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Mirror Fasting: The Latest Beauty Trend?

Would You Go On A Mirror Fast To Improve How You Feel About Your Looks?
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Wondering what the latest beauty trend for fall is? It could be mirror fasting.

The "movement" started, claims The Guardian, when bloggers like Autumn Whitefield-Madrano became aware of their "mirror face." She tells the paper: "Whenever I saw my reflection I'd open my eyes a little wider, suck in my cheeks a little and tip my chin down in an effort to make myself look more like I wanted to. It made me feel really vain."

To counteract such feelings, she went on a month-long mirror fast in an effort to become less self-conscious. She adds: "I wanted to see how much my mood was affected by the way I perceived my looks." (It turns out, her mood could be ruined by negative mirror self-talk.) Similar missions have since been undertaken by Kjerstin Gruys of the blog "Mirror Mirror... Off The Wall" (she fasted for 12 months before her wedding).

While taking steps to boost one's self-esteem is always good in our books, this news has us wondering: can depriving yourself of anything ever be positive?

Refinery 29 writers think not. Here's their take: "Social anthropologists claim this trend is a form of denial and suggest that the real trick is to look into the mirror and accept yourself, blemishes and all."

And The Daily Mail quotes a psychologist at the Centre for Appearance Research, Dr. Phillippa Diedrichs, who says mirror-fasting is just another way to obsess about your appearance. "When working with people who have issues around body image, we encourage the "mirror exposure technique" -- to look in the mirror and take a less critical approach."

So what say you: is this trend a boon for women's self-esteem or is it a total bust?

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