Naked Love

Take a plunge into the raw and real definition of beauty with these skin-positive champions.

- Ria Bhatia

Think back to a casual evening from your teenage years. You're lounging on the couch, watching a movie on television, and on comes a commercial break flashing advertisements of makeup and creams to whiten, lighten and brighten your skin. Obviously featuring models and celebrities with pristine skin. Your insecurities are triggered; such a portrayal of perfection seeps into every inch of your mind. You might have gone ahead and bought that product too. Cut to current times; ask yourself - has much changed? Texture, pores, blemishes, acne, richer skin tones, wrinkles, etc, have been considered flaws since forever; we've been perceiving beauty by a false definition. Beauty, in its truest sense, lies in embracing your skin - in its natural form with all those imperfections that are unique to you. Yes, that's real beauty...accepting and loving the real, unfiltered you. We speak to three incredibly stunning women who've championed the art of self-love and self-acceptance, as they give us a quick tour of their journey.

Prableen Kaur Bhomrah is India's first skin-positive influencer and social media star who uses social media to normalise acne and impart the message of being kind to oneself. Prarthana Jagan is a model and social media influencer who redefines the meaning of beauty by embracing her vitiligo, a condition that affects the melanin in the skin cells, causing anomalous pigmentation. Varshita Thatavarthi is a striking model who flaunts her curves and rich complexion like a boss lady. She began her career with ace designer Sabyasachi Mukherji and continues to thrive as a model while putting her social media to good use by sharing unedited pictures to make all things natural the biggest beauty standard.

When did your journey with skin positivity start?