Running head: MAKEUP USAGE & SELF-ESTEEM
The Effects of Makeup Usage on Women’s Self-Esteem
Hadeel Altaher
University of Illinois at Chicago
PSCH 321: Lab in Developmental Psychology
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MAKEUP USAGE & SELF-ESTEEM
Abstract
Society has put the spotlight on makeup as a vital part of a woman’s “perfect” image. The
aim of this study is to test whether makeup use has an effect on self-esteem in both
younger and older women. 108 female participants ages 18-62 were randomly assigned to
two different groups: makeup and no makeup. They were both presented with the same
scenario (the only change being whether makeup was worn or not) and asked to answer
the State Self-Esteem Scale Questionnaire followed by a few makeup related questions. The
results showed no statistical significance of main effects of age or condition and no
statistically significant interaction effects between age and condition. The results did show
that women who are used to wearing makeup have higher self-esteem when they wear it
than don’t and vice-versa with women who do not wear it. Future research should focus on
older generations to gain an understanding of their self-esteems.
Keywords: Self-esteem, makeup, age
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The Effects of Makeup Usage on Women’s Self-Esteem
In this day and age, image is everything. Our society is revolved around trying to
portray that “perfect” image: having expensive apparel and accessories, the most followers
on Instagram, the perfect body, the perfect hair, the perfect selfie. We have built a society in
which our younger generations believe that this is a measure of their worth. More recently,
images of women in full makeup have surged across the Internet. Rarely can one open a
page on social media without seeing women in full-glam, perfectly contoured cheeks and
bold lipstick. Images like these send the message that without makeup, women cannot be
beautiful. While it can be argued that many women see makeup as art and a form of selfexpression, the pressure to look a certain way can have a huge impact on self-esteem. Very
little research related to makeup has been conducted. This current study aims to gather
more information on the effects makeup usage has on women’s self-esteem. Understanding
this relationship can help in pushing campaigns to combat societal pressure to be perfect
and promote self-love.
While little research has been done on the topic of makeup and self-esteem, there
are a few papers that have been published that provide us with valuable information. The
first is a study conducted by L. C. Miller and C. L. Cox (1982). Their study aimed to analyze
the relationship between makeup use and public self-consciousness. A total of 42
undergraduate women who participated in this study were given two questionnaires to fill
out: one about their makeup use and the other about their attitudes towards makeup. Their
pictures were taken and then rated on the amount of makeup worn by three other
undergraduate women. The questions about the participants makeup use were about their
daytime makeup use, the amount of time spent on their makeup, and how much they
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typically wear. The second questionnaire had seven statements about their attitudes about
makeup like “I feel that makeup enhances my appearance”, “I feel my interactions with
others go more smoothly when I’m wearing makeup”, and “people react more positively to
me when I wear makeup”. They found that public self-consciousness was significantly
related to the amount of makeup worn as rated by the three other women and as selfreported. They also found that most of the women claimed that their interactions with
others went more smoothly when they were wearing makeup (Miller & Cox, 1982). While
this is very interesting and valuable information, the study fails to relate these findings
with the women’s self-esteem. The results showed more external information about how
others perceives women and how they think others perceive them, but not about how this
effects their emotional well-being. The experiment conducted in this current paper aims to
bridge that gap and explore whether there will be an effect on self-esteem when makeup is
or is not used in similar situations.
The second study conducted by Nash, Fieldman, Hussey, Leveque, and Pineau
(2006) was focused on understanding how others view women based on the amount of
makeup they are wearing. This study had 152 male and 171 female participants. They were
shown pictures of 4 Caucasian women in their 30s presented with and without makeup.
They were then rated by the participants on health, confidence, earning potential, and
professional class. The results showed that the women presented with makeup were rated
as healthier and more confident and were also judged to have a higher earning potential
than the women presented without makeup. This experiment in itself shows how much of a
value our society has put on appearances. Based strictly on the amount of makeup they
were wearing, half of the women were deemed as lower quality people by complete
MAKEUP USAGE & SELF-ESTEEM
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strangers. Judgments like these can take a toll on women’s self-esteem. This study could
have gone a step further by giving the four women a self-esteem assessment before their
pictures were taken, shown them the results of the study according to the participants who
ranked their photographs, and then asked them to take another self-esteem assessment to
see if there was a change. This could have provided information about how the women are
affected by other people’s judgments of them. This new study will focus on the women and
their self-esteem as affected by other’s views of them.
