Make-up artist Nikki Patel was mocked for her upper lip hair growing up, but now she’s using her platform to let young girls within the South Asian community know that facial hair is not a taboo
Cultural standards and expectations have long shaped traditional notions of beauty and what it means to be beautiful in several communities.
Growing up, many South Asian women were made to consider that body hair and darker skin weren’t attractive while a hairless face and fair complexion were seen as much more in fashion.
But with a recent wave of diverse influencers battling ingrained stereotypes online and difficult what it means to be valued in society, beauty ideals are changing.
As Nikki Patel puts it: “South Asians are more seen now than ever before”. This South Asian Heritage Month, she opens up about how modern-day norms are evolving.
You may recognise Nikki because the semi-finalist in BBC’s Glow Up Season One, the favored talent show that finds Britain’s next make-up star. Since competing in 2019, Nikki has gone on to work professionally in the sphere as a Hindu make-up artist, and now has over a million followers on Instagram and TikTok (@nikkissecretx).
While it’s commonplace for her to post videos threading her facial hair and sharing hacks to remove thick upper lip and chin stubble, body hair wasn’t at all times a subject Nikki felt comfortable discussing. Talking about being ridiculed by peers during her early teens, Nikki told the Mirror: “I used to be mocked for my facial hair, especially my upper lip hair.”
Nikki was cruelly teased for something she had no control over and felt as if she needed to remove her facial hair to feel more comfortable and accepted in society. Having hair-free skin is only one traditional beauty standard that is often perceived to be aspirational inside South Asian culture – while lighter, fairer skin is one other.
“Lighter skin is certainly still valued more inside the Asian community. The fairer you’re, the more beautiful you’re,” Nikki explained. “This has never impacted me directly, but my daughter gets complimented on a regular basis because she is fair and subsequently seen as ‘pretty’.” Nikki, who’s mum to a one-year-old baby girl, added: “The values are ingrained and are available from inside the South Asian community.”
As a young, aspiring make-up artist, Nikki did not have anyone of South Asian heritage within the mainstream media to look as much as. “I used to look at several YouTubers – none of which were South Asian – and felt there was a niche out there for somebody to assist represent us,” she explained. So, she took it upon herself to change into the Asian British influencer that other girls could follow online.
“It is important for me to point out facial hair removal on my social media to let young girls know that it’s okay,” Nikki said. “It’s natural and naturally we’ve got thicker, darker hair – but that doesn’t suggest it must be a taboo. We must always feel comfortable in our own skin, our own color and embrace who we’re. If we conform to the ideology that Westernised beauty is probably the most beautiful, everyone would begin to look the identical.”
Nikki is not the only South Asian influencer breaking down barriers for the following generation. Harnaam Kaur, a British activist and model, selected to embrace her facial hair after being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) at 11. “Growing up, lots of the South Asian women in my family had facial hair, baby hairs, upper lip hairs, sideburns, hair on their arms and their throat areas and stuff like that,” Harnaam told Dazed. “So for me, it was the norm. I wasn’t aware that I had a problem until I used to be bullied for it.”
After 4 years of horrendous bullying and painful experiences to remove her facial hair, Harnaam made the choice to grow her full beard out – and he or she’s never looked back. Now a motivational speaker and Guinness World Record holder, Harnaam wants to point out girls: “There are some hairy people like me around.”
Whether you select to remove your facial hair like Nikki, or grow it out like Harnaam, addressing idolised beauty standards in the general public eye and breaking down the stigma sends a crucial message to young women. “I believe female beauty standards have modified considerably lately. South Asians are more seen now than ever before,” Nikki said.
“I’m still working on self-love, so I can sooner or later – when my daughter is sufficiently old to grasp – teach her that she is probably the most beautiful inside and outside. She doesn’t need to alter a thing about herself, irrespective of what everyone else is doing. Comparison will at all times be the thief of joy, and the quicker you’re accepting of yourself and your flaws, the happier your life can be.”
Do you may have a story to share this South Asian Heritage Month? Get in contact. Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
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