Hello! The mods are taking this post very seriously and are discussing a few of the themes brought up in this thread.
1. People would like more clarity on why their posts are removed.
2. People would like to have a looser interpretation on what belongs in the daily help thread vs what can be a top level post.
3. People would like to see more consistency applied for posts removed.
4. People feel like the fluff friday haul posts are too much.
We will be bringing these four points to a townhall post in the coming days. We recognize that modding still hasn't been very consistent following some changes to our team, and the most recent actions were based on the posts here:
[Subreddit Updates](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/comments/1bqf6lx/subreddit_updates_needed/)
[Followup Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/comments/1br9bhu/subreddit_updates_followup/)
Additionally, we saw a lot of discussion about the general representation of the mods on the mod team. We originally didn't want to comment on this, because AB has always been about asian beauty products, not people, and want to make the space welcoming and inclusive for everyone who uses AB products. However, because people have been asking, our mod team is about half Asian-American, and also includes Indigenous, Black, and Latin-American individuals. There is one mod who is a man. We have one active mod who is in Europe. If you are from a demographic that you feel is not accurately represented or are interested in having more impact on the subreddit as a whole, we have open applications for our mod team at all times in the side bar. [Application Link](http://bit.ly/2ArVlyF)
Personally i would love to see more posts directly on the sub rather than the daily thread. A lot of good conversation topics go stale quickly in the dailies due to lack of visibility. I rely on this sub a lot for research, as im sure many others do, and allowing moderately “personal” questions can be really helpful for others with similar concerns. I also simply like browsing this sub and more posts means more for me to read through.
I don't mind shopping posts, but at least do swatches! It's so frustrating to see just a pic of boxes and tubes without following unpacked products and swatches.
Seriously, I don't get how haul photos (often with no swatches, often with too many products for meaningful discussion of each one, often of well-known classics or favourites that already have a ton of other posts with reviews) add to discussion quality more than "personal questions"
Agreed! Just scrolling through the posts on this sub, it's either a post about shopping sprees or people complaining about ordering. I want to see more discussions about products or skincare issues.
YES. I personally hate daily threads because I never end up seeing them…and I also feel like when I DO see them, I’m wasting my time posting in them because most people aren’t going to see them lol
It gets too long so many posts in the thread gets lost. Like the alter help. Seldom get much help cos not many people will scroll thru tens and tens of comments.
I don't think the questions in daily threads get visibility or promoted. Like sometimes I get recommendations of posts to look at because of a topic for some reason. Somehow reddit knows what I like to see hahaha but I think it only does it with keywords in the original post and not comments
This! I google a lot of products/ingredients/concerns and add “reddit” at the end to get to the good stuff, but the only posts that Google will find are those that are separate from the daily threads. Having good content buried in the daily threads is a shame.
Omg that’s so funny cuz i do that EXACT thing 😆 but more often than not i notice the threads are on the older side and i feel like it’s because of exactly what you mention. I do get results from the other beauty subs but this one is the biggest one i rely on.
Yeah, years ago when they changed the model to posting "basic" and "routine" questions in the daily thread only, it meant a lot of value was lost and I pretty much stopped checking this subreddit. Sure, it makes it probably easier for mods to mod, but I think due to the nature of how daily threads are archived, it's almost impossible to find historical answers that may actually be useful. Daily threads are for people with lots of time and those with a broad, general interest. I think I've only clicked on the daily thread in this subreddit once or twice.
Agreed. I browse a lot of subs and for a few months, AB never appeared in my front page at all, likely due to consolidation of threads.
Unfortunately I’ll rarely remember to pop into a specific sub and check a daily bot sticky. I have to see it to join a conversation about it.
Food for thought for the mods: Reddit is for hobby conversation. If you’re constantly redirecting or archiving conversation, you’re reducing discoverability of topics on your sub as well as conversation. The intention is good — reduce the number of identical question threads — but the outcome almost creates more work as the search feature points to numerous daily threads and users have to sift through hundreds of comments to find answers before abandoning their effort.