One study that did look into self-esteem was done by some of the same authors as
the previous study. Robertson, Fieldman, and Hussey (2008) formed a questionnaire
composed of 16 personality variables and makeup usage. The aim of the study was to see if
there would be a connection between the two. Thirty undergraduate female students
completed the questionnaire. The results showed a positive correlation between
conformity, self-presentation, and anxiety and a negative correlation between social
confidence, emotional stability, physical attractiveness and self-esteem. In terms of selfesteem, this means that the more makeup the participants reportedly wore, the lower their
self-esteem was. However, this study lacks variety in age. The participants were all
undergraduate students and it is unknown if the same results can be yielded with an older
population. The study that will be explained in this paper will examine a broad range of
ages to see if there will be any changes in self-esteem as we age.
This study’s purpose was to test the relationship between makeup use, age, and selfesteem in women. A scenario was presented in which makeup was a key factor that was
manipulated into two conditions. Participants were then asked to answer questions
regarding their self-esteem and makeup habits. I hypothesize that there will be a main
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effect of age in which older women will have higher self-esteem than younger women and
there will be a main effect of makeup meaning women in the makeup condition will have a
higher self-esteem than women in the no make condition. I also hypothesize that there will
be no interaction effect between age and makeup condition. I expect this to be true based
off of the previous research (Robertson, Fieldman, & Hussey, 2008) that showed younger
women had low self-esteem relative to their level of makeup use. I also believe that over
time, women put less emphasis on their image and appearance because of a change in
priorities. Time becomes a constraint and busy schedules tend to over-power the want or
need to focus on the details of one’s appearance. Younger women have fewer
responsibilities and are still trying to find their identities in the world. Makeup comes as
one of those experimental factors that change the way we think people view us or want to
see us as well as how we view ourselves.
Method
Participants
Participants for this study were recruited through Facebook, text, and e-mail. The
participants in this experiment were 108 females ranging in age from 18 to 62 with a mean
age of 27.41 and a standard deviation of 11.05. Participants were narrowed down from the
165 responses collected. After filtering out the males, those under 18, those who did not
consent and those who did not finish the survey, 108 participants were left. Of these
participants, 41 classified themselves as White, 34 Middle Eastern, nine Hispanic/Latino,
nine Asian, eight Black/African American, six multiracial and one not listed. Forty-nine
participants were undergraduate students and the other 58 were not. The participants
were separated into two groups based on the 50% cut-off in the program Qualtrics. Group
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1 consisted of 60 females ages 18-22 and Group 2 consisted of 48 females ages 23-62. For
the purposes of clarity, Group 1 will be referred to as the younger group and Group 2 will
be referred to as the older group. An even split was noticed for both the makeup and no
makeup conditions with 54 participants in each.
Materials/Design
The experiment was in the form of a survey. The first independent variable was age,
which was split into two groups as described above: the younger group (females ages 1822) and the older group (females ages 23-62). The second independent variable was the
condition. A scenario was created in which everything was held constant except with one
manipulation: whether the participants were wearing makeup or not (Appendix A). The
scenario consisted of an encounter with someone that led to a date. As the participants
were getting ready for this date, they either had time to do their makeup and left with a
“full-face” (i.e., lipstick, contour, false eyelashes, eyeshadow, etc.) or they were running late
and could not put any makeup on. These manipulations served as the makeup or no
makeup conditions, respectively. This was a between-subjects design, so each participant
was only able to see one or the other of the two conditions. The dependent variable was
self-esteem as measured by the State Self-Esteem Scale Questionnaire. For the purpose of
this study, only the Social and Appearance Self-Esteem sub-scales were used because the
intellectual sub-scale was not relevant to the situation. In total, 13 self-esteem items were
presented. The items were rated in agreement on a 5-point Likert Scale. The highest
possible score was a 75 and the lowest was a 13. High scores correspond with high selfesteem and vice-versa (Tables 1 and 2).
