Naked Truths is a series where we ask cultural influencers, makeup artists, and badass women about their relationship with self-confidence while they remove their makeup.
Kayley Melissa is a southern YouTube beauty vlogger with a pretty major obsession with braids and waves. She is known for her easy hair tutorials and recreations of character hairstyles. Despite her current polished look, Kayley used to rock a unibrow before she learned how to tweeze — and admits she succumbed to trends and over-plucked as a teen. Now, she loves her big brows, which perfectly frame her face!
Melissa didn't always feel this way, however. She didn't even think about whether or not she was beautiful until after she got to high school, but was absolutely convinced that she wasn't. Back then, makeup wasn't something she did for fun or to enhance her features. She did it because she felt like she wasn't enough without it. Melissa struggled with depression and body-image issues under the assumption that no one would want to be around her if she didn't look a certain way.
Finally, she broke away from those expectations and sought validation from herself, not her looks. Makeup has become a way for Melissa to play with her look — not a means to acceptance.
Watch as Melissa removes her makeup while chatting about her relationship with beauty and trends through the years.
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