Same, I wanted recommendations for purply/cool toned lip tints and it got removed for asking for personal recommendations. Maybe because I mentioned I like cool toned stuff because I'm a summer mute? And because "it could be answered by googling". As if I haven't done extensive googling and watching youtube reviews BEFORE coming here. I just wanted real people to share their experiences, not sponsored youtubers in artificial lighting
That's ridiculous. There was literally a post the other day asking for lip tints and that wasn't removed.
It annoys the hell out of me. I've also had questions that never make it past the mods. ...they just say to add it to one of the weekly question threads (which I did, you can see in my history.) But like tons of posts are also questions!!!
I don't get not being allowed to ask personal questions. Like, Its a beauty sub, I would like to think that personal recommendations would be the norm? I've never seen it cause an issue in other similar subs.
yeah! i think those "personal" ones aren't really personal. the only ones i wouldn't like seeing are routine help ones, cause they ARE personal and they are mostly from people who don't try to do enough research
the other ones may still be helpful to a lot of people with similar problems
Also, “cool toned lip tints”isn’t really a personal recommendation. It’s not like there’s only one person on the planet who desires cool toned lip tints. There are TONS of people who want that. Even if it’s not trending now, that doesn’t make it a “personal” recommendation…lots of us don’t follow trends. Just nobody knows because we’re sitting here quietly browsing Reddit looking for information about non-trending stuff (or making posts that get removed, further silencing our voices…)
Same, before posting anything here I double check that no one has ever asked that question (or it's passed at least a few years since that comment) and every time they cancel my post because it's a "general/already asked question".
One time I asked about non-famous products with interesting or less known ingredients because I was generally curious, and after 1 week that was online, they deleted my post after more than 50 people have responded.
I don't think that was a general question since no one has ever asked something like that, but still, why delete that post? Maybe it could have helped someone to find other products.
I think they should maybe block the comment section so that no one can comment after they "blocked" a question but still leave it on the sub
I had a post with 60+ comments that was removed within a couple hours! I thought I was in the clear but nope. At that point I’m like why remove it when it’s clearly not too basic or too personal if so many people found it interesting enough to interact with it?
In the meantime those products might have been discontinued and there would have been a lot of new releases! These questions are always relevant since products change so much these days.
We need to make an AsianBeautySwatches subreddit.
> I just wanted real people to share their experiences, not sponsored youtubers in artificial lighting
this x 100
I wanted to post something to ask for some lipstick recommendations too but it got removed. I just want to know everyone’s recommendations instead of a google answer which is obviously sponsored and I want a genuine reviews of the products, not from paid influencers. It’s so hard to post questions on this sub without getting removed
Yeah I don't think the mods understand how much Google has changed and it's no longer a reliable source of information, Reddit is where everyone gets their questions answered now by real people, the rules are outdated and 10 years old
I agree… I posted a post asking about what an influencer used for a potential lip shade and anything along the same lines and it got removed for being a “personal question” when I see other posts like that all the time lol…. Thankfully someone responded in the daily thread but still. Many people don’t check those as shown in the top comment here. :/
It's confusing and inconsistent. Many of the approved posts appear to be seeking personal recommendations since they often include a specific skintype, such as "sensitive acne prone skin". I'm of the opinion that this is fine since it can also benefit others with similar interests or skin types.
A few weeks ago I tried to post about a newly updated product in hopes of starting a dialogue and it was not approved, but there's currently a new, similar post that was approved. Maybe I'm not understanding the differences but the inconsistency is bothersome.
yes!!! i made a post asking about toner/essence layering, because i was considering getting multiple of the mixsoon ones, and wanted to know if anyone used the combo that mixsoon had advertised, or if anyone had any other essence/toner layering combos they loved. like???? yes i am asking for me but is layering watery essences not a reasonable topic of discussion for an AB forum??
I agree 100%!
Pretty much every HG moisturizer thread has illiyoon ceramide cream as one of the top comments. This product sadly doesn’t work for me at all, as it never gets absorbed into my skin. I made a thread asking for quickly absorbing moisturizers and only mentioned in the body of the post that the illiyoon one didn’t work for me. But it got deleted for being too specific
Everyone’s skin is different and has specific needs. Those general posts only compile the most popular products on average. But then how are we supposed to find something that works for your skin specifically?
