1. Privilege Is the Real Foundation
For an aesthetic that claims to be low-maintenance, the Clean Girl vibe isn’t exactly budget-friendly. Those glass-skin serums and silk scrunchies add up faster than you can say “glazed doughnut skin.” And let’s not forget the invisible cost of time – not everyone has an hour each morning to perfect their dewy glow.
There’s also the elephant in the room: cultural privilege. The ‘Clean Girl’ look is often heralded as innovative, despite borrowing heavily from beauty traditions pioneered by women of colour (think slicked-back edges and luminous skin). It’s a trend that’s been rebranded and repackaged in a way that’s palatable to a largely white, affluent audience. Yikes.
2. Minimalism or Masking?
What’s sold as “I woke up like this” is often just clever marketing. Achieving the Clean Girl aesthetic requires a small army of tools: from gua shas to brow lamination kits. And while the aesthetic seems minimalist, it’s more about carefully masking imperfections than embracing them.
The end result? A standard of beauty that’s polished, poreless, and impossible to achieve without some degree of trickery. Sorry, but your natural glow might just need a few layers of product to pass the Clean Girl vibe check.
3. It’s Not as “Effortless” as It Looks
The ultimate irony of the Clean Girl aesthetic is how labour-intensive it really is. Between skincare routines that rival medical experiments and the constant upkeep of “just messy enough” buns, this look demands time and commitment. And heaven forbid you’re caught with flyaways or a patchy glow – Clean Girls don’t sweat, remember?
4. The Pressure to Conform
At its core, the Clean Girl aesthetic is yet another beauty standard. For all its talk of minimalism and authenticity, it’s still rooted in the idea that women must look polished and put-together at all times. No smudged eyeliner, no rogue pimple, no bad hair days.
This pressure to conform can be particularly harmful. What happens when you don’t have the resources or energy to match the Clean Girl vibe? Are you suddenly messy, unkempt, or – gasp – dirty?