f you’re like me, or like any other human being whose weight fluctuates, you might have something called stretch marks. Shhh! I know, it can bring bad luck just by even saying it. But, nevertheless, we should say it, we should embrace it even!
It has been a taboo subject for a long time and we almost never see it on social media, therefore, we might think that it is only our problem, no one else’s. But that’s where we get it wrong and various celebrities, yes those who have a big influence on our perspective of the world through social media, are starting to show it to us more and more (thankfully!)
First of all, it is important to understand that stretch marks are something naturalthat can appear in our skin when it rapidly stretches or shrinks, for example, during puberty or pregnancy. We have a protein called collagen, which helps with the elasticityof our skin, but if the change happens to quickly, it can’t keep up. Therefore, we can say they are a part of who we are and our growth as a human being.
Amongst the celebrities that have been debuting their tiger stripes to their audiences, are Kourtney Kardashian and Khloé Kardashian, which could come as a surprise, since they are part of the most influential family on the beauty department. Still, they gifted us these pictures during the month of August, showing their true skin and proving that stretch marks are not something we should be ashamed of or something that makes us less beautiful.
Celebrities like Lady Gaga have been embracing their stretch marks for longer than others on social media. Gaga shared a picture on Instagram, as early as 2015, showing off her stripes on her breasts and then again, just the other day, on August 24th, she published another one without editing them out. Gaga is someone too look up to, who is not afraid to show the world her true self!
Chrissy Teigen, model and TV personality, who is known for speaking openly to the public about her life and struggles, has showed us that she is just like every one of us, a woman with natural curves and stretch marks to prove it. She even shared a picture directly of her stripes on her legs, on Twitter in 2017, saying “Whatevs” and recently published another one on Instagram, in July, where she wasn’t afraid to let them out for the world to see.
Rihanna has also proved she is happy to show her real skin! In May of 2018, the singer published a picture of her stretch marks on her backside, accompanied by a bikini bottom with a pattern of – guess what?? – tiger stripes!
On social media we follow the lives of many celebrities, a lot of them that we admire and look up to. However, we often forget that what we see can be altered to appear “better” than it really is. Sometimes it’s the lightning and the angle, but must we not forget about dear Facetune and Photoshop, that help us all edit out what we see as an imperfection.
Fortunately, we are living in a time when people are increasingly embracing their natural beauty and supporting each other on these journey we call life. We can even see the effort of beauty brands to be more inclusive and supportive of everyone’s type of bodies and differences.
Huda Beauty, the beauty brand created by the makeup mogul Huda Kattan, has recently launched a campaign with the collaboration of the artist Sara Shakeel, on August 14th, where we can see the CEO herself with glitter on her belly, creating the shape of stretch marks, made with the intention of highlighting the beauty of embracing all of who we are, as she told to GLAMOUR.
So throw some glitter (even if metaphorically) on your tiger stripes and show them off proudly! As Kendrick Lamar would say
“Show me somethin' natural like a** with some stretch marks."