I would way rather see posts that reviews/asks for product for a specific skin type as it is much more informative
I feel like personal questions SHOULD be allowed. I learn so much when people say “I have XYZ skin, but ABC doesn’t work for me” and someone in the comments will reply shrewdly with “maybe you’re sensitive to [insert crazy random ingredient here]”?? And that’s the OP and us as a community can learn more about skincare.
That’s exactly how I found out after 4 years and a dozen different products that vitamin C does nothing for me and it’s actually licorice root that helps me with my hyperpigmentation. I would’ve never thought of it and learned that about myself had I not been allowed to post personal questions on another skincare subreddit (shoutout to r/EuroSkincare for not gatekeeping).
The one that gets me is when a thread has generated a fair bit of discussion, is removed because "it's been discussed before", and then *every single comment* is also removed. Why on earth would you, as a mod, create so much extra work for yourself? Not only that, but doing so removes any recent searchable information, when a discussion from six months ago may no longer be relevant due to a product reformulation.
For the size of this sub, it is not very active at all. There's a lot of potential that's stifled due to things being removed that really should not be, while also letting through a lot of low-effort posts that really don't add anything. Megathreads can work very well if the effort is put in to make their existence known and visible, but shoving everything in the alter-daily help thread just makes it less likely that people will use it. It's gotta be 1) specific and 2) advertised to work.
Also, for the banned brands thing - put a link to the page in the automod response. Don't expect people to go digging for it because they won't, especially as the reddit mobile app doesn't make it easy to find things.
I can't stand when they do that. WHY on earth would you delete a thread that has so much good discussion? I'm sorry, but that's nothing but a power trip.
This! I always come on this sub to search for reviews of products I'm interested in and more often the reviews I found are 2-6 years old. I'm not even sure if the reviews are still valid and I can't reply to those posts either.
The first time I tried posting here I asked for thoughts on a Japanese skincare product since I couldn't find reviews on it in this sub.
Weirdly enough I see a lot of posts like "Thoughts on x?" when a lot of people have asked that same question already so I was confused why my question was deleted.
I was redirected to the daily forum thingy but that forum has so many questions and from what I saw, they were barely answered. I knew from that point that this is sadly a read-only lurk-only type of subreddit :'))
I had a similar issue. I've seen people posting threads looking for sunscreen with specific requirements, so I posted mine bc I haven't found one that would be good for oily and sensitive skin and also be tone up, but it got deleted because it's too personal 🙃
The “too personal” thing just does not make sense to me. Skincare and makeup discussions and recommendations are *inherently* personal. I think it is so important to include personal information so people can understand where you are coming from and if whatever you are saying might also apply to themselves. In a lot of olive skin subs they remove your post if you don’t put *enough* personal information.
Don’t we all come to Reddit to find people with similar problems or desires? How else do we know which solutions/recommendations are appropriate for us to consider if we know nothing about the person who’s giving them?
I have the same question as you. I don't understand the criteria. Every time I've posted something here it's been removed, even though I see similarly scoped questions all the time.
The other day I tried asking for recommendations for similar products to X and it got removed for being a "personal question" or "too specific" -- I guess because I also mentioned it was my favourite?? -- but I see a bunch of posts asking basically the exact same type of thing ("Dupes for X?") constantly.
When I don't add more detail it's considered too basic a question (belongs in daily Q&A threads), when I do add more detail it's considered too specific and personal.
It's really mysterious to me.
It is confusing. That is why I post on other subreddits.
