You just washed your face with soap and water and then put on some of your mother’s cold cream. But skincare has changed a lot over time. You need to use a lot of things on your skin these days, like cleansers, toners, serums, acids, oils, retinols, sunscreen, and more.
The Culture of Skincare Today
It’s not enough to just clean your skin anymore. For many women, it has become a way of life, a way to make a statement, and a way to take care of themselves. Every day, millions of people around the world do what used to be a luxury. Teenagers are looking into things that make their skin look better, and adults are spending money on things that make them look younger. People of all ages are now very interested in skincare.
From the old-fashioned glow to the glass skin of Gen Z
We asked mothers and daughters what skincare meant to them back then and what it means to them now to see how their opinions have changed over time.
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Aasia Aslam, 57, said, “I’ve never really put anything on my skin.”
We didn’t wash our faces with soap very often. We just didn’t think about how to care for our skin.
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“I wash my face every morning with a face wash, and I always wear sunscreen when I go outside.” “I wash my face well at night and usually put on a niacinamide serum,” she said.
She also said that she is thinking about getting laser treatments to get rid of facial hair.
The Growth of Cosmetic Procedures Beyond Products
There is a lot more to skin care these days than just creams and serums. Laser therapy, hydra facials, carbon peels, microneedling, Botox, fillers, and other cosmetic procedures are now very common.
Hormonal imbalances have made it more common for women to grow facial hair, says 26-year-old Masooma Bashir.
“I didn’t have a lot of facial hair, but I chose laser removal because I could pay for it at the time.” “I got hyperpigmentation later and tried a carbon peel,” she said.
She still uses brightening serums, hyaluronic acid, sunscreen, moisturiser, and niacinamide, which she had used before and had good results with, even though the procedures didn’t work for her.
“We were naturally good-looking. She remembered, “We played in the dirt all day and our skin was fine.”
She talked about simple routines that included Multani Mitti, Tibet Snow cream, Nivea cream, and old-fashioned cures like putting raw milk or tomatoes on your skin.
Every day, you should take care of your skin.
These days, a lot of women have to put in time and effort to take care of their skin. Samra Khalid, 31, follows a strict schedule and doesn’t leave anything to chance.
She said, “I put on sunscreen and a 20% vitamin C serum in the morning.” She also talked about how she changed her sunscreen from local to Korean.
At night, she uses 0.5% retinol, which she used to mix with shea butter.
“Retinol works differently for everyone. She said that beginners should start with 0.2% and that she plans to move up to 1% after she finishes the product she is currently using.
At night, she uses a cleansing gel, an oil-to-milk cleanser, and retinol.
But her mother, Yasmeen Khalid, 59, never thought about how to take care of her skin.
How Social Media Changed the World
Because of social media, a simple cleaning routine has become a complicated skincare routine with seven to ten steps. It’s hard to keep up with these routines because they cost a lot of money.
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A lot of local skincare brands are also quickly entering the market, and many of them say they are organic solutions. There used to be only a few brands, but now there are hundreds that claim to be able to fix any skin issue.
According to Statista, the global skincare market will make $198.35 billion in sales in 2026. From 2026 to 2030, it will grow by 3.53% each year.
It’s getting harder and harder to say “no” to “buy now” because of persuasive ads, discount codes from influencers, flash sales, and celebrity-owned brands. People want to look like perfect celebrities when they see them share their routines.
The trend in Korean skin care
People always talk about Korean beauty and the glass skin trend when they talk about skin care. Korean brands have become very popular in Pakistan, especially with young people who read beauty reviews and watch K-dramas.
Influencers have made the trend even bigger by talking about new formulas, pretty packaging, and routines that need more than one step.
People often think of Korean skincare as a miracle cure that will give you perfect, glass-like skin in a world where fair skin is still quietly seen as beautiful.
Because of the rise of e-commerce, Korean skincare has gone from being a luxury that people only used sometimes to something that many people need every day.
The Quiet Pressure to Be Perfect
This boom in skincare has also put unspoken pressure on women to always look polished and on-trend, especially those who can’t afford expensive routines.
Rabia Anum, a journalist and salon owner who runs her own business, thought about the past.
“Women used what they had at home.” “I saw my grandmother put beetroot on her cheeks and lips,” she said.
She said that women didn’t have to worry about always looking great.
“People don’t say it out loud, but they think women have to look a certain way to be accepted,” she said.
A lot of women now think that drinking enough water, walking, and working out are all part of taking care of their skin. In the morning and at night, some women even do full ten-step routines.
Men also feel this pressure because they are often expected to look “perfect” too.
Rabia noticed something that made her uneasy.
She said, “A young girl once told me that she was one of the smartest kids in her class, but no one talked to her because of her skin colour.”
Choosing What Works Best for You
If a 12-step skincare routine makes you happy, gives you confidence, and makes you feel good, that’s fine. But if it makes you stressed, anxious, or hurts your finances, staying natural is just as good.
