‘Is SKIMS' new facial shapewear the key to youthful skin, or actually perpetuating harmful beauty standards?'
And yet, when it comes to Kim Kardashian's new Seamless Sculpt Face Wrap, the promise of a lifted jaw and collagen-plumped skin is actually just leaving me deflated.
Overnight [29 July], Kim Kardashian's fashion brand, SKIMS, announced its first foray into the beauty world with the new product, and it comes with a seemingly impressive list of ple.
"Just Dropped: The Ultimate Face — our first-ever face innovation, made with signature sculpting fabric and infused with collagen yarns for ultra-soft jaw support," the brand announced, adding that it's a 'must-have face wrap' for 'everyday wear', which offers 'strong, targeted compression for shaping & sculpting.'
As with anything the Kardashians do - but particularly when it comes to their purposefully controversial products (looking at you, nipple bra) - the internet was awash with mixed opinions. "Guys, there's straight up no science to back this,' one person wrote, before adding, 'Believe me, I've looked (I've always had a double chin) - save your money.
Another said, "I'd love to know more about the 'collagen yarns' because the website says it's only nylon and spandex,' while others added, 'Is it April Fools?" and "Can't tell if this is trolling."
So, what's the deal? What is collagen yarn? Is this face wrap the new gua sha? And could it be the answer to youthful, snatched-looking skin?
Well, Dr Ahmed, widely known as The Aesthetics Doctor, is a trusted expert in non-invasive facial and body treatments (specialising in anti-ageing and body sculpting) and has shared his expertise on the Seamless Sculpt Face Wrap with Cosmopolitan UK.
Used in the medical industry, collagen yarn is a textile infused with collagen to moisturise and improve texture in the skin. However, experts have 'not been able to formulate a product where the collagen can penetrate the skin deep enough to really make a significant difference. So, I think this could be a lot of marketing," Dr Ahmed says.
"Wearing a tight garment like this can temporarily reduce puffiness and swelling, and have an almost shaping effect because it reduces any fluid in that area. But then, ultimately, things will just go back to how they were before. It doesn't actually permanently change anything," he adds.
Generally, a product like this is safe to wear; however, continuous use can have consequences. "Constant pressure on the face can affect lymphatic drainage and the skin barrier, [cause] irritation and so on.'
While the concept of using straps or bandages to shape the face has existed in varying cultures for centuries, the Kardashians' involvement in shaping modern beauty standards gives this chin strap an almost insidious undertone.
Yes, Korean beauty trends, particularly the "V-line" look, have popularised the specific use of chin straps for achieving a more sculpted jawline, and young women have been seen taping and strapping their faces for recent TikTok beauty trends.
But with a reach of over 6 million on the SKIMS Instagram account - and 350 million on Kim's own - the perpetuation of altering young women's bodies on such a scale – and to the extreme of bandaging your face overnight – is worrying. This goes beyond serums and moisturisers.
Alex Light, body confidence activist, shared her thoughts on the product in a video that has amassed over 7,000 likes and counting. 'Can you imagine men wearing these?" she said to the camera, after initially questioning whether the launch was a joke. 'Sculpt your jaw as you sleep because even when you rest, women aren't allowed to let go.'
Alex continues, "I really believe that this is so much deeper and more disturbing [than a product launch.] Our heads can't relax now; we have to compress all of our features because even our faces need to be tightly controlled and made to look as thin as possible."
With a rise in popularity for everything from weight loss injections to facial taping and buccal fat removal, it's hard not to feel cynical about Kim's latest product release. Yes, we all want to feel good about ourselves and take care of our skin, but the chances are a Seamless Sculpt Face Wrap isn't going to answer our problems. Instead, it only seeks to push the narrative that women need to be 'sculpted' and snatched to be deemed worthy.
Now more than ever, we're treading the line between playful beauty enhancements and unrealistic, idealised standards of what beauty looks like, and unless people at the top (Kim, I'm looking @ you) understand that, societal norms are only going to far outgrow reality.
Follow Lia on Instagram.
Lia Mappoura (she/her) is the Beauty Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Covering everything from viral celebrity hair and makeup news to the latest trend predictions, she's an expert in recognising the season's next big beauty look (before it ends up all over your social media feeds). You'll usually find her putting TikTok's recent beauty hacks to the Hype Test, challenging the gender-makeup binary and social stereotypes, or fangirling over the time Kourtney Kardashian viewed her Instagram Story (yes, it's true). Find her also on LinkedIn.
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