Women Show Off Their Real Skin In "No Filter" Trend

When was the last time you saw real, natural skin on your TikTok ForYouPage?

28-year-old Courtney Ball recently showed off her freckled, Botox-free skin on the popular video platform. She is among the thousands of women joining the #nofilterchallenge trend taking over social media. The videos are often accompanied by Lana Del Ray's song "Back to tha Basics."

"Here is a reminder what the raw face of a 28 yr old girl who hasn't had any 'work' done looks like," Ball wrote, flaunting her pretty face.

The comment section was overwhelmingly positive – for the most part. A woman named Miranda wrote, "yes so beautiful never stop soaking in the sun and living life."

A viewer named Peyton Amelia commented, "Literally gorgeous – the freckles, the smile lines, I love it."

"You look like the best friend who loves to garden and surf & never needs makeup because she is radiant, gorgeous, & genuine," someone called Jackie added.

As usual, some people in the comment section had to be negative. "Stay out of the sun geez woman," a user wrote. Notice how these commenters are always anonymous?

Sara Busser, a coach and mother, also joined in on the trend. "Aging is evidence of our privilege to still be alive," she captioned her video. Busser shared her glowing and bare face. She is 35 and looks radiant as ever.

The response to this trend shows us how overexposed we are to filters and cosmetic work. Someone who went by JM commented, "I'm 35 and everyone around me seems to be getting younger. I've never felt more alone – and this made me feel less alone. I appreciate you."

Harvard-trained dermatologist Dr. Neera Nathan displayed her stunning Botox-free skin. "Raw skin of a 35-year-old dermatologist with no Botox who has used sunscreen & retinoids for 15 years. Still have spots, lines & texture," she wrote.

Meanwhile, the trend on Instagram has garnered unhinged comments from – most disappointing of all – other women. 27-year-old Bree Lenehan, an Australian radio personality, singer, and author, posted a Reel of the lines around her eyes. Lenehan looks like most women in their late 20s, so it was shocking how many people said she looked much older and mocked her appearance. And what is a 27-year-old supposed to look like anyway? Who gets to decide that?

@shivav14 on Instagram said, "Tbh, no it's a bit too much for 27. This is like a skin for more of a late 30s.. I'd have never guessed you are only 27, don't lose attention to your skin please."

@formatpoche added, "I'm 25 and I hope my skin don't look like this in 2 years..."

Young men and women regularly see filters on social media without considering that altered content doesn't accurately represent natural skin. Naturally, they start to believe that lines and wrinkles, which are entirely normal in their late 20s (and even earlier), are exclusive to older women. They view lines created from years of living as a condition or defect rather than a natural part of aging. Hopefully, the trend will continue to grow, and we finally all see aging as a privilege rather than a burden.

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