose; their confidence would be evaluated as to their level of confidence in their appearance.
They also self-reported their self-confidence level on the same day.
The results?
The participants who participated in the research reported that they felt more confident after wearing makeup.
The research team stated that wearing makeup increased their confidence and that it didn’t negatively affect their self-esteem.
They concluded that makeup can indeed increase a person’s self-confidence level.
The participants were asked to wear “normal” makeup.
The researchers emphasized that not all women wear makeup and the participants weren’t chosen based on their appearance.
This research included 21 women. The participants ranged in age from 18-38 years old.
Eight of the participants were black, 10 white, 5 Hispanic, and 5 Asian.
“As women, we’re socialized to believe that self-confidence is something we should cultivate and grow.
But our research found that this isn’t the case.” – Ashley Neitzel, one of the authors of the study.
The interesting thing is that the makeup didn’t change anyone’s confidence in any way. One of the participants mentioned that she usually didn’t wear makeup because she didn’t like it on her skin.
Another participant said that she likes wearing makeup to show her emotions. There was no significant difference between those who wore makeup and those who did not.
Why does makeup make us feel more confident?
Portrait of young woman looking up to camera
The research team has narrowed it down to one particular reason why makeup can increase a person’s self-confidence level.
We will explore some of the factors in the article.
When we are less confident, we tend to use items to help us feel better. For example, in the study, the participants used makeup to boost their self-confidence.
Makeup was worn to help lift them. One of the things that makeup does is act as a “placebo”.
It doesn’t change what is underneath the makeup, it’s just an external force that will make us feel better.
“There may be evolutionary reasons for what we saw in the study: It may be that wearing makeup serves as a temporary “placebo” to boost confidence before facing a personal threat that will most likely result in negative outcomes, such as a social judgment.” – Ashley Neitzel, a member of the research team.
Couple that with the fact that we often view women as the dominant gender, meaning that they need to be stronger and more dominant.
This makes them more confident. One of the women in the study stated that she likes wearing makeup because she likes showing off her assets and that it makes her feel good about herself.
The fact that she feels good about herself also serves as an external force that helps to boost her confidence and self-esteem.
Benefits of wearing makeup
To further boost their self-confidence, women can wear makeup for different reasons.
People say that makeup can help with:
Aerodynamic performance
It might not seem like a big deal, but research has proven that wearing makeup can improve a person’s aerodynamic performance, which is what it’s known for.
Think about it. When we go out in public, do we look like we put on a full face of makeup and walked out the door? Probably not.
It might be that we didn’t choose to put on a full face of makeup to become a better athlete.
However, that doesn’t mean that makeup isn’t helpful in certain ways.
Reduces dark circles
Another popular reason why women wear makeup is to cover up their under-eye circles.
Since they are often able to “mask” those under-eye circles with makeup, they look a lot better.
Just one of the countless reasons why we put on makeup.
Lifting one’s spirits
As we’ve already noted, there are several ways that makeup can help to boost a person’s confidence and self-esteem.
For example, women feel better when they feel more attractive.
To feel better about themselves, women wear makeup to boost their self-esteem.
Reduce social anxiety
Women’s social anxiety is quite common.
Social anxiety has also been found to affect confidence levels.
As a result, makeup can provide that extra “oomph” that a woman needs to be able to face more social situations.
Conclusion
Clearly, it doesn’t really matter what we wear on our faces.
Women have different reasons for wearing makeup.
However, the fact is that women wear makeup to boost their confidence.
Whether it is to enhance their appearance or to give themselves a boost, makeup can be a helpful tool in boosting a woman’s confidence.
