{"id":236633,"date":"2021-05-25T19:03:27","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T11:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/singapore\/?p=236633"},"modified":"2021-05-28T09:43:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T01:43:56","slug":"beauty-standards-brown-skin-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/singapore\/beauty-standards-brown-skin-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"Brown and proud: My brown skin is beautiful and I won’t let beauty standards tell me otherwise"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s 2021 and inclusivity is a buzz-worthy word in the beauty scene<\/a> right now. But it wasn\u2019t always rainbows and butterflies growing up as a brown-skinned girl in Singapore. But first, a little background on myself. I\u2019m a 30-year-old Singaporean Tamil Indian who\u2019s born and raised in Singapore. I write stories about beauty and beyond at Honeycombers. Here, I share my experiences with colourism that extend beyond colour\u2026<\/p>\n

The root of the problem? Hair woes<\/h3>\n

The first incident occurred when I was eight. My math teacher came up to me and said, \u201cYour hair is so messy, you either keep it neat or you have to cut it.\u201d At the time, I had unruly, curly, frizzy hair with stubborn flyaways peeking out. At home, my mum tried all she could to put it into a neat ponytail. It obviously didn\u2019t last long. That teacher gave me an ultimatum (I\u2019d be sent to the principal\u2019s office or spend the rest of class outside) that left my mum no choice but to bring me to the salon.<\/p>\n

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Short or not, my hair was still a hot mess. Photography: Nicole Nithiyah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I had no idea what was in store. After struggling to tie my hair into a tidy ponytail, the stylist came back with a giant pair of yellow scissors. She snipped a large chunk of hair \u2013 and life \u2013 off me. That was the first time I hated my reflection. I maintained that short cut throughout my primary school days. It was hell. I even remember purchasing a wig attached to a beanie from This Fashion, a now defunct fashion retailer in Singapore (major #throwback). It\u2019s affected me so much that I\u2019ve never cut my hair short since. In fact, my hair\u2019s like a security blanket now and you\u2019ll rarely see it up.<\/p>\n

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The solution to unruly curls in the past? Rebonding and straightening treatments. Photography: Nicole Nithiyah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That wasn\u2019t the end of the story. In the past, having sleek pin straight hair was the trend. So my messy god-given curls stuck out like a sore thumb. I can\u2019t count the number of times hair stylists would openly let out a sigh when I walked into the salon, whispering to their colleagues about my messy mane.<\/p>\n

Their solution? Straightening and rebonding. Oh, the amount of money and hours I devoted to various treatments and root touch-ups. I spent most of my teenage years with chemically treated hair. I won\u2019t say I hated it but I’ve only just started embracing my natural hair \u2013 and saving tons of $$$.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry, what did you just say to me?<\/h3>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a heavy smoker, right?\u201d
\n\u201cWhy are your toes so black?\u201d
\n\u201cOMG, you look like a werewolf from the back!\u201d<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, these were the beginning of three separate convos with people I barely knew. Needless to say, I was taken aback. It\u2019s one thing to feel self-conscious about your flaws in your head but it gets real when people point it out. In public. In front of other people.<\/p>\n

The worst part? These remarks came from my own blood, too. You leave the house feeling great until aunty Kamala (not her real name) points out that \u201cyour eyeshadow is too bright for you\u201d or \u201cyour makeup is too heavy and doesn\u2019t suit you\u201d.<\/p>\n

Of course, as an adolescent, you obsess over these things. I\u2019ve tried every home recipe to brighten my dark lips (not a smoker BTW, and even if I was, shut up). Same goes for hair removal techniques \u2013 I once left hair removal cream on for too long and it burnt the top of my lip (ok, that one\u2019s on me). I\u2019ve also gone home with rashes all over my arms after a bad waxing incident. It\u2019s only recently that I started to experiment with nail colours outside the usual nudes, burgundy and darker shades \u2018cos someone said \u201cthat neon colour won\u2019t suit your skin tone\u201d.<\/p>\n

The beginning of my love affair with makeup<\/h3>\n
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In hindsight, aunty Kamala was right about the eyeshadow. Photography: Nicole Nithiyah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ah, the glory years. Where do I start? This was waayyy before the golden age of Kim K\u2019s contouring trend or the Fenty Beauty phenomena; back when the darkest shade on the counter at Watsons made me look like a clown. No kidding. It was more than a decade ago, but the fugly white cast (especially below the eyes, you know what I mean) from old photographs still haunts me like Pennywise from IT.<\/p>\n

Aside from smudgy eyeliner and powder that was at least a shade lighter than my skin tone, my choices were scarce. My only source of inspiration was YouTube. I vividly remember turning to beauty influencer Kaushal<\/a> for tips. But we aren\u2019t exactly the same shade and wider shades just weren\u2019t accessible in Singapore. Shipping from the US was too expensive for my bank account.<\/p>\n

The bigger issue: Identifying underlying racism<\/h3>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re really fair for an Indian.\u201d I still get iffy when people sprout these remarks. Am I supposed to give you an award for your backhanded compliment? I suggest you zip it. Also, what’s that supposed to mean? I can\u2019t speak for everyone but we can all agree that the issue is more than just about colourism in Singapore.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Dosa Colors (Anisha) (@dosacolors)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n