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This was then followed by five makeup related questions created by myself to gauge
the participants’ makeup behaviors. For four of the items, the participants were asked to
rate statements regarding their makeup attitudes in agreement. The statements were as
follows: “I consider makeup to be a vital part of my image”, “I will not leave the house
without makeup”, “I consider makeup to be my creative outlet”, and “I feel more
comfortable with makeup on than without it”. These statements were rated on a 7-point
Likert Scale from 1-strongly agree to 7-strongly disagree. The lowest possible score was
four (meaning high makeup use) and the highest was 28 (meaning very low makeup use).
An ANOVA analysis was conducted for this subset of questions, but there was no statistical
significance or interactions. For the purpose of clarity and conciseness, these results were
not included in the final analysis. The fifth question presented was as follows: “On a daily
basis, I wear…”. Three options were given for participants to choose from: no makeup at all,
minimal makeup (2-4 products) and full-face/heavy makeup (5+ products). Based on these
answers, the three categories were then turned into two for final analysis: makeup nonusers and makeup users. There were 32 makeup non-users and 76 makeup users.
Procedure
Once the participants clicked on the Qualtrics link provided to them, they were
given a brief description of the survey on the informed consent page. The participants were
kept in the dark about the makeup aspect of the study and were told they were
participating in a study about appearance and self-esteem. After they agreed to the survey,
they were asked to verify that they were 18 years or older and then asked to input their
age. A series of demographic questions were asked regarding their year in college (if
applicable), their ethnicity, and their income. This was followed by the instructions, which
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stated that they were to read the following scenario and answer the follow-up questions in
regards to how the scenario made them feel at that moment. Once they accepted, one of the
two scenarios was presented to them. This was followed by 13 items from the State SelfEsteem Scale. A couple of examples of the statements were “I feel self-conscious”, “I feel
good about myself”, and “I am pleased with my appearance right now” Tables 1 and 2
provide all 13 items verbatim. After rating these statements, the participants were asked a
series of makeup-related questions. First, they were asked how much makeup they wore on
a daily basis. Then they were then asked to rate the four makeup attitude statements. After
this, the participants were led to the debriefing page in which my hypothesis was stated
and they were thanked for their time.
Results
For this 2X2 factorial design, an ANOVA analysis was conducted to assess whether
there was a relationship between age, makeup-use, and self-esteem in women. I
hypothesized that there would be a main effect of age, a main effect of makeup, and that
there would be no interaction effect between age and makeup. The tests showed that
participants in the older group (M= 43.13, SD= 1.32) had slightly higher self-esteem than
participants in the younger group (M= 39.88, SD= 1.18), F(1, 104) = 3.37, p= .069 (Tables 1
& 2). Although the results were not statistically significant, they were trending in that
direction. There was no statistically significant difference in self-esteem between
participants in the makeup condition (M= 42.19, SD= 1.25) and participants in the nomakeup condition (M= 40.81, SD= 1.25), F(1, 104)= 0.607, p= 0.438 (Tables 1 & 2). The
results did not support my original hypothesis for these main effects. However, there was
no statistically significant interaction effect between age and condition, F(1, 104)= 0.014,
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p= 0.906. Older participants scored higher in self-esteem in both the makeup condition
(M=43.92, SD=1.86) and the no makeup condition (M=42.33, SD=1.86) than the younger
participants in both conditions (M=40.47, SD=1.67), (M=39.30, SD=1.67), respectively.
These results supported my hypothesis in expecting no interaction effect (Figure 1).
