From Cultura to Clean Girl
Imagine it’s the ’90s, and you’re walking down the street with your gold hoop earrings, a slick bun, a swipe of lip gloss with a touch of your favorite lip combo, and dewy skin glowing as the sun hits your face. For many, this look sounds familiar and is praised within society, but it didn’t always receive the same praise. This look was once labeled as “dirty,” “unprofessional,” or “ghetto.” Nowadays, this look is recognized as the “clean girl” aesthetic, which gained popularity from a TikTok video featuring Hailey Bieber. Not surprisingly, she received praise for appearing effortlessly polished and “clean” with minimal makeup.
Two weeks later, her video had become a phenomenon among women, especially Generation Z. You walk outside or scroll through social media, and you see so many women rocking the slick bun, big gold hoop earrings, and a lip combo that I am adding to my Sephora cart. The issue isn’t that people are wearing this look; it’s how women of color were criticized for decades for wearing similar styles, yet a white woman changed the narrative with a single post. This reveals that the conversation is about more than an aesthetic; it is about the way beauty standards are shaped by race, culture, and perception.
For generations, Black and Latina women have influenced beauty and fashion trends, from lip liner and hoops to elaborate nail art, laid edges, and bold makeup. Yet their influence is often overlooked, while mainstream culture can attach a new name, narrative, and marketability to styles that have existed within women of color for decades.
The “clean girl” aesthetic, then, raises a larger question: What happens when something rooted in culture becomes a trend? And, more importantly, who gets recognized when the world finally decides that trend is beautiful?
Before it was “Clean Girl”
There are many layers to examine where the “clean girl” aesthetic actually came from, starting with Black and Latina women. Let’s break it down, starting with gold hoop earrings.
Gold hoop earrings have origins spanning many cultures and different eras. These hoops, which have become a statement piece in the 21st century, were also worn in Mesopotamia around 2600–2500 BCE by the Sumerians. Similar styles were later seen in Ancient Rome, South America, and the United States during the 1960s.
For generations, gold hoops have served as a staple for women of color and have had a significant impact on fashion, largely because the style has never truly disappeared. Beyond fashion, gold hoop earrings have also carried cultural meaning, becoming symbols of identity, resistance, and empowerment in the face of racism and harmful stereotypes.
While the gold hoops may be the finishing touch, the slick bun brings the entire look together. The slick bun has become a trendsetter, with hundreds of videos circulating online titled “How to Get the Perfect Slick Bun?” It is now worn daily by many women, proving how a hairstyle that was once viewed negatively is now praised for looking polished and put-together.
The irony is that many Black and Latina women were once criticized for being “dirty” or “unprofessional” for using hair creams and gels to smooth down their hair and lay their edges. Today, those same techniques are celebrated as part of the “clean girl” aesthetic.
Another layer of the “clean girl” aesthetic is the minimalist makeup look paired with bronzed, dewy skin that has taken over social media. But what’s often overlooked is that this look isn’t necessarily minimal at all. Achieving that seemingly effortless glow can require multiple products, layers of complexion makeup, bronzer, highlighter, concealer and setting products to create the illusion of naturally flawless skin.
Black and Latina women have long been at the forefront of facing criticism and
discrimination for wearing this type of look, showing that this conversation is about more than just a trend. There is an underlying issue when it comes to pitting women against one another and using racist remarks to express those biases.
Today, many Black and Latina women are finally receiving the recognition they deserve and are being acknowledged for creating and influencing many of the trends we see across social media. There is still a long way to go, but change is happening, and the conversation around cultural influence and representation is moving forward.
Who gets the credit?
Fashion and makeup are universal, and anyone should be able to wear them. Beauty is subjective and personal; it truly depends on what an individual feels best represents them and complements their complexion. The question, though, is what happens when we lose sight of the culture behind these looks.
For many people, social media has become a place to endlessly scroll through different platforms in search of the perfect makeup look. There are also countless creators who share their everyday beauty routines with their audiences, and those looks could be one post away from becoming the next viral trend. Once something becomes popular, however, it can quickly become disconnected from the history and culture behind it.
We have seen the erasure of history in many areas of society, and beauty culture is no exception. Before the “clean girl” aesthetic became viral, many of the styles associated with it were already embraced by Black and Latina women. That is how easily cultural history can be forgotten.
This is where the conversation around credit becomes important. Once a makeup look or hairstyle becomes mainstream, the people and communities who helped shape it can become an afterthought.
History has shown that Black and Latina women have continuously changed the beauty industry through their techniques, trends, and creativity, yet they have often been judged negatively for the very same styles that later become celebrated.
One could look at this as cultural exchange, and in many ways, it is. Sharing cultural traditions across cultures can be a beautiful thing – but cultural exchange should not come at the expense of acknowledgment. Recognizing where a trend comes from does not take away from the people who embrace it—it gives credit to the culture that helped shape it.
More than a trend
Wearing gold hoop earrings with a slick bun and rocking a minimal makeup look is more than just a trend; es nuestra cultura (it’s our culture). The beauty practices associated with today’s “clean girl” aesthetic have deep roots in the beauty traditions of Black and Latina women, dating back decades (and, in some cases, centuries). Yet the language surrounding the aesthetic raises an important question: What does it mean to label a look “clean” when women who have embraced these same styles have historically been described as “dirty,” “ghetto,” or “unprofessional”?
For generations, Black and Latina women have faced criticism, discrimination, and racist remarks surrounding their hair, clothing, and makeup. Styles that are now
celebrated as polished and effortless have not always received the same treatment when worn by women of color. Our culture, however, is not something that can simply be erased or repackaged. It lives through the women who continue to wear it, celebrate it, and pass it down.
Maybe the conversation isn't about who is allowed to be a “clean girl.” Maybe it's about remembering the women and cultures that helped shape what the world now considers beautiful.
Written by: Claudia Gil Matias
Model Names: Jocelyn Roman + Abby Killingbeck
Photographed by Claudia Gil Matias
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