Weird Beauty Standards People Strive for in Different Parts of the World

It’s no secret that tattoos are pretty popular in various places around the world. In New Zealand, they prefer to have them on their lips and chins; in India, they like to have Henna tattoos on their hands and feet; and in Senegal, they like to tattoo their gums. Women in Senegal think tattooed gums give them a more unique and beautiful smile, and so it’s become a common practice.

Tattoos have been pretty popular worldwide, but in many places, they are reserved for the parts of the body from the neck down. That is not the case in the Māori tribe of New Zealand, where facial tattoos are prevalent and a sign of beauty. Each and every tattoo has its own meaning and significance while also indicating a woman’s position in the tribe and which tribe she belongs to.

Did you think that perfectly white teeth were considered beautiful everywhere in the world? Think again! In some rural areas of China, the opposite is true. Not only do they not encourage you to brush your teeth to keep them nice and white, they even go so far as to encourage dark and blackened teeth. There are certain tribes that dye their teeth a blackish color in order to appear beautiful.

People’s skincare routines and beauty standards for their skin also vary from region to region. Now you can see what is oftentimes considered beautiful in places in Africa. Within the Himba tribe in Namibia, people want their skin to be redder. As their skin is oftentimes not naturally red-toned, they have created a paste that is applied to the skin daily.

Have you ever heard of an extraocular implant? It is not a very common term, and if you don’t live in the Netherlands, you probably have no idea what this is without doing a Google search. But don’t worry; we got you: an extraocular implant is a surgical procedure that implants a small piece of molden platinum into the eye of the person. You can even choose whatever design and shape you want.

Long hair is valued in many different cultures around the world. It is often considered a sign of true beauty and feminism. In India, in particular, long hair is very much valued. Rooted in the Hindi religion and spirituality, the trend of long hair has caused many women to grow their hair to extreme lengths. Oftentimes hair is grown out just to be donated to a temple as a spiritual offering.

The love of earrings is pretty universal. There are not many cultures that exist that don’t have some form of ear jewelry that is popular. In many African tribes, however, they take things to the next level. Instead of just appreciating the fashionable earrings, they actually make an effort to stretch out the ear lobes with earrings. The Masai tribe in Eastern Africa is famous for their very, very elongated earlobes.

Jumping to India, we’re looking into what is considered beautiful within the Apatani tribe. Modeled by this stunning woman, you can see that they value something called a nose plug. It is almost like a piercing or a gauge that is inserted into the nostrils. It can be on one side or both, and it can be of varying sizes (but the bigger, the better).

And here you have the latest in piercings from around the world. Although it is somewhat similar to the long cheek piercing you saw in Thailand, it is quite different. Women of the Yanomami clans, which can be found in the rainforest of South America, are known to have a unique way of showing beauty. They are pierced with multiple sticks that stick out (for lack of a better word) from their mouth area.

It’s funny to see how trends can change so quickly in society. One second the beauty standard is that flat bottoms are all the rage (in the 90s, it was the flatter the better), and then just a few years later, the exact opposite is true. Now in the USA, most people are striving to increase the size of their lower half, with inspiration from Kim Kardashian and the whole Kardashian clan.

Want a neck as long as a giraffe’s? Although you might’ve never considered this a possibility, in many parts of the world, it’s one of a woman’s most desired beauty traits. If you were not born lucky enough to have a naturally elongated neck, and you live in a place like Burma, there are neck stretching devices (like the jewelry in the picture) that can help you.

Although most of the world is leaning towards a very specific nose shape as their standard of beauty, Afghanistan is embracing the local look and encouraging people to keep their larger and more shapely noses. Not everyone wants the same small button nose that is popular in many cultures at this time. Afghani women are the exact opposite and sometimes even try to get surgeries to make their noses even larger.

In most parts of the world, people try to hide their scars. If they have an accident that leaves a mark, they usually will do everything in their power to cover it up so no one can see that anything happened. However, in some parts of the world, things are very different. In many African tribes and New Guinea, it is common to scar yourself intentionally. These scars are considered marks of beauty.

In recent years the common Western beauty standard has become that removing almost all body hair is the definition of beauty. However, some countries ignore this trend and stick with their own beauty. In some European countries, most famously France, it is common for women to leave most of their natural body hair intact (just like men do). Underarm and leg hair does not need to be removed for women to be considered beautiful.