A one-way ANOVA analysis was also conducted for the independent variable of
makeup-use in place of age. The results showed that there was no statistically significance
between the self-esteems of the makeup non-users (M=40.31, SD= 1.61) and the makeup
users (M=41.65, SD=1.041), F(1,104)=0.49, p=0.486. There was also no statistical
significance in self-esteem between the no makeup condition (M=41.11, SD=1.33) and the
makeup condition (M=40.85, SD=1.38), F(1, 104)=0.02, p=0.89. There was, however, a
statistically significant interaction effect between makeup-use and condition,
F(1,104)=3.99, p=0.048 (Figure 2). The makeup non-users had significantly higher selfesteem in the no makeup condition (M=42.35, SD=2.20) than the makeup users (M=39.87,
SD=1.49). Further, makeup users had higher self-esteem in the makeup condition
(M=43.44, SD=1.45) than the makeup non-users (M=38.27, SD=2.34). This means that the
participants had higher self-esteem when placed in a scenario that better matched their
personal makeup habits.
Discussion
I hypothesized that there would be a main effect of age and condition and no
interaction effect between the two. More specifically, I hypothesized that older women
would have higher self-esteem regardless of condition than younger women, that
participants in the makeup condition will have higher self-esteem than those in the no
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makeup condition, and that there would be no interaction effect between age and makeup
condition.
The results rejected my hypotheses for the main effects. There was, however, a
trend for statistical significance for the main effect in age. While there was a large sample
size, there were not many women over the age of 30 who participated in this experiment.
Of the 108 participants, only 29 of them were ages 30 and over. If more participants in this
older age group were added, we may find statistical significance. I still believe that there is
some relationship between age and self-esteem. The priorities in our lives change over
time, and we become more comfortable with our own skin and with who we are. Because
there is so little research done related to makeup, there is virtually no literature on how it
affects older women. The majority of studies have targeted younger, college-aged females.
Due to the developmental factors that affect our lives as we change, future research should
look at older women’s makeup habits, how they have changed over time, and how they feel
it has affected them.
For the non-significant findings of main effect of condition, I strongly believe this is a
result of the makeup factor not being very obvious in the scenario. Many of the participants
informed me that they were unaware that the scenario was about the makeup and not the
date. They also informed me that they were rating the statements in regards to their
nervousness about the date and not the makeup. In the future, I would make this
manipulation more clear so that the participants can respond to the items based on the
variable being tested and not a detail of the experiment. If I did change the scenario, I
would create a less stressful one in which the nervousness wouldn’t come from the
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situation instead of the manipulation. I would bring more attention to the makeup and
state specifically “rate the statements based on how you feel your makeup is effecting you”.
In the questionnaire, an item was added for the purpose of regaining the
participants’ attention. It stated, “I am still reading these”. However, there should have
been a command that stated, “If you are reading this, select…” Because there was no
command, the participants all answered differently and there were no way to measure
whether or not they were paying attention or randomly clicking through the items. This
may have been a major source of error for the averages of self-esteem.
Another limitation may be that the majority of the participants were Middle Eastern.
Many of the Middle Easterner participants were Muslim and do not date, therefore the
scenario may have been difficult for them to imagine. As a result, they may have answered
differently than they would have in a more familiar situation. They may have rated the
statements based on their feelings of being on a date that is a foreign and strange situation
to them. In the future, I will take into account people’s backgrounds and ethnicities to make
sure the majority of my participants will actually be able to relate.
The study conducted by Miller and Cox (1982) consisted of makeup use and public
self-consciousness. Participants found that their interactions went more smoothly when
they were wearing makeup that when they weren’t. However, the results of my study
showed that there was no difference in self-esteem between the two conditions. As shown
in Tables 1 and 2, the means of self-esteem were extremely similar for the statements
regarding how the participants felt compared to others or how they felt they were being
perceived by others. While there was no statistical significance, there was still a difference
in results between our two studies.
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One of the studies conducted by Cash et al (1989) found a positive relationship
between the amount of makeup worn and appearance satisfaction. The women in that
study felt better about their appearances when wearing more makeup. This is similar to
what I expected to find in my study. I originally hypothesized that women would have
higher self-esteem when placed in the makeup condition than the no makeup condition. I
believe I did not obtain these results because of scenario I presented in the study. However,
if I brought more attention to the makeup aspect of the scenario, I believe that I would see
women in the makeup condition to have higher self-esteem than women in the no makeup
condition.