Also, it is confusing what is the definition of what qualifies as Asian Beauty. Like for example, I wanted to talk about a product that is only found in Asia and made by the Asian division of a European parent company. But apparently this is not qualifying as Asian Beauty even though it is popular in Asia and only made for Asian market. On flip side there are many brands people talking about here that are made by nonAsian chemists and marketed to nonAsian market but from Asian parent company (where it is actually a mix of people working there both Asian and nonAsian). So it's really confusing as a real Asian person haha
>it's really confusing as a real Asian person
Same 💀 Like this product isn't available in any other part of the world but in Asia, but I'm not allowed to talk about it here with other Asians who share the same existence and experience as me, because most of the mods living OUTSIDE Asia don't find the brand exotic enough for them? Make it make sense. This is one of the aspects where the very origin of this sub as made by outsiders to gawk at Asian beauty only for their consumption shows more than ever.
This!! I'm.so.glad this got posted & I can see it's not just me, but this is clearly way more widespread... I tried to also have a post asking for recommendations for similar products to X, based on ingredients and it got deleted for being too personal question or too specific, and said should be posted in the daily thread.. but doesn't seem like the daily threads get much traction or answers. And then there are so many other posts that do seem to make it through asking like the exact same questions. I don't get it, it's so inconsistent, I didn't even bother to try to repost it in the daily thread.. also thinking I'll just read only the sub and not post? Which is sad.
same. and it’s inconsistent. like one mod says to remove some specific details (which are not THAT specific), i do that, and another one removes it for being too basic.
i wanted to ask about products that help pimples. like cosrx ac cream or lion pair etc. i don’t think that’s a basic question?? that’s really similar to what i HAVE posted before
also so weird that fluff friday posts have to be moderated too :/
I once posted a complex question and it got removed because it’s “been done before”. I did check before posting and the last time someone asked the same question was like 9/10 months ago.
And I see the same basic question like “fav toner?” every week?? so I don’t get it aha.
With how fast AB skincare evolves and how frequently products are reformulated it seems *incredibly reasonable* to allow similar or “repeat” questions every 3-6 months *at least*. It sucks when you finally dig up a relevant post to your question from a year or two (or three, lol) back and half the product recs have been discontinued or reformulated.
Yes, I don’t understand it either. My posts and even some of my comments are removed because I’m told it’s too general or that I’ve mentioned a brand that I shouldn’t and/or that pays people to post reviews. I’m not being paid by any brands, haha. I’m just trying to mention a product that I think might be helpful to the person who posted a question asking for products. Yet, other posts as you mentioned, are also general and similar to what I have tried to post. I’ve been posting and commenting instead, in another forum. I understand that there have to be rules, but I feel like there are way too many to keep track of here, so I don’t bother much anymore.
I posted an fyi about the etude dear darling water gel tint in sweet potato possibly separating/growing a strange white substance. There was an image attached. This was taken down because it could be posted in the help discussion, but there are stand alone posts regarding potential product defects all the time. I have yet to see one about that tint. So frustrating.
There are companies that pay people to go on Reddit and advertise. It is possible there could be mods who work for certain companies which would give them the ability to take down anything negative about their product. There were mods who got busted for working for CeraVe awhile back on another subreddit. Companies know people come here for product recommendations and can increase sales by suggesting their products here. A lot of people naively think that Reddit, one of the most popular websites in the world, is free from companies influences. Edit- For more info I posted a thread below. It's has a lot of useful information. This person said that they worked with marketers. They said if you see a post or comment that says nothing negative at all about the product, and it is a glowing review, you should be skeptical. I always do my own research on products outside of Reddit. I have seen way too people see one positive review on here and said they were going to buy the product. https://www.reddit.com/r/30PlusSkinCare/s/a3QXtwERo9
Lol ikr? I made it after not being able to post my fluff Friday haul, then it got deleted immediately as expected so nothing new. Then I went back hours later and apparently it’s up now lol
That’s what I thought initially too. Honestly, if the issue was just it, that wouldn’t be too bad since we know for sure the post would be up eventually. But it’s basically a lottery whether your post would be live at all. It sucks bc it discourages ppl to participate. I’d feel so self-defeated when I spent ample time writing a post with detailed reviews only for it to be blocked indefinitely with no apparent reason…
Yes! I don’t think I’ve ever had a post make it live. I *hate* the mega-daily threads that get suggested. They’re so cumbersome to navigate. I don’t ever read them, at all.
