'I've Embraced My Femininity' – People Reveal Their Lockdown Glow-Ups

We all know smartphones are evil, but since the start of the pandemic they’ve become truly vindictive.

Every time you accidentally swipe left from your home screen, you’re shown a random old photo from your camera roll: you in the pub, arms around a friend, in happier times. You with a stranger you instantly became best friends with in an anonymous club toilet. A selfie where you aren’t dead behind the eyes.

Check the mirror after catching one of these photos and you will see a different person. Maybe you look just extremely tired in comparison, or perhaps you’ve completely overhauled your wardrobe since then, or – like me – have recently done one of those foot-peeling masks so your feet are ready to be unleashed in strappy little sandals come the 21st of June.

Whatever it is, something has changed. While most of us are going to re-emerge from lockdown slightly different to the person we went in as, some people have done more than just a foot mask. I asked them to tell me how they’ve glowed up since the start of the pandemic. 

“I’ve struggled with severe body dysmorphia for my whole life. Pre-lockdown, I’d have panic attacks because I was ‘too ugly’ to be allowed outside, and was obsessed with the idea that everyone thought I was hideous. I’ve had therapy for years, but what helped particularly in lockdown was the change in environment, and removing myself from settings that could trigger me. I had to sit with myself and my self image a bit more, away from any potential judgment. It felt like a safe place to try new things and work on properly liking myself.

“I always thought, because I had an ‘ugly’ face, I had to hide it with long hair and get my eyebrows threaded regularly to not look ‘like a caveman’. I ended up getting loads of my hair cut off and growing my eyebrows out, because I thought, ‘Well, if I look shit, nobody will see’ – and I actually prefer it!

“I think I’ll be keeping this energy post-lockdown, as I’ve realised I put way too much stock in other people's opinions – opinions I literally made up in my head anyway – and find it's so much easier to live in the moment without all that insecurity. I'm excited to go out and see what life is like with more self confidence.” – Jasmin

“My glow-up has gone pretty fucking good. I’ll be coming out of lockdown – whenever that is – with a different career path, spiritual growth, healthier hair and pursuing new hobbies. Before lockdown I was still pursuing being a chef, but with all of this time I’ll be leaving lockdown as a university student making films. I’ve really begun to understand what to do with my time and my life.

“There have definitely been times where I’ve changed in a short period of time, but not to the extent that I’ve done so over lockdown! I’ve been slowly embracing my femininity, which is coincidentally improving my confidence too. Over lockdown, my girlfriend and I slowly began to understand how much we don’t align with the old, constricting gender constructs, and sought to implement better habits into our lives. So I started to accept more feminine aspects of my personality and physical appearance. I plan on using more makeup, I’m dying to use red nail polish. But generally, I’m learning the importance of self-love. 

“This is my most recent picture and it’s a perfect way to show this glow up. A year ago I couldn't even make art, but here I am now!” – Aian

“Over the past year I’ve cut most of my hair off. I'd been cutting my hair shorter and shorter for about a year, and I'd always wanted to get a bob but I was too scared. After my hair grew so much in lockdown, I just wanted a change, so I went for it and got a short bob and got way more blonde highlights than I usually did, and I don't think I could ever go back.

“I also broke up with my boyfriend, got into fitness and rebuilt some of the friendships I’d lost. I’m definitely feeling better about my life and myself compared to how I felt at the start of the pandemic. Life moved so quickly before lockdown, I never had the chance to reflect and decide if I was happy with where I was at in life. Being stuck in one place has forced me to reflect on what I want from life and made me much less scared about taking risks to get it.

“I’m scared of another lockdown happening and I want to have new experiences before it does, but I’m also just very aware that anything could happen that might mean I have less scope to travel and enjoy being young. I turned 21 in January of 2020 too, so although I’m very aware that I lost my 21st year to coronavirus, it’s given me a new lease of life to have new experiences as often as possible.” – Alice

“I gained weight at the beginning of lockdown, but now I've now lost most of it and learned how to do my wigs properly, which has really helped me step up my game. I had a lot of free time, so I watched lots and lots of YouTube videos and decided, ‘Why not?’ I’ve always been a fan of [YouTuber] Mariam Musa – both her content and hairstyles – so I decided to put more effort in on that front. 

“To some extent, getting back to my pre-lockdown self made me feel more confident. I started getting more work this year too. I think when I ‘let myself go’ I felt lethargic and didn’t want to work, but it’s much better now. I don’t know if a career glow-up counts too, but I definitely feel a renewed sense of motivation now.” – Danai

“I started doing yoga around four years ago and liked it so much I did my yoga teacher training with my ex in 2019. When we broke up, I couldn't face doing yoga anymore, because it just reminded me of him. But through being bored in the first lockdown and my weight increasing, I started doing Zoom yoga, which really helped ground me in the moment and stop associating yoga from my ex. I started doing it every day, sometimes even twice. Now, I can touch my head with my feet! I’ve become super strong and bendy, and can even see abs in my tummy. Plus, it’s taught me grounding, patience and appreciation for the small things, which have been vital for surviving this pandemic and these lockdowns.” – Sam