Diet culture has been a popular pressure throughout the world for quite some time now. Although the pressure to be extremely thin has decreased in the past few years, most cultures are still not pressuring weight gain. That is, with the exception of Mauritania. In Mauritania, it is encouraged to have some extra weight. In fact, the more, the better. It is a sign of wealth and good fortune there.

Teeth can make or break a smile according to some beauty standards. The most commonly known teeth beauty standard is white, straight, and clean. However, that is not the standard in all places in the world. In Indonesia, they have a unique choice of tooth beauty. For them, the sharper the tooth, the more beautiful the look. As this is not very common to be naturally occurring, most women file their teeth to get them to look like this.

Having bronzed or tanned skin has become quite popular in the West. People are known to spend hours in the sun just to get a little bit of a summer glow. However, they may have taken things a little too far in the 2000s when fake tans became all the rage. Spray tans, tanning beds, and excessive amounts of bronzer became a necessity for everyone.

When it comes to Western beauty standards, it is usually the less hair, the better. Hair removal is commonplace and can occur over the entire body. People are also known to spend hours shaping their eyebrows and ensuring no hair is out of place. In Tajikistan, that is not necessarily the case. People there value excess facial hair, especially when it comes to eyebrows. If you have a unibrow, you could just be the belle of the town.

Most people in the world don’t want to let anyone know when they have gotten plastic surgery done. They like to keep things very hush-hush and on the down low. However, in some places like Iran, they want to show off their plastic surgery bandages. Instead of hiding in their rooms for weeks after a procedure, they boast the bandages with pride everywhere they go. That’s pretty surprising, isn’t it?

Piercings of all sorts are pretty common all throughout the world. Ear piercings are the most common, but there are also bellybutton piercings, nose piercings, and so much more. In Thailand, they have a special type of piercing that is popular for both men and women: the cheek piercing. Although it looks quite painful, especially depending on the size of the piercing (and what is portrayed in this picture), it is still not uncommon.

Most people dread the idea of being considered to have a pear body shape. It is often demonized in Western media and seen as not beautiful. However, that is not the case in Brazil. The pear shape (also known as the guitar shape there) is considered the ideal body shape to have, and everyone is striving to achieve that. People want to have larger bottoms and smaller chests.

Although perfectly straight teeth are a sign of beauty in many places around the world, in Japan, things are a little bit different. Braces are not the norm there, and often people will leave their crooked teeth alone and embrace them. Crooked teeth are considered cute and sweet, and countless people in Japan would do anything to misalign their perfectly straight teeth. Maybe they need to come up with a company for reverse braces.

Perhaps due to the overwhelming pressure of Western beauty standards on the rest of the world (Hollywood is partially to thank for that), many Asian countries have developed a desire to have bigger, more Western-shaped eyes. South Korea and Japan, along with many other countries in Asia, value bigger eyes and have made it a very desirable feature. This is also a hard trait to change if you are not born with it.

In most cultures, beauty standards make people terrified of a receding hairline that will result in a high or big forehead. But in many African tribes, that is not a concern at all. If your hairline starts to recede, all the better for you! This is actually considered one of the top most beautiful features a person could have. Some people go so far as to force the higher forehead.

Have you ever wondered what it would look like to design interesting pictures and paint your body with white chalk? Although the answer is probably no, there are some tribes in Ethiopia that do this commonly. White chalk body paint is common in the Caro tribe in Ethiopia. Both men and women are known to decorate their bodies with these spider web-like motifs to present themselves as the most beautiful in the village.

Skincare and a wrinkle-free face are pretty much valued in every culture. Women (and men) throughout the world buy countless creams and spend hours on skincare routines to keep their skin looking young and fresh. In South Korea, they take things to the next level in the strive for “glass skin.” What is glass skin, you might ask? Is it the most flawless version of skin that is also shiny and translucent?

In case you have ever seen people from China walking around with a sun umbrella on a hot summer day, this beauty standard may be the explanation of why. In China, unlike many Western countries, people want pale skin. The paler, the better. Sun tans are not popular and are even avoided at all costs. They even go to the next level by selling beauty products with a light bleaching agent in them to keep the skin light.

If you have ever visited India, it is unlikely that you missed the insanely large amounts of turmeric that were found everywhere. Whether it is in your food or on your skin (as is common), it can be found everywhere. What you probably also noticed is that it stains everything and very badly. If you spilled a little bit of your turmeric rice, there was no getting it out; your shirt would be yellow forever.

Different lengths of hair can be considered beautiful and trendy depending on the place and time period. In some places in Africa, the most beautiful hairdo is the one where all the hair is shaved off. A bald head is a sign of beauty and is oftentimes considered more beautiful than those with long hair, braids, or fancy hairdos. It certainly makes for easier hair upkeep on the day-to-day.

Until the rise of Gen Z, discolored under eyes were considered one of the worst things a person could have. They meant that you were tired or not in your best health, and people would spend ages trying to ensure that any discoloration was completely covered. However, in Japan, they actually consider reddish or rosy under eyes as a beautiful feature. Women even put blush there to obtain the sought-after look.

In recent years (also partially thanks to the Kardashian clan), there has been a widespread trend to have extremely plump lips. The bigger, the better is clearly the case here. As most people are not born with enormous lips, botox, lip fillers, and surgeries have become very popular as people are desperate to create an enormous pout. Countless celebrities have this look which creates the overall beauty standard for the rest of society.

Continuing on the theme of tattoos, India has their own custom that has become pretty world-famous in recent years. Henne tattoos, which are essentially temporary tattoos made from the dye of the henna plant, are very common for women, especially on special occasions. The tattoos are intricate and beautifully designed and can cover any part of the body, even though they are most common on the hands and feet.

Orthodontists in the US are known to have a pretty endless stream of work in line for them. There is no shortage of children that need their teeth straightened, and since perfect, straight, white teeth are so important in American culture, it’s a pretty sure career choice. Unlike some of the other countries on this list, the US finds perfect, not sharp, white teeth to be the picture of beauty.

Most cultures don’t really have an ideal face shape. They will probably have general beauty standards, but a specific facial shape is not usually among the top requirements. However, in South Korea, the story is a little bit different. The desire to have a heart-shaped face is so strong that, even on a short visit to the country, you will notice that there are countless offers for surgeries that create this shaped face.

This is a beauty standard that most people will happily get behind. Although heavy makeup may be very common in different parts of the world, and there are countless women who do not feel beautiful leaving their houses without a full face of makeup, that is discouraged in France. The natural, no makeup look is much more appreciated in France and is encouraged as the common choice for most women.

South Korea has quite a few particular beauty standards on this list, and here is the latest. In South Korea, the thinner your nose is, the better. Along with the double eyelid and the big eyes, you might notice that many of these features are based on making themselves look more Western. The heart-shaped face obsession, however, may be specific to just South Korea and not the rest of the world.

As can be seen in various different countries all around the world, piercings of all different types are quite popular. Whether it is nose piercings or cheek piercings (like in Thailand), they are usually considered beautiful. In the USA, facial piercings, in general, are pretty common and popular everywhere. Ear piercings and eyebrow piercings and nose piercings, you name it! Some people also think that it is the more, the merrier.

If you are planning to move to South Korea, keep in mind that they seem to have some pretty strict beauty standards. Beyond the love of the heart-shaped face, they also greatly value the double eyelid. Although this may seem unnatural, it can occur naturally for some people. What is the benefit of a double eyelid? South Koreans think that by having a double eyelid, their eyes will appear wider and more beautiful.

If you thought that the unibrow of Tajikstan was a unique beauty standard, introducing the squiggle brow. It is unclear if people just got bored with the eyebrow trends or if they honestly think this looks nice, but either way, it did make an appearance in the US among beauty and fashion bloggers and influencers. Besides looking like an extreme amount of work, it also looks a bit like a worm above the eye.

Indonesia is not the only place that values a particular shape to the teeth of its most beautiful people. In many African tribes, the practice of tooth chiseling is quite common for women. The procedure, which is quite painful, occurs every year and makes sure that the woman’s teeth are beautiful but also fierce looking. It’s not hard to look very fierce once you chisel your teeth to a point!