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Most adults are familiar with the awkward teenage phase. It's those terrible years in our adolescence when our faces are beset with acne, growth spurts make us lanky and uncoordinated, and we still haven't learned how to dress or style our hair properly.
Interestingly, other folks have their awkward phases later in life. On the Internet, it's known colloquially as a "glow-down". That's the opposite of a glow-up: a transformation where you become less fit, attractive, and confident.
Here we have some side-by-side pics of people who have shared their "glow-downs" with the Internet to teach us all a lesson that beauty fades. Maybe being hot is overrated after all?
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#1
Mrs Irish Mom 5 months ago
I hope she never goes missing cos she be fùcked if anyone would recognise her
Lee Banks 5 months ago
Dude. This is as cool af. Never used filters. This is part of the reason I don't even wear makeup. I don't want the young women that look up to me to ever spend time worrying about their looks on social media, or dropping silly amounts of cash on beauty products. I want to age like Jane Goodall. May not be model beautiful, but my laugh lines show I had a good friend group and passion.
Debbie 5 months ago
With makeup and without and not enough sleep. I can better compare if the facial expression is the same,
G A 5 months ago
You're deluded! So obviously MAJOŔ photo editing. The whole shape of the nose has changed!
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Megalodon Meg 5 months ago
That looks like a professional photo, either a school one or a headshot or something, not filtered but probably just retouched.
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#2
Chris the Bobcat 5 months ago
I think she looks better now. She has that "Mary-Ann" sort of lovely about her.
laura lee 5 months ago
Ok ppl these are glow down pics it's supposed to be first shot all the make up etc second how they aren't doing that any more and focusing on clean healthy skin etc
laura lee 5 months ago
Also explains the contacts first pic glasses the second. It's meant show reality to all the ppl out there
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Sylvia Baker 5 months ago
That's .... um ... an unfortunate haircut my dear.... let it grow out
Robin Roper 5 months ago
A terrible haircut and a doofus face doesn't make a permanent glow-down.
Cronecast AtTheRisingMoon 5 months ago
I think those unfortunate fringe or bangs was briefly trending in a couple of Scandinavian countries a few years ago. I watched a Swedish drama about a school shooting and was distracted the entire time because the male lead had this haircut. Here’s hoping it has passed into history across the globe. Luckily he can just let that grow back out and be fine.
Change is inevitable; it's natural for trends to come and go. Just around 10 years ago, we were all about heavy make up looks, accessorizing, and looksmaxxing. But, with the 2020s, a new trend emerged: no-makeup looks started making the rounds on social media, people started focusing more on accentuating their natural beauty and flaws, and body positivity became a staple of pop culture.
Yet, in recent years, people have been moving towards even more drastic movements like glowing down. Since we were kids and teens, the ugly duckling transformation has been something we've been told we all will have. Enhancing one's physical appearance meant more attention, more value, and, thus, a happier life.
#4
laura lee 5 months ago
Yes a glow down, didn't bleach her hair wearing glasses instead of contacts no makeup. The aesthetic is natural over processed
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Gwen Davis-Feldman 2 months ago
It really comes down to women who feel they have to wear makeup in this shallow world of acceptance, and women, once they mature, realize they can say fU - this is me. If you fall in love with my HS pic - you're a pedi p***k.
#5
Ms.GB 5 months ago
A lot of these are good angle and makeup vs bad angle and no makeup
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#6
Nea 5 months ago
Even if one ignored the filters, people grow up, age and look different.
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Blue Bunny of Happiness 5 months ago
Well, you aren’t filtered beyond filtering in the latest photo.
Whether we like it or not, a lot of beauty and body trends are reflected in who's popular at the moment. Talking with Vogue Singapore, Dr. Shauna Tan, an aesthetics doctor with The Covette Clinic, pointed out how celebrities who are currently receiving the most attention worldwide dictate the glow-down movement.
"When Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber were at the forefront of everyone's minds, hourglass figures, lip fillers and butt implants were the most common requests in clinics," she explains. "The current new wave of cool girls such as Charli XCX and Billie Eilish, on the other hand, endorse the notion of embracing imperfections."
"Now, we are seeing more patients who accept their natural features and are aiming for healthy-looking skin instead of flawlessness."
#7
laura lee 5 months ago (edited)
Y'all are not understanding the assignment, glow up (doing everything to present a glamorous look) glow down (not caring what others think) The nose is the same she's just gain weight with the baby
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Skogsrået 5 months ago
Is it just me or does she and the person behind her look really orange? Only her left hand looks normal in colour.
Debbie 5 months ago
That shirt would be very usefull for breastfeeding though
Load More Replies... Debbie 5 months ago
I like the right picture better. Still pretty but natural, not fake like the left.