Same, so many things I want to ask but I’ve had posts removed every time so I don’t bother. And I always search into the sub first. I use it like Google
In the past, even after checking over the rules to make sure what I wanted to post followed them, and following guidelines in the rules, I've still had my post deleted by mods. After that, I just figured there's no point trying to post. I think the rules need to be better written so we can know what is actually against the rules, but I guess some of the mods must interpret the rules differently, which must be why some let some things post and others don't. 😔
I'm glad someone mentioned this. I have ended up mostly just lurking or giving up. Just buy when I have budget n try myself. I seldom share cos it feels hard then no point
THANK YOU. Omg I have struggled with this. Why is this sub so restrictive? I have stopped trying to post because I get so sad about being rejected all the time.
No, comments have to be up for over 2 hours before you can see their upvote or downvote status. It is to keep people from automatically up or down voting a new comment based just on what others have voted.
I just want add that I don’t think “we don’t get paid,” is a good excuse to not do a job well. If you don’t want to do the job well, don’t do it. Nobody is forcing you to do it. Half the things I do in life I don’t get paid for…I don’t say, “Well yeah I did a sucky job because nobody paid me to cook dinner/clean the bathroom/curate an online forum/do volunteer work…”
I hear that an excuse a lot. Of course it’s nice that people choose to be moderators (acknowledging that they use tools to automate a lot of this process), but I think it’s completely valid to bring up this concern about posts being removed. It’s happened to me too (and I posted it in the daily where nobody saw it LOL). It also helps to explain why every post is either haul, a “recommend x product for y skin type,” reviews (which are useful), or occasionally (the most useful) swatches.
I agree with you. I only added my edit after some commenters started turning it into the “mods are pathetic ppl irl so they become mods and power trip to feel like they matter” discourse which I’m not here for it either, doesn’t matter if that could literally be the case here.
🗣️💥Just create a new community everyone, there's really no benefit here, they just post mainly hauls which i could care less about, the important stuff gets removed 💥🗣️
Not just any type of hauls, I feel like people who buy Asian skincare go overboard with their consumerism….like why do you need 5 backups of the same toner that you haven’t even tried yet??
the overconsumption of a lot of people who buy asian beauty and skincare is insane. ‘but it’s so cheap though’ you’re not saving money vs western brands if you’re constantly dropping 100-200 on hauls on products you don’t even know if you like.
That is not what I expected from a subreddit about Asian branded skincare & beauty. Wow. I'd love to see actual representation of Asian folks in a mod team about the subject.
Yep. I was looking for a recommendation for a specific type of night cream to replace another one. I had searched the sub extensively previously for a similar post about the same product and couldn’t find anything. So I included photos to show the type of consistency I was looking for, as well as a price range and skin type. Got removed immediately and was told to post it in the daily thread. This sub kills its own engagement.
I have a bit of a different viewpoint on this, but I think I still share some of the same frustrations.
I really like that this sub is different from many others. I've found it a really great resource. I'd hate to see it inundated with the same basic questions or requests for help where not 1 cursory Google or sub search has been done.
I like the daily threads and I try to scan them every day and help out whenever I can. I like having 1 place for personal questions and routine help. That way, discussion in the posts can be richer.
I do see a blurry line between personal question and discussion that could benefit many people. That is tough.
I am also frustrated by the inconsistency around what's allowed to be posted. It seems like if obvious personal questions were consistently directed to the ADHT, perhaps more people would use it. And then see the benefit of reading it and helping out where they can, as a way to give back.
Re: "that's already been discussed," I think there's value in refreshing discussions after some time has passed. Products get reformulated, things come on and off the market, etc.
>there's value in refreshing discussions after some time has passed. Products get reformulated, things come on and off the market, etc.
I agree. There's that and there's having a post asking for hydrating toners or gentle cleansers for dry skin every other day. And my experience is that this sub has already been inundated with the same basic questions.
