Woman's 'Controversial' Beauty Takes Go Viral-'Glad You Said Something'

A thought-provoking viral video on TikTok has sparked debates around whether or not people should undergo beauty treatments "if you can't afford them", and the woman behind the footage spoke to Newsweek about her views.

Admitting that her hot take may sound "more snobby and controversial than it potentially is," Ellie Jones had a surprising amount of support for her strong opinions, in just one of many posts shared to her account.

The video proved popular, gaining over 455,000 views and 44,000 likes since being shared in May, with Jones (@thenowthegorgeous) writing in the caption that her take is, "just something to think about before you commit to certain treatments..."

Not one to shy away from conversations around the beauty industry, the freelance writer from London, England, told Newsweek how the content stemmed from her final project during college: "I'm very interested in the sociology of fashion, and did my dissertation at the University of Cambridge on the significance of women's clothing in their religious lives."

"I like to make fun videos I feel are relatable and shed some light on the things people in the spotlight are doing to look good! I think it helps to know things aren't necessarily natural and take a lot of money to upkeep, because otherwise it's easy to compare yourself to people whose jobs it is to look good."

In this particular hot take, she said, "I feel like there are certain beauty treatments where if you cannot afford the upkeep, or if you don't have time to do the upkeep, you actually are better off not having them," before going on to highlight the two treatments she believes her statement most applies to, and they both have something in common.

Lash Extensions

The first treatment under fire is lash extensions, one with a potentially costly price tag many commit to. Global Market Insights valued the lash extension market at $1.1 billion in 2023, but Jones believes some may be living above their needs to enable the upkeep, or skipping it all together.

She said, "I think if you don't have the time or the money to keep up with doing your extensions, you will often end up looking worse."

She went on to warn about the dangers of attempting this treatment without proper training, and said, "if you try to do them yourself at home you don't know what you're doing. You could give yourself an infection."

Giving credit where its due, she said, "some people do it at home absolutely fine, but the danger's always there. Or, if you go to someone that has really low rates, you don't necessarily know if they clean their tools."

She finished by noting how grown out lashes can be a telltale sign, excusing those who only got the treatment as a one off, as she said, "I think it looks better to have just natural, shorter, less visible lashes than it does to have bad lash extensions."

Hair Extensions

She said the second treatment has "got to be hair extensions. I personally have not really seen a cheap alternative to hair extensions that look good." The treatment needs more than just salon trips, with hair care a vital element of making sure they look good for longer.

Jones added that, despite feeling that "there are definitely exceptions," this is aimed at those that leave it longer than they should for a refit to save money. She said, "I think walking around with your tracks showing, or your extensions are falling out at the function or whatever, I think that looks a lot worse than whatever you were trying to fix about your natural hair."

She finished her TikTok by adding: "Unless you know you have the budget and the time to go to someone really good and get good natural fill ins and get them redone regularly, just don't do it."

The 21-year-old, who currently works in fashion technology, told Newsweek: "as women, we often get over-marketed into paying for beauty services that aren't necessary, and it's easy to fall into the trap of trying to keep up with celebs and influencers who often get their treatments gifted, and whose jobs it is to look camera-ready at all times.

"Certain beauty services like extensions, veneers, and fillers require a lot more upkeep than it appears up front, and you end up stuck having to either keep paying for a service to be updated or walk around with it half done for weeks until you can afford it!"

What Do the Comments Say?

Jones wasn't alone in her thoughts, as one user wrote, "It's true. You get accustomed to how you look and feel the need to keep up with it. It gets expensive and it's a slippery slope."

"I'm glad you said something because I just looked into lash extensions yesterday and was so surprised that they are like $200 for every 2-3 weeks," said a second.

A third added, "the pressure on everyone to have multiple luxury services is WILD. Like wax, tan, hair, nails, brows, lashes alone is insane... I've realized I'm really doing the least"