Are You Living With "Boyfriend Air" And Is It Making You Ugly?

What in the world is "boyfriend air"?

Simply put, the "boyfriend air theory" suggests that spending time with your man negatively affects your hygiene and looks. Women on TikTok popularized the term, showing themselves before and after hanging out with their boyfriends. Check out the example below.

Initially, the woman in the clip had perfect hair and makeup – but after being in "boyfriend air," she appeared more disheveled.

Numerous women tried out the experiment for themselves and yielded the same results. Also, note how none of them look "ugly" or even vastly different after boyfriend air. Sure their makeup and hair got a little messed up, but they all look fine!

Is Boyfriend Air Real?

An influencer on the platform named Taylor Donoghue believes the theory may be legit. "I am so happy people are now talking about boyfriend air because I actually thought I was going crazy," she said. "I spent a lot of time this past summer at my boyfriend's apartment in New York, and I remember taking a full body shower, and the next morning waking up and being like, 'I feel so dirty.'"

"My hair was getting greasy like crazy, my skin was looking different, like everything. My makeup wasn't staying on right," she added.

Other women noted how they started to get breakouts after lingering in the same atmosphere as their man. There is, of course, no proof that the theory is actually real – but a skincare expert named Rachael Robertson did share her thoughts on the matter. She believes that the "glow-down" could be due to the products that we use at our boyfriend's house, or coming into contact with their personal care items.

"When we start dating and spending time with a new person, our habits change," Robertson tells MyImperfectLife. "This may include our eating habits, drinking habits, and our schedule can change—which includes our skincare routine—that we have just spent so long getting consistent! We tend to fall asleep later, go out more and sleep over more which affects all these things."

"Also, our skin coming into contact with facial hair, new laundry detergent, aftershaves, and personal care products that we haven’t been exposed to previously when kissing/cuddling/sleeping. All of these things can cause flareups/breakouts or rashes and rub off makeup without us even realizing," she explained.

Some boyfriends are also not as clean as their girlfriends, let's be honest. "It also goes without saying they may not wash their sheets/pillowcases as much as you, which can be another culprit as you’re now laying in the dead skin, sweat, and bacteria of two people! Lovely," Robertson added.

It's true that being around someone for an extended period of time can cause a glow-down. That's what stress does. However, I think this trend isn't a reflection of the situation that I'm talking about. If you pay attention to the boyfriend air videos, you'll notice that the results are the same among the women. Their makeup has worn off, and their hair is no longer picture-perfect. I end up the same way after a long day with or without my man. Your makeup is not permanent, and weather and the environment can affect your hair. So, while the theory is absolutely hilarious and fun to entertain, maybe we should stop blaming everything on our man!

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