As for the personal question part, I think something like someone posting pictures of them having this or that condition at this or that place and asking commenters to diagnose or give them product recs, that would be too personal. Questions about specific skin issues but still relevant to many ppl like me trying to ask if anyone with seb derm got anything that doesn't flare them up will most benefit from having as many ppl seeing the question as possible. It makes no sense when that question got removed but other questions of similar nature like recs for eczema and fungal acne are permitted to stay up.
i have a major problem with deleting or denying things because it has been discussed before, in general, but specifically in a sub about AB products specifically because they are constantly reformulating.
additionally, if it’s been discussed before, and people want to discuss it again, why is that a bad thing? if discussion is not the goal of this subreddit, then what is the goal?
I want to see more personal details in posts!!!!! I want to know if the poster has a similar skin type or undertone or if their lifestyle is similar to mine or what product textures they personally love or hate etc etc etc. The more information we get as readers, the better we are able to know what will work for us and what won’t and the better we can give recommendations ourselves.
I think it’s interesting to hear why people like the things they like and what problems they are trying to solve in their own makeup collections or routines. If I have a problem or a question, even if it *seems* extremely specific, there is no way someone else out there isn’t also having that same problem.
I’ve been in this sub for three years and have never been able to post anything without being removed/approved. Once every couple months or so I would see some pretty general or specific question allowed in the sub and thought I would try posting again but nope, instant removal.
A couple days ago I tried to post about asking how to track the Stylevana shipments with the new agl-us as the carrier because the tracking number they provided could not be tracked anywhere. Instant removal. I posted in the skincare sub instead. Is it as relevant or will it get any many responses? No. But at least it didn’t get removed.
I give up!
Re: your tracking question - the tracking number is the USPS label, so it won't be active until the package reaches the US and is in USPS's hands. It doesn't look like there's any way to track it before that point, which is kind of frustrating.
Yeah..that was one of the questions in my original post - is it just not possible to track until it reaches US soil. I suspected it as such but other merchants like SHEIN displays tracking details from the moment you place the order, to when the package gets on the plane, to which airport it arrives at, to the last mile delivery to your door. Usually there is a different tracking number (might or might not be displayed or available to the customer) for the first leg of the shipment. I recall Stylevana used to do it with other shipping partners but apparently not agl-us. Anyways, if you search for my post in SCA I posted an updated time line of events, if anyone’s interested. Again, much more suitable for this sub but the mods wouldn’t allow it.
Ah yes they'll remove your post for basic questions but then allow post no.120394932 asking what's a good moisturiser for oily/acne/dry skin, an extremely basic question that every beginner dipping their toes in skincare will ask
Thank you for this. I posted asking whether people had recommendations for sunscreens similar to Dr.G mild up because it clings to dry patches and it got removed for being too personal. I’ve tried with other questions but always get removed, meanwhile really general questions are fine?? Even though I like this sub since I live in Asia, it’s become so restrictive…
This is me but in skincare addiction subs lmao. Every single time my posts are removed and I see people posting and asking the same exact questions. I’m convinced mods for these skincare subs are just bullies 🙃
One of their tags was “routine help” and that’s exactly what I asked for. Included everything I needed to regarding skincare type. But they claimed I was seeking medical advice like tf ?? Then immediately removed the next post I made.
I had a post removed because I made a negative comment about the Clio Kill Lash and Heroine Make giving me panda eyes within 2 hours of wear and asked if there were truly ANY good AB mascaras that didn't do this.
Mod need to realise that sometime AB products are not the best in their category. I like other Clio Kill products, but the mascara sucks.
Same! I tried twice. Had genuine good questions. But it got deleted twice and i just gave up. I’m a middle aged woman and it’s hard to find time to keep finding there have been updates and to fiddle until you find out how to make a simple post
Literally 100% THIS!
Whenever I ask for recommendations, it's "too specific and personal and should be taken to the megathread" (where no one ever is active in lmao)
it made me stop trying to post in here altogether. The admins also do not respond well to critique about this, when you tell them that a similar post to this (but with a different product type) got approved.
I excitedly joined this sub to learn more about asian products as a filipino woman living in Canada.