#8
Chris the Bobcat 5 months ago
In the second photo she looks like she's about to go full feral karen!
#9
Heffalump 5 months ago
Well, I'd much rather spend time with the person on the right than the Barbie doll on the left.
What exactly is glowing-down? According to Bionix Clinic, these are the main four elements of the aesthetic:
- No-makeup look. Embracing your natural skin tone and things like redness without having to mask it with makeup.
- Natural texture. Pimples, freckles, and other imperfections don't stress people out as much. It's all part of the natural look!
- Attention to skincare. Whereas before, beauty was all about makeup, people are now focusing on achieving beauty without having to mask anything.
- Subtle enhancements. Instead of drastic, very visible changes like lip injections and botox, people ask beauty clinics for refinements to "enhance facial balance and radiance."
#10
veirdbuttrue 3 months ago
Yes exactly, I think it's really good for people to understand that we change as we age. We will not be able to look 18 forever, unless you are Liz Hurley with millions of bucks for plastic surgery.
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Marlene Ricker 5 months ago
Looks to me like a picture when she was trying and a picture where she gave up!
#11
Mrs Irish Mom 5 months ago
Wow looks like a model on the left and a younger version on the right
ohjojo (you/your's) 5 months ago
I can't tell which one is the before. I would say the one on the right is the before. he looks much older in the picture on the left. cute guy
Nira Amana 5 months ago
This one doesn't work. 'Before' is total cringe. 'After' very handsome and natural
Tom Brincefield 5 months ago
Left looks like being cool in school, right is just being himself.
#12
CooperDooper81 5 months ago
Is it just me or is one side of her face quite distorted in the first picture?
Tom Brincefield 5 months ago
Combo of hairstyle and normal uneven facial structure.
Load More Replies...Some celebrities have spoken about how they've changed their approach to beauty. Ariana Grande, for example, admitted that she was hiding behind certain beauty procedures. "I had a ton of lip filler over the years, and Botox. I stopped in 2018 because I felt it was too much. For a long time, beauty was about hiding for me. And now I feel like maybe it's not," she said in an interview for Vogue.
#13
Motivated sloth 5 months ago
This is like the ridiculous teen movies where you remove the glasses and the person is suddenly attractive. She looks the same.
Dee Rutherford 5 months ago
To me she looks more attractive in the “now” picture.
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#14
Tom Brincefield 5 months ago
Because she can put it down now instead of needing to carry it around inside her all the time. That kid is huge.
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#15
Kat 5 months ago
lol right? if this was like going out vs staying home post, I wouldn´t question it :D
Load More Replies... Mrs Irish Mom 5 months ago
Nothing a trip to the hairdresser can't fix, everything still looks the same except the hair
People are calling out celebrities getting dental procedures, too. Many feel that too-perfect, unnaturally-looking veneers ruin the authentic beauty of people who get them. Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, and others have been under fire for getting the procedure. "I absolutely hate this celebrity trend because THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR TEETH," one user wrote on Twitter (X). Many wonder: why couldn't they just get braces?
#16
Loudawg76 5 months ago
She’s got the original pic in the background of a video
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BeesEelsAndPups 5 months ago
She's prettier in the after picture. But then, there's something about a fake orange tan, and wrapping yourself in the American flag that I find unattractive
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Queen Boudicca 5 months ago
Didn't you watch Superman? Yes, totally unrecognizable. Secret identity...no one knows...blah blah blah.
Load More Replies... Cronecast AtTheRisingMoon 5 months ago
That’s not a glow down, she looks lovely in the second photo.
Chris the Bobcat 5 months ago
I like how she looks now more. She has that quieter, more natural sort of pretty that appeals to me.
#17
#18
A glow-up doesn't always have to be bad. Clinical psychologist Lisa Tsang told Vogue that when done with intentional self-improvement and self-care in mind, it can be beneficial. "Glowing up can be about both comparison and self-improvement. When it's about bettering yourself, beyond just looks, it becomes a rewarding journey of personal growth."
#19
Winter 5 months ago
And he had the mole on his chin removed! Excellent surgery, too! Not even the *hint* of a scar! 👀
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ohjojo (you/your's) 5 months ago
carefree and high in the first photo. looks a little worried in the second one. still cute
#20
Mrs Irish Mom 5 months ago (edited)
Maybe stop making that need to poʻo face and you may look like the younger picture
#21
ohjojo (you/your's) 5 months ago
but they're really cute. the second one is definitely more approachable.
