Girls as young as 7 feel pressure to be pretty – body confidence study

Girlguiding UK warns of society’s focus on appearance as survey shows 36% of girls aged 7-10 believe looks to be paramount

British Vogue ditches models in favour of ‘real’ women – for one issue

Magazine recruits academics and CEOs to wear designer labels, though cover star Emily Blunt confesses to spending ‘three hours in hair and makeup’

From Poldark to Bieber, there’s a male body ideal but is it problematic?

Celebs, selfies and Instagram are fuelling a gym obsession driven by guilt, say academics, but there could be a wider societal explanation

The lady with a beard: ‘If you’ve got it, rock it!’

At 25, Harnaam Kaur holds the world record as the youngest woman to have a full beard. For years, she was bullied. Now she’s an Instagram star

Two models, one goal: to free women from fashion’s weight tyranny

As London fashion week opens, Rosie Nelson and Jada Sezer have joined a Women’s Equality party campaign to tackle the use of tiny clothing sizes, underweight models – and the resulting crisis of eating disorders

Air pollution causes wrinkles and premature ageing, new research shows

Toxic fumes may be the primary cause of skin ageing in polluted cities such as London, New York and Beijing, scientists say

Beauty: the best children’s sunscreens

I want my children to see applying sun cream during warmer months as much a part of their daily routine as brushing teeth

Want to make a style statement while pregnant? Look to Ali Wong

Bog off floaty Sloaney dresses – the standup comedian proves you can wear bump-clinging Lycra during pregnancy, and make subversive gags about BDSM

If you wear high heels, kick yourself

Women have only themselves to blame for risking hideous deformity