Irish people feel less attractive than people from other nations because of their natural pale skin tone, according to a survey carried out by Thérapie Clinics.
The natural Irish complexion tends to be more pale and freckled compared to people from hotter countries, but does that make them any less attractive?
There has been a concern in recent years that the fashion industry and the media have created a ‘perfect look’ of tanned bodies and dark hair.
Thérapie Clinics want to challenge that notion that people from all around the world should be aspiring to look the same. Instead, they want people to take proud of their natural beauty, whatever their skin tone.
They have created a YouTube video as part of the #LoveIrishSkin campaign, which aims to build confidence in young people to be proud of their natural appearance.
If the comments in the video are anything to go by, then it looks like Thérapie Clinics has some work to do yet to convince Irish people that they should be happy with the way they look and don’t need to chase a more tanned appearance.
One young woman said: “I don’t really wear pink because I think my skin is quite pink and I can look quite a bit like a pig.”
Another concerned woman warned: “The kids now, like 13, 14 plastered with makeup, it’s their skin I would be worried about!”
Other negative comments included in the video were ‘we don’t take the sun well’ and ‘we look like vampires’.
One woman said: “When your standing beside that dark, Brazilian skin tone you do feel a little bit inferior.”
When asked if she thinks Irish skin is beautiful. One young woman replied: “Not particularly, sometimes I think there is like ‘Irish pretty’ and then there’s ‘world pretty’”
The survey revealed than 24% of Irish women would never let their partner see them without makeup and that 61% of Irish people feel less attractive because of their Irish skin.
One Irish person that is fully behind the #LoveIrishSkin campaign is glamour model and former Miss Ireland winner Roz Purcell. She tweeted: “#loveirishskin a great campaign set up by @therapieclinics so let’s start embracing our skin & looking after it!”