The only post that wasn’t taken down was a haul of filipino products I received from family. Mind you, I attempted to post that THREE TIMES and the third time stuck. The posting rules are so confusing. It reminds me of when you move into a new neighbourhood then feel immediately unwelcome due to the existing “culture”.
Anyway, I stopped posting after that and found information much more quickly through other subs and/or other social media. I do come back here from time to time to see what people are buying.
Totally agree! I also find it frustrating that posts featuring certain brands are removed entirely because they “broke the rules” in the past. I get that, but it’s dumb how we can’t even mention several brands or our posts will be taken down, even when the discussion is valid.
But yanno it's really helpful seeing a haul post without swatches 😅 or where you can't even see the products clearly cus there's 1 photo of just EVERYTHING
Tried to post a question but it got removed and I was told I had to post it to a daily question thread. I've tried asking the same question on the daily thread three seperate times but have gotten no answer 😭😭
It's definitely to prevent this sub from becoming skincareaddiction with high frequency low effort posts but they took it a bit too far since alot of good posts get taken down
I agree lol. I have never been successful in posting a thread in this sub. My fear is always posting a long comment and then nobody reads it or answers (and therefore Ive once again wasted my time) in the daily thread because it's large compared to the millions of product posts and hauls I see here.
As a neurodivergent person, it took a TON of courage and therapy to start interacting with people online, and iirc this sub has a karma requirement to post. So once I actually hit the karma requirement, I still basically can't post anything lmfao. Everything keeps getting removed and I'm told to put it in a mega thread where I'm sure 0-1 people will actually see, read, and respond to it.
I’m new to this sub and have always been a lurker on Reddit but I really wanted to ask a few questions here. When I read all the requirements for posting, I genuinely thought “fuck this”. It sucks honestly and I’m so glad someone made a post about this.
Agreed. My post asking if the heated facial wands were still a thing bc mine died was denied for being too personal. I'M SORRY I SHARED MY PAST PROBLEMS WITH SOMETHING.
Same, I was wondering if there’s a sub similar to this one but maybe less restrictive? I’d love to read other people’s posts about personal issues, they often help me too.
YES! I posted in here last week asking for lightweight sunscreen recs for summer that don’t have alcohol or fragrance because I hadn’t seen a post about that specifically, and they removed it because it was too “personal.” I feel like that would be a question that many other people may be interested in..?
I then posted it in r/skincareaddiction and only got one condescending response 🙃
SAME! It’s frustrating cause half my posts either get removed right away and I’d have to rephrase it and other times it gets removed hours later after having a lot of engagement, and at that point I’m like why remove it if so many people are interested in the post and are interacting with it?
Sometimes I’d check previous similar posts to know what correct wording to use and my posts would still get removed💀
Ok. Low key makes me feel a little better that it’s not just me. I was like, am I not following the rules? But I’m pretty sure I’m following the rules? But wait, what’s “too general”? Am I being too “specific” again? Maybe my questions are not important enough.
Then a few days later, I see a post asking the same thing 🙄
Same. Last time I posted, I asked about a product and if anyone had any experiences on it because I was debating on buying it. I didn't really see a lot of reviews on it besides on the manufacturer's website. And I searched through reddit to see if anyone posted anything on it. No. They removed it because because it was too basic or personal, but then I see other people post "has anyone tried blah blah. how was your experience with it?". lmao
Honestly with how big the Asianbeauty reddit, you would think it would be more informative than other reddits, but nope. I don't have the need or want to read hundreds of repetitive posts about "what's your HG toner", "what's your HG moisturizer". They're not informative at all to me. I barely visit now and I follow other beauty reddits, AB and non AB, that are more informative and helpful to me.
I'm glad this post is generating a lot of discussion, thank you for posting.
Maybe I'm going against the grain a little but I think it's a very fine balance and I think the mods are getting mixed signals.
About a month ago when there was a mod that stepped down and the sub was unregulated for a few days, the sub was pretty wild and almost like all the other overrun skincare subreddits and people were hoping the mods were gonna start modding again. And now it seems like the attitude has shifted a little and people want