Open TikTok and you are instantly hit with an, “I go to bed like that, to wake up like this.” or a, “Get ready with me to go to bed.”, or maybe a, “I can’t stay over because how do I explain to my hinge date that I have a 37-step skincare routine and need to do my overnight sock curls?”. Our TikToks are drowning in modern beauty rituals, skincare content and tutorials on how to wake up looking our ‘best selves’. And whilst these elaborate domestic beauty rituals are packaged up and presented as empowering self-care, are they not really conservative domestic ideals that are indicators of a conservative societal shift?
In videos reminiscent of the first season of The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, where she showcases her elaborate beauty regime performed whilst her husband sleeps, young women and girls are showing their followers how they go to sleep/wake up to remain ‘low-maintenance. ’ The main difference between Mrs. Maisel and today’s content creators is that the latter deliberately expose these routines instead of performing them secretly. This resurgence of intensive beauty routines coincides with growing far-right messaging about traditional beauty and femininity. These routines, whilst presented as personal choice, align with conservative ideals about appearance and roles. The videos have a heavy emphasis on appearing ‘natural’ yet refined, with a focus on youth.
This refined but natural standard requires extensive effort. The “clean girl” aesthetic demands perfect skin, hair not an inch out of place, plain clothes, and simple jewellery, usually paired with the ‘no-makeup makeup’ look. Despite a lot of the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic looks having taken inspiration, or being directly stolen, from South Asian and Black culture, the same idea stands—it is conservative and Western in nature. The slicked-back bun, the gold jewellery (which has deep significance both culturally and historically in many cultures), and the natural beauty practices have roots in styles that were/are criticised when worn by women of colour but are celebrated when adopted by white influencers. This follows a familiar pattern where elements from marginalised cultures are extracted, stripped of context and meaning, repackaged, and then presented as ‘new’ or ‘trendy’.
This aesthetic is predominantly represented by thin, wealthy, usually white women. Even the wording of the appearance being ‘clean’ implies that a ‘messy’ appearance reflects negativity, and the word also suggests a moral stance via appearance. It minimises self-expression and emphasises conformity to a traditional beauty standard, which lines up with the rise of ‘trad-wife’ videos becoming popular.
The traditional wives trend coincides with this aesthetic. It glorifies simplicity, uplifts traditional gender roles, and emphasises the idea that the home is the woman’s domain. They appear mostly wearing modest clothes, no makeup-makeup looks and pushing a lifestyle reminiscent of the 1800s except with more plumbing and less disease. A lot of young women are drawn to this type of content because it is marked as ideal and beautiful. A lot of trends rely on nostalgia, but by romanticising these earlier periods whilst stripping away historical context, these trends create a selective memory which fuels right-wing political movements. These trends are linked to conservative and, in some cases, far-right ideologies, indicating a cultural shift facilitated by social media platforms.
Throughout history, we can see how the beauty industry sells traditional ideals via wellness and health terminology. These day/night skincare routines are marketed as essential rituals where we need to purchase items to achieve a ‘natural’ look, which is a paradox within itself. Furthermore, social norms continue to pressure individuals to maintain hairless bodies, prevent ageing, and keep this image of ‘youthfulness’.
The conformity of these TikTok trends shows clear conservatism and a shift to the right. What we can dismiss as simple beauty trends can be visual politics. These aesthetics mirror ideologies that value order, tradition and clear social roles. These trends also represent a swing away from individualistic expression and a retreat from expressive individualism. Previous generations of online beauty culture tended to align with progressive movements. There was the body-positivity movement, the natural hair movement, the ‘indie brand revolution against corporate beauty‘, but now online beauty has aligned itself with a more neutral and apolitical branding that pulls us away from social movements and activism.
TikTok itself accelerates the spread of right-wing talking points because the algorithm prioritises engagement. This means controversial opinions, including those shouting for traditional values and promoting right-wing sentiments, are pushed to wider and younger audiences. The rise of conservative influencers on the platform, from promoting traditional family structures to flat-out reactionary opinions, suggests that conservative ideology has found a comfortable space and is here to stay. Nothing is just an innocent aesthetic; they have deep ideological implications that are promoted by influencers who earn money from their viewers and vote for right-wing politicians.
One more talking point about these beauty regimes is their exorbitant cost. The economic burden of maintaining these routines and standards serves as a highly effective and elusive form of control that can keep women financially dependent as well as time-poor. Luxury skincare routines can cost over £200 monthly with ‘preventative’ botox, which there is little scientific evidence behind, costing over £300 every few months; this does not include other general ‘upkeep’ such as brow appointments and facials. This sort of financial pressure can force people to rely on others or accumulate debt. The time taken for these routines can feed into other parts of our lives too, leaving us with a lack of sleep, a lack of hobby time, and a lack of time spent with others. The trends essentially create a modern version of traditional financial control where resources are drained through beauty expectations, limiting our ability to build independent wealth or even challenge traditional power structures.
The rise, or resurgence, of these elaborate beauty routines and clean girl aesthetics reveals how conservative ideology has been drip-fed into our lives. What can appear as empowering forms of self-care can also appear to be routines, which enforce conservative beliefs about women’s roles, appearance, and behaviour. Constant partaking of trends and spending money on beauty, health, and fashion trends pushed by conservative echo chambers on social media effectively limit our independence under the guise of choice. We are victims of a system of control that is particularly effective because it is marketed as personal empowerment. Hopefully, by understanding these connections between trends and ideology, we can begin to recognise societal shifts sooner and not be hoodwinked into believing this shift to a right-leaning society is something brand new and shocking.