My hypothesis for no interaction effect was supported by the results. I believe that
this is because older women have more stable self-esteems and are more accepting of
themselves. They have already been through the phases of finding their identities and have
hit some of the major milestones in their lives; therefore they are less affected by external
forces or perceptions.
After conducting the first ANOVA test, I decided to create another independent
variable that had to do with the participants’ makeup habits. Because I found age not to be
statistically significant, I wanted to see if the amount of makeup one wears on a regular
basis may effect one’s self-esteem when put in scenarios with different levels of makeup.
The statistically significant results showed that women who wear makeup on a daily basis
had highest self-esteem when put in a situation where they had makeup on and women
who were not used to makeup had highest self-esteem when they were put in a situation
where they did not have any on. This is means that women feel better about themselves in
stressful situations when they stay within their comfort zones.
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These results were similar to that of a study conducted by Cash and Cash (1982) in
which women who were makeup users reported higher self-confidence and sociability in
situations they were wearing makeup in. The difference here is that Cash and Cash only
tested makeup users, so there is no control group to compare the results to. They also
strictly used college-aged women. It would have provided more information if the study
has a wider variety of ages and it would give this study something to compare results with.
The importance of studying relationships between makeup use and psychosocial
aspects is growing on a daily basis. With the rise of social media in recent years, we have
seen an increase in value placed on appearances. Society is obsessed what people are
wearing, what sizes they are, how they did their hair and how much makeup they are
wearing. The days of hard work and persistence as being a measure of one’s value are gone.
For example, Alicia Keys, a famous musician, recently stopped wearing makeup and it is all
anyone can talk about. A New York Times article written by Penelope Green went into detail
about all of the places Keys has been without makeup and all buzz she had to deal with
about her decision(Green, 2016). She has faced people saying she is being deceitful and has
spent thousands on skin care or that she isn’t good looking enough to pull it off. All she
wants is to be comfortable in her own skin. Keys promotes self-love and says “I hope to God
it’s a revolution”. We need to break through the chains society has put on us. We have
become a world that is worried more about why a celebrity decided to walk out of the
house without makeup than about education policy and the futures of our children. If we,
as a society, keep creating these unrealistic expectations of beauty for our children, they
will suffer.
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As the previous research has shown, there are correlations between makeup and
self-esteem. Future research should look into the effects of age and self-esteem with the
involvement of makeup to gain more information about under-researched topic. Future
studies should look into an experimental aspect of makeup manipulation. If you personally
manipulate how much makeup someone wears and in what scenarios, you would get a
more realistic result and the self-esteem scale can serve as a more accurate mode of
measurement.
While my study could not provide conclusive evidence about age and makeup use
effecting self-esteem, it did show that women have higher self-esteem when they are more
comfortable with their appearances, whether it is with or without makeup. Future research
should also look into self-love campaigns and trying to change the shape society is trying to
mold us into. Being oneself is the best, and as it turns out, happiest way one can be in terms
of self-esteem. For the future of our children, we must conduct more research to gain our
knowledge on this topic and implement our findings into campaigns to break the chains of
societal standards.
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References
Cash, T.F. and Cash, D.W. (1982), "Women's use of cosmetics: psychosocial correlates and
consequences", International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 4, 1-13
Cash, T. F., Dawson, K., Davis, P., Bowen, M., & Galumbeck, C. (1989). Effects of cosmetics
use on the physical attractiveness and body image of American college
women. Journal Of Social Psychology, 129(3), 349.
Green, P. (2016, September 14). Alicia Keys and the “tyranny of makeup”. New York Times,
p. 1. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/fashion/alicia-keys-nomakeup-beauty-movement.html?_r=0
Miller, L. C., & Cox, C. L. (1982). For appearances' sake: public self-consciousness and
makeup use. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 8(4), 748-751
Nash, R., Fieldman, G., Hussey, T., Lévêque, J., & Pineau, P. (2006). Cosmetics: they
influence more than caucasian female facial attractiveness. Journal of Applied Social
Psychology, 36(2), 493-504
Robertson, J., Fieldman, G., Hussey, T. (2008). “Who wears cosmetics?” Individual
differences and their relationship with cosmetic usage. Individual Differences
Research, 6, 38
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Table 1
Means and Standard Deviations on State Self-Esteem Scale for No Makeup Condition
Item
n
M
SD
I am worried about
54
3.315
1.241
whether I am regarded
as a success or a
failure*
I feel satisfied with
54
2.74
0.994
the way my body
looks right now.
