Thighbrow
As the newest of the body trends, the thighbrow has made quite a splash among young women, but it’s not an indicator of actual health. In fact, this crease at the junction of the hip and thigh is anatomically unavoidable. Everyone has it, which is cool because it’s inclusive. Don’t waste your time trying to accentuate a thighbrow with a specific food or diet regimen. You’ll be better off just focusing on living an active lifestyle.
Waist Training
Wearing a corset or similar product for several hours a day won’t change the shape of your body. This practice can restrict breathing and lead to weight loss (due to pressure on organs, limiting the room for food), among other more serious issues. Your body shape is dependent on your anatomical structure, so rather than try to change it with a corset, enhance it through proper exercise and nutrition.
Thigh Gap
The thigh gap has unfortuately become an obsession for many young women. While you could slave away doing cardio to reduce the flesh on your inner thighs in hopes of achieving a gap, it’s not worth the time. The ability to have space between your thighs is more about how wide or narrow your hips are than anything else. Instead of trying to achieve this, think about the food you’re eating and aim to eat the proper nutrients to fuel the strong, beautiful legs you have.
Bikini Bridge
Everyone wants to feel good in a bikini, but dieting and exercising so you have a bikini bridge (meaning there’s space between your bikini bottoms and stomach when you're lying down) isn’t the way to do it. You can be the fittest athlete in the world and not have a bikini bridge. To really feel healthy and confident in your swimsuit, focus on lifting weights to build the muscle you need to play beach volleyball.
Belly Button Challenge
This body trend is particularly disturbing because young girls are trying to lose drastic amounts of weight to achieve the belly button challenge, which is the ability to wrap your arm behind your back and place your finger on your belly button. Succeeding doesn’t mean you’re healthy. In some cases, it can actually mean you’re underweight. Rather than going to severe lengths for a small waist, work to improve your cardiovascular health through running, biking, and swimming.
Finger Trap
Despite what you may have read on Chinese social media, your beauty is not determined by the presence of a gap between your outstretched index finger and lips when resting your hand on your chin. Your beauty comes from within and shines through when you feel happy and sure of yourself. Stop measuring your value according to the finger trap, and start doing the things that fill your life with joy.
Big Booty Trend
If you pay too much attention to today's body trends, it might seem like you need a voluptuous back end in order to have a nice figure. You don’t. If you have a rounder derriere then that’s great, but it’s just as great to have a less round one. Don’t obsess over the shape of your butt. Try to appreciate your glute muscles for all the work they do every day, and show them love by exercising with lunges and squats.
Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge
The Kylie Jenner lip challenge is a frightening beauty trend that can cause serious damage to your lips. The act of placing your lips in a shot glass and sucking the air out to create a lip-plumping vacuum can lead to severe bruises, cuts, and even permanent disfigurement. Worrying about having lips that resemble that of a celebrity is damaging to your self-perception. Practice self-acceptance by seeing your features for the beautiful gifts they are, and tend to them with healthy beauty practices, such as proper moisturization.
Protruding Collarbones
The desire to have protruding collarbones has been around for decades because we associate it with being thin. While it’s true that having less fat means bones are more visible, the absence of visible collarbones doesn’t mean you’re overweight. Stop measuring your body’s worth by your skeleton, and devote more attention to your posture. Proper posture not only makes you appear slimmer, but it’s also better for your back and self-confidence.
Protruding Hip Bones
Like collarbones, visible hip bones are desired because people associate them with a low body fat percentage. The truth is that you can maintain a healthy weight and not have hip bones that stick out. Do your body a favor by diverting your attention to building a strong core, and you’ll be much healthier and happier.