SURVEY: Irish Women Rate Their Body Confidence and the Factors That Affect It

The average Irish woman would rate her body confidence at five or six out of ten.

Of 447 respondents to a survey carried out by Bio-Oil and Her.ie, 188 rated their body confidence as a five or six.

Thirteen per cent of women put their body confidence level at zero, one or two out of ten, while a further 15 per cent ranked their confidence at three or four out of ten. Of those with higher body confidence, 21 per cent rated their confidence at seven, eight or nine out of ten, while only one respondent said she would report her body confidence as ten out of ten.

Feeling overweight was of the most common factor when it came to concerns that negatively affect a woman’s body confidence. This was followed by being underweight, having acne/spots and having stretch marks. Over a quarter of women surveyed said that being overweigt had a negative impact on their body confidence.

When it comes to the time in our lives that we feel best about our bodies, it seems our twenties are the golden era, with 22 per cent of women choosing their twenties at the time in life they were most confident. Happily, this was closely followed by women choosing “now”.

An overwhelming majority of women, 93 per cent, believe that the media places undue pressure on women to look perfect at all times.

Mothers have it tough too. Those respondents who have had children admitted to feeling less sexy and attractive, as well as under pressure to get back in shape.

When it comes to getting a confidence boost, it seems that being healthy or exercising is the best thing a woman can do, with over half of respondents saying this was the thing that made them feel most confident.

Feeling self-conscious about their body has impacted how women behave also, with over 70 per cent of women admitting that they have avoided wearing a bikini in front of others. Fifty-seven per cent of women said they don’t dress as they would like to as they don’t feel body confident enough to do so. Others admitted to avoiding nights out, job interviews and potential dates due to a crisis of confidence.

When asked how often do you worry about your body or skin, 46 per cent of women said every day. A futher 32 per cent said most days.

In the bedroom, 38 per cent of women said they were happy for a partner to see them naked, while 34 per cent said they would prefer not to be seen naked by a partner or would try and avoid it where possible.

When asked about scars, the average woman said she had three scars. Most of these came from accidents, with a smaller percentage from acne and surgery. Of those surveyed, 42 per cent said their scars made them feel self-conscious.

Survey brought to you by Bio-Oil. Of 447 respondents, 283 had tried Bio-Oil and said their body/skin confidence had improved since using the product.

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Bio-Oil has been clinically proven to help with:

Scars: 92% saw an improved appearance of scars after 8 weeks of use[1]. Bio-Oil helps to improve appearance of new and old scars whether from surgery, accidents, burns, insect bites, scratches and chickenpox

Stretch Marks:  After 8 weeks of use, 100% saw an improvement in the appearance of their stretch marks[2]. The formula helps prevent formation of stretch marks during pregnancy and periods of rapid weight gain or loss and helps to improve the appearance of existing stretch marks

Uneven Skin Tone: Helps improve appearance of uneven skin tone caused by hormonal fluctuations, skin lighteners or excessive sun exposure. 12 week clinical trials reveal 86% saw a significant improvement in uneven skin tone on the face[3]

Ageing Skin: Helps smooth and tone ageing, sagging and wrinkled skin on both the face and body. 94% saw an improvement of signs of ageing on the face and 80% saw an improvement of ageing skin on the neck in 12 week trials[4]

Dehydrated Skin: Helps replenish the skin’s natural oils, stripped away by factors such as extreme weather, water with high chemical content, frequent bathing and the drying effects of central heating and air-con. When put to the test, Bio-Oil significantly improved the visual appearance of skin sites confirming its effectiveness in relieving dry skin[5]. Try massaging into dry patches such as nail cuticles, dry elbows and heels for targeted relief.

[2] proDERM institute for applied dermatological research, Hamburg, Germany. 2011

[3] Stephens & Associates, A twelve-week clinical study to evaluate the efficacy of Bio-Oil in improving the appearance of uneven skin tone and mottled pigmentation of ageing facial and neck skin, 2011