A slicked-back bun. Dewy, almost wet-looking skin. Brushed-up brows, a swipe of lip oil, small gold hoops. A ribbed tank top, a neutral matching set, and probably a green juice or an iced matcha in hand. That is the clean girl, the beauty-and-lifestyle aesthetic that dominated TikTok and Instagram from roughly 2021 to 2023. It looks effortless. It is, of course, a lot of effort.
What is the clean girl aesthetic?
Clean girl is a polished, minimal look built around the idea of looking healthy, rested and put together with very little visible make-up. The face is the centrepiece: glowing skin, light coverage, fluffy laminated brows, glossy lips. Hair is pulled back tightly. The clothes are simple and neutral, and the lifestyle around them matters just as much: early mornings, Pilates, skincare routines, a tidy flat, a planner, a smoothie. It is closely related to the “that girl” trend of productive morning routines, and to its softer cousin, the vanilla girl.
Where it came from
The term spread on TikTok around 2021 and peaked in 2022, alongside the “glazed donut skin” look that Hailey Bieber popularised and later built into her skincare brand Rhode. Bieber, Sofia Richie and Bella Hadid became the faces most associated with it. The look was a clear reaction to the heavy, contoured, full-glam Instagram face of the late 2010s: after years of baking, overlining and false lashes, a dewy, natural finish felt fresh and modern.
It was also a pandemic aesthetic. Lockdowns had moved attention to skincare, wellness and home routines, and the clean girl offered a way to look good that fitted a life lived more slowly and closer to home.
The codes
- Hair: a sleek, slicked-back bun or low ponytail, often with gel or a slick stick, and claw clips on days off.
- Face: skin tint or no foundation, cream blush, highlighter, brow gel, lip oil or a tinted balm, and lots of skincare underneath.
- Clothes: ribbed tank tops, white T-shirts, oversized blazers, straight-leg jeans, neutral matching lounge sets, slip skirts and gym leggings.
- Accessories: chunky gold hoops, a thin chain, a claw clip, a neutral tote, minimal manicured nails.
- Lifestyle: green juice, matcha, Pilates, journals, white bedding and a very clean bathroom shelf.
See the mood
IMAGES: PINTEREST. TAP ANY IMAGE TO SEE IT ON PINTEREST AND ITS ORIGINAL SOURCE.
The references
People: Hailey Bieber, Sofia Richie Grainge, Bella Hadid, Matilda Djerf, and countless “get ready with me” creators.
Products: the lip treatments, glossy serums and skin tints of brands such as Rhode, Glossier and Summer Fridays; slick sticks; claw clips. Few aesthetics have been so closely tied to products, which partly explains how quickly it spread.
Why it caught on
Clean girl promised control. The look is tidy, the routine is ordered, and the message is that your life is in hand. That is appealing in uncertain times. It was also very easy to copy, very easy to film, and very easy to shop: a bun, a balm and a pair of hoops. And it suited a broader shift in beauty towards skincare, health and “natural” looks.
The debate
No aesthetic of recent years has been argued about more. Many Black and Latina women pointed out that slicked-back hair with gelled edges, gold hoops and lip liner had long been part of their style, and that the same looks were often called “ghetto” or unprofessional on them before being praised as “clean” on thin, white influencers. Others criticised the word itself: if this is “clean”, what is everything else? Disability and chronic illness creators noted how much time, money and energy the routine assumes. And critics argued that a look built around expensive skincare, Pilates and perfect skin was less “effortless” than it pretended, and quietly reinforced narrow beauty standards. The video essays below explore this well.
Where it is now
In January 2024 TikTok declared “clean girl is out, mob wife is in”, and the internet briefly swung towards fur, red nails and big hair. In practice the clean girl never really disappeared: glowing skin and slick buns have become an everyday default rather than a trend. The aesthetic’s legacy is the idea of “skin first” beauty, and the debate it started about whose style gets credited and whose gets copied.
Related aesthetics
Vanilla Girl · Quiet Luxury · Mob Wife · Balletcore
Learn more: hear from more voices
Two thoughtful takes on why the clean girl aesthetic became so controversial.
Sources: coverage of the clean girl and “mob wife” trends in Harper’s Bazaar, Refinery29 and Yahoo Lifestyle (2022–2024). Videos are embedded from YouTube and remain the work of their creators.
Leave a Reply