Words Aisha Kamara
The phrase "high-maintenance to be low-maintenance" has become increasingly familiar within beauty and lifestyle conversations. The idea is simple: you invest time, money, and effort in maintaining your appearance so that, in your everyday life, you can seemingly do less.
It might mean regular hair appointments, getting your nails done, maintaining your brows or lashes, or investing in a skincare routine that makes you feel your best.
But behind the conversation about being "high-maintenance" is another conversation worth having: the pressure to maintain it all.
When Maintenance Becomes Pressure
There is nothing wrong with putting time and effort into looking your best. For many women, beauty routines are enjoyable. They can be moments of self-care, creativity and confidence.
But there can also be pressure.
The pressure to keep up with the latest skincare. The newest hairstyle. The nail colour of the season. The clothes we're told we need. The treatments that slowly become part of an ever-growing list of things we're expected to maintain, and social media can play a part, as that is where we are mainly influenced. Taking care of ourselves can feel less like something we choose and more like something we have to keep up with.
Your Maintenance Routine Should Feel Like Yours
There isn't a single definition of being high-maintenance.
For one woman, it might mean setting aside money each month for her hair to be done because she knows it makes her feel confident.
For someone else, booking a monthly massage might be important. It could be investing in good skincare, prioritising sleep, or buying clothes that make her feel comfortable and confident.
What we consider "maintenance" is personal.
Trends aren't necessarily a bad thing either. Sometimes we discover genuinely useful products, treatments and routines through what's popular. But we shouldn't feel obligated to adopt every trend just because everyone else is doing it.
The question should be: Does this actually make me feel good?
Not: Is everyone else doing it?
Knowing Yourself Changes the Conversation
Perhaps the healthiest version of being high-maintenance begins with knowing yourself.
When you know what you like and what genuinely makes you feel confident, it becomes easier to separate your personal choices from the expectations you see around you.
If our beauty routines are built around constantly trying to reach an ever-changing standard, we will never feel as though we've arrived. There will always be another product to buy, another treatment to book and another trend to try.
But when our routines come from a place of knowing ourselves, maintenance becomes less about keeping up and more about taking care.
High-Maintenance, On Your Own Terms
Does being high-maintenance actually make life easier? Not necessarily.
Life is still life. Having your nails done won't clear your calendar, and a fresh hairstyle won't answer your emails.
But there is something to be said for the satisfaction of feeling good about yourself, physically and mentally.
What's that saying? When you look good, you feel good!
That doesn't mean our confidence should depend entirely on our physical appearance. But we also don't need to pretend that taking pride in our appearance doesn't matter.
Being high-maintenance doesn't mean doing everything.
It may mean deciding that there are certain things you are willing to invest in because they make you feel good.
Beauty should be something we are allowed to enjoy without feeling consumed by the pressure surrounding it. Trends can inspire us, but they shouldn't dictate the relationship we have with ourselves.
So, by all means, be high-maintenance.
But let you define your maintenance routine.