However, for many people, glowing-up means associating their self-worth with their physical appearance. Laura Pitcher of the Cut talked with several women who have become borderline obsessed with glowing up, and the general outcome for them was the disillusionment of thinking that being beautiful would solve all their problems.
#22
ohjojo (you/your's) 5 months ago
I would rather see the baby than the nails. looks like a lot happened in that year. congratulations
WindySwede 5 months ago
It's for privacy. It's 2025, people realise they should keep children's faces out of social media. 👍
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#23
#24
Chris the Bobcat 5 months ago
I know a guy with identical triplet daughters. He swears they are telepathic and talk to each other through a mind link. Apparently the three of them will say a complete sentence, each saying a part or parts. Freaks him out too.
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YouTuber Haley Pham, for example, shared how she decided to go on a "glow-up" reversal journey in March 2024. She posted a video where she took out her piercings, and stopped dyeing her hair or getting hair nails and eyelashes done.
"I feel like my attention was on the wrong things and I could be a more useful person if I weren't so self-focused," she told Pitcher. "The focus for the day should be if I'm being a good friend to people."
#25
Motivated sloth 5 months ago
Many of these are just-Don’t take selfies an inch away from your face-situations
#26
LeighAnne Brown-Pedersen 5 months ago
She looks happier on the right. And happier looks prettier in a real way!
#27
David Morgan 5 months ago
Did this guy change ethnicity, or was he wearing pale makeup before? Given the head/facial hair, I believe the second pic is his real skin colour, and it looks much better.
So, does the glow-down trend signal that we as a society don't care that much about looks anymore? Perhaps—because we're still focused on how people look, aren't we? Licensed Naturopathic Doctor Heidi Lescanec says that we shouldn't focus on physical appearance to determine a person's worth.
"The most compelling beauty isn't about perfection; it's about authenticity. It's in the laughter lines that hold memories, the scars that tell stories, and the messy hair that shows you've been living life, not posing for it."
#28
#29
Russell Rieckenberg 5 months ago
Some might assume she meant figuratively 11.
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#30
Michael Largey 5 months ago
Saw a picture of my high school girlfriend 56 years after she dumped me. They're right - that dish is served best cold.
Chris the Bobcat 5 months ago
Is this one transitioning? If that's the case, best of luck. Regardless, those eyes are amazing.
What do you think about the glow-down movement, Pandas? Which glow-downs from this list do you think are the most impressive? Share your thought about beauty trends like "natural beauty" with us in the comments! And, in the meantime, check out our previous article about which beauty standards people find the most unattractive.
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Diane Tucker 5 months ago
This is ridiculous. It's just makeup vs. no makeup or plain old *time*. Why make impossible expectations like this?
Orange Frosting 5 months ago
Most of these (for the women, anyway) are just with makeup vs without it.
Happy_Pandalover 5 months ago
Posts like these should be banned. Sorry, boredpanda shouldn‘t bring people down.
T'Mar of Vulcan 5 months ago
The pictures all look fine. The people look fine. "Glow down"? What are we, teenage girls?!
Rachel Pelz 5 months ago
What's the point of this? Pretending lookism doesn't exist? Promoting lookism? I get that these people seek for affirmation that they were pretty before and are still pretty/OK/fully accepted human beings. But why spread this on BP, where OP can't read the comments without stretching for it. BP, you can do better. Tattoos are by choice. General looks mostly just come with existing as a physical being.
beautiful plumage 5 months ago
it's not the years. it's the mileage. and gravity, kids, camera angles, poor lighting, and yeah okay years.
Mark Savoie 5 months ago
Wjy in the would would people care? BP should be ashamed for green lighting this.
Diane Tucker 5 months ago
This is ridiculous. It's just makeup vs. no makeup or plain old *time*. Why make impossible expectations like this?
Orange Frosting 5 months ago
Most of these (for the women, anyway) are just with makeup vs without it.
Happy_Pandalover 5 months ago
Posts like these should be banned. Sorry, boredpanda shouldn‘t bring people down.
T'Mar of Vulcan 5 months ago
The pictures all look fine. The people look fine. "Glow down"? What are we, teenage girls?!
Rachel Pelz 5 months ago
What's the point of this? Pretending lookism doesn't exist? Promoting lookism? I get that these people seek for affirmation that they were pretty before and are still pretty/OK/fully accepted human beings. But why spread this on BP, where OP can't read the comments without stretching for it. BP, you can do better. Tattoos are by choice. General looks mostly just come with existing as a physical being.
beautiful plumage 5 months ago
it's not the years. it's the mileage. and gravity, kids, camera angles, poor lighting, and yeah okay years.
Mark Savoie 5 months ago
Wjy in the would would people care? BP should be ashamed for green lighting this.
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