I feel that others
54
3.39
0.899
respect and admire me
I am dissatisfied with
54
2.741
1.247
my weight*
I feel self-conscious*
54
2.833
1.023
I feel displeased with
53
3.547
0.972
myself*
I feel good about
53
3.04
0.898
myself
I am pleased with my
54
2.72
1.017
appearance right now
I am worried about
54
3.093
1.217
what other people
think of me*
I feel inferior to others
54
3.759
0.950
at this moment*
I feel unattractive*
54
3.556
1.143
I feel concerned with
53
2.811
1.241
the impression I am
making*
I am worried about
53
3.019
1.308
looking foolish*
Note. Scores ranged from 1 (Not at all) to 5 (Extremely)
* Indicates items are reverse scored
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Table 2
Means and Standard Deviations on State Self-Esteem Scale for Makeup Condition
Self-Esteem Item
n
M
I am worried about
54
3.222
whether I am regarded
as a success or a
failure*
I feel satisfied with
54
2.96
the way my body
looks right now.
I feel that others
54
3.37
respect and admire me
I am dissatisfied with
54
2.796
my weight*
I feel self-conscious*
54
2.796
I feel displeased with
54
3.648
myself*
I feel good about
53
3.25
myself
I am pleased with my
54
3.33
appearance right now
I am worried about
54
3.000
what other people
think of me*54
I feel inferior to others
54
3.833
at this moment*
I feel unattractive*
54
3.907
I feel concerned with
54
2.889
the impression I am
making*
I am worried about
53
3.189
looking foolish*
Note. Scored ranged from 1 (Not at all) to 5 (Extremely)
* Indicates items are reverse scored
SD
1.208
1.009
1.033
1.188
1.105
1.084
0.853
0.991
1.213
1.145
1.186
1.208
1.316
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Average Self-Esteem Scores
45
44
43
42
41
40
Younger
39
Older
38
37
36
No Makeup
Makeup
Condition
Figure 1. Average self-esteem scores between the makeup and no makeup conditions of
younger and older age groups. The younger group consists of females ages 18-22 and the
older group consists of females ages 23-62. No interaction effect is obtained.
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Average Self-Esteem Scores
44
43
42
41
40
39
Makeup Non- Users
38
Makeup Users
37
36
35
No Makeup
Makeup
Condition
Figure 2. Average self-esteem scores between the no makeup and makeup conditions in
makeup non-users and makeup users. A statistically significant interaction effect is
obtained in which the makeup non-user group has higher self-esteem in the no-makeup
condition and the makeup user group has higher self-esteem in the makeup condition.
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Appendix
No Makeup Scenario: Imagine that you meet someone through mutual friends. You
find them very attractive, funny and smart and the two of you really hit it off. They end up
asking you out on a date for the following night. As you are getting ready, you pick out your
favorite outfit and perfect your hair, but you are running late and don’t have time to do
your makeup. Your reservations are for 7:00 pm and it is already 7:15 pm. You don't want
them to think you aren't going to show up, so you decide to leave now. When you get to the
restaurant, your date is sitting at a table looking at the menu. As you walk towards them,
they look up and see you approaching.
Makeup Scenario: Imagine that you meet someone through mutual friends. You find
them very attractive, funny and smart and the two of you really hit it off. They end up
asking you out on a date for the following night. As you are getting ready, you pick out your
favorite outfit, perfect your hair, and have a full face of makeup on (contour, false-lashes,
lipstick, the whole nine). When you get to the restaurant, your date is sitting at a table
looking at the menu. As you walk towards them, they look up and see you approaching.