A Self Study of the Link Between Appearance and Self Esteem

Modern society seems to be placing a lot of emphasis on how people look. In the past, people who placed excessive importance on looks were perceived to be shallow, narrow-minded and vein. Very recently I began to ponder this question: is there a link between a person's appearance and our self esteem. Most of my previous product review articles have been the result of a self-study I conducted in an attempt to answer this question.

It has long been said that if you want to accomplish something, then you have to look the part, act the part, and be the part. Through my own self-study, I found that the link between one's appearance, which includes wardrobe, neatly groomed and styled hair, skin, and nails, maybe even using cologne, perfume, and makeup, is very directly and closely related to this old cliché.

Prior to the beginning of my self-study into how one's appearance affects his or her self-esteem, I generally didn't put too much thought into the way I dressed. I would just put on a shirt, socks, a belt, jeans, and shoes, and go on about my day doing what I needed to do. One day I took a look in the mirror and the reflection actually made my skin crawl. I thought 'I look dumpy. How can I expect someone to take an interest in me when I look like absolute hell?'

After that day in the mirror, I began to wonder what I could do to feel better about myself. I wanted to look the best I've ever looked in my life. I began to research the best skincare products and hair care products I could afford to be able to improve the tone, complexion, and overall look of my skin. Within a few weeks had tried several different products until I found the best ones.

After a couple of weeks of using the products I really began to like looking at my reflection in the mirror. I began to take current pictures of myself to compare the results of how good I look now compared to how horrible I looked then. It was during this point in the experiment I began to notice that I felt more motivated to get out and become more active. By taking the simple step of sprucing myself up a bit, I actually felt better about myself.