It's Time Millennial Brides Bust the Myriad Myths About Wheatish Complexion in India

The definition of beauty is different for different people, just like the saying beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. While negative connotation with wheatish complexion has been around since forever, it is time we change how people perceive skin colour. It goes without saying that some of the most common myths about wheatish complexion that you’ve heard are all baseless and do not have any factual backing. It is important for every bride to not let any of these myths drive their choices or change their decisions.

Let’s look at some of the most commonly told and believed myths about wheatish complexion that we know make no sense.

Myth 1:

Image courtesy: Sabyasachi on Instagram

Light colours and pastel shades don’t suit brides that have a wheatish complexion.

Have you had people come up to you and tell you that you must go for darker or brighter colours for your wedding function in order to not look dull or dark? Well, if you say yes we won’t be surprised. This has been one of the most baseless myths that we hear especially when it comes to picking up a bridal lehenga. We choose to disagree.

Fact:

The wheatish complexion is usually one that has a warm undertone and therefore anything lighter or darker than the neutral shades works for them. Shades that are close to their own skin tone might end up looking too matched. Also, the wheatish complexion is factually proven to suit a much wider spectrum of colours than the fair skin tone or those with a cooler undertone.

Now that you’ve figured out your edge over the fair skin-toned brides, do make it a point to rub this off on anyone who tells you otherwise. 

Myth 2:

Only natural makeup looks good on brides that have a wheatish complexion, others can make their face look dark.

Well, we clearly understand that this myth exists from the lack of knowledge about makeup and how it works. But we also know that there is a certain section of the society that believes that not all sorts of colours look good on this skin tone. Apart from being extremely biased towards considering fair as beautiful, this negative connotation is also one that stops many brides from trying different types of makeup looks and taking a chance with something unusual and different.

Fact:

Makeup artists match the base against the skin tone of the bride from their neck to face and cover any sort of pigmentation around the under eye, forehead, or mouth with a colour corrector. Once the skin has been evened out, bridal makeup artists play around with lip colours, blush, highlighters and eye shadows that flatter the skin tone, fair, wheatish, or dusky.

We agree that not everyone has this kind of in-depth knowledge about makeup but do not let their lack of knowledge limit your choices. Go for something bold something unique and give them a pleasant surprise.

Myth 3:

Wearing a lighter shade of foundation can help you look fairer at your wedding functions.

To every bride out there who thinks this is what they should do must stop because they are beautiful in their own skin and wanting to look fairer is just not what they need. However, when it comes to bridal makeup there is a mindset that going for a lighter shade of foundation can help correct the uneven skin tone and make skin look flawless for the photographs.

We would like to bust this myth and let you know that this isn’t how makeup works.

Fact:

By wearing a lighter shade of foundation your face will not look fairer but just ashen and chalky. Also going for a shade lighter than your own can look like your skin is loaded with tons of foundation even though you may have used a very minimal amount of it.

It is about time that Indians stop obsessing and commenting over skin tones, it is not just silly but disrespectful on so many levels. Nobody makes a comment on the groom’s skin tone or suggest him to apply makeup that’ll make him look fairer, then why the brides. 

Myth 4:

Mehndi turns out to be darker for brides that have a fair skin tone; therefore ones with wheatish complexion must go for bolder patterns for it to look dark enough.

While we even find the sound of this extremely ridiculous, but it is true that people have such myriad myths about wheatish complexion in our country. When it comes to things like mehndi, brides take everything that they are told seriously. The colour of the mehndi is said to be an indication of the bride’s future, and we understand that no bride wants to take that risk.

Fact:

The fact is that it is actually the structure of the human skin that contributes to the colour of the mehndi. The parts of the body that have a thicker layer of skin tend to have a darker colour of mehndi like the soles of palms and feet. The warmth of our body or the body heat also contributes to the colour of the mehndi which is why brides that are warmer body end up having a brighter mehndi colour.

Next time someone tells you about what kind of mehndi pattern you should choose, we’d suggest you explain to them why they are being extremely unreasonable.

Myth 5:

Getting your skin bleached right before marriage can lighten its colour and make the wheatish complexion appear fairer.

While we do not know the reason why brides need to appear fairer than what they actually are, we know that skin tone isn’t something that changes through any of the commonly heard tips or tricks. For brides that are under the dilemma of whether it is something they need, we are here to bust your myth and tell you that it isn’t.

So stop thinking about bleaching your skin and start taking care of it by eating clean to ensure that you have a healthy glow on your wedding day.

Fact:

Facial bleach does not make skin appear lighter; it only changes the colour of facial hair and removes tanning. Brides can get this done if they have had a suntan and recently and wish to go back to their original skin colour. Anything that promises to make it lighter than your original skin tone must not be believed, tried or tested.

We’d like to tell all the brides out there to be proud of who they are and how they look. It is about time we stop worrying about what we do not have and start being thankful for what we do. It is ultimately our strengths and our flaws that make us who we are. Why would you wish to change that? The myriad myths about wheatish complexion in our country must be busted and discouraged. Who can do this better than our millennial brides?

Make choices that accentuate your beauty and not your skin tone!

Do you think these are myths about wheatish complexion that you hear pretty often? Write to us and tell us your story or encounter any such incidents.