Huda Kattan. Photo: Instagram/@wishfulskin
Huda Kattan has had enough of overly-photoshopped images and advertisements on social media, sharing her frustrations with Vogue Arabia in a sneak peek ahead of the release of a video detailing her new stance against misleading image editing. In an exclusive preview of her new video shared with Vogue Arabia, the founder of Huda Beauty and Wishful Skin explains that she is increasingly concerned by overly photoshopped images on social media and the effect that heavily edited images will have on mental health and self-esteem.
The beauty entrepreneur gets real with followers in her heart-felt video, explaining that the beauty industry previously did not support those who fit a narrow ideal. “The standards that the beauty industry has been pushing on women haven’t been based on an inclusion; they’ve been based on exclusion,” she tells Vogue Arabia.
In an extended version filmed for her social media channels, Huda explains that when she first started working in beauty, everyone had the same look, and she was proud to be part of a shift in the industry that welcomed individualism. But, she now has noticed that the trend is returning to only promote very small definition of beauty, with Facetuning and Photoshopping used by brands and creators alike. Acknowledging the role that beauty brands have played in this – “the reality is that beauty brands do this [image editing] to make money off of you” – Huda says that it’s now crucial for brands to take a stand and promote a more diverse idea of beauty.
Courtesy of Huda Beauty
She also points out a lack of transparency regarding injectables and surgical procedures is giving audiences an unrealistic idea of what makeup can achieve. As a woman and a mother, she is now seeing the impact that these harmful rhetoric are creating and is pushing for all contributors to the “dysfunctional” beauty industry to strive to do better.
As for her part, Huda says she is pledging to be transparent when her own brands’ images have been edited. “I would love to start posting without photoshop, and when it comes to that, at least I would like to begin disclosing it even if it feels embarrassing,” she shares. “We cannot lie for the sake of selling products. If I’m saying a product is working, I need to prove that it works with you know with whatever we’re doing. If I’m going to post a fantastic photo, I need to disclose whether or not it is photoshopped. I’m going to try my best to gain the courage always to post myself un-photoshopped, no matter how much perfect or imperfect.”
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