Every summer seems to arrive with a new promise of "total transformation": crash diets, express workouts, cosmetic treatments, and digital retouching. This year, the "Summer Glow Up" trend is presented as an invitation to self-care… but beneath its glittering surface, it hides the same old pressure.

The narrative is seductive: it's not about fitting into a bikini, but about "shining." However, the implicit message is the same: if you don't change, if you don't improve your body, if you don't meet the standards, you're not ready to show yourself. And although the word "glow" sounds bright and positive, the pressure is disguised as well-being to make it more acceptable.

The problem isn't wanting to look good, but the invisible burden this places on us. Girls, teenagers, and adult women absorb, almost without noticing, the idea that their worth increases or decreases according to their appearance. Social media fuels this cycle with perfect images, sculpted bodies, and "before and after" photos that seem within anyone's reach... but which, in reality, are the result of filters, retouching, or expensive procedures.

The emotional impact is profound: constant comparisons, frustration at not achieving what was promised, and an increasingly demanding relationship with one's own body. What is presented as motivation can become a constant reminder that it is never enough.

Rethinking this concept doesn't mean giving up on self-care, but rather freeing it from the pressure to conform to a certain aesthetic. True glow isn't measured in waist circumference or tan lines, but in well-being, energy, confidence, and self-love. The beauty that illuminates a summer—and a lifetime—doesn't come from meeting a standard, but from living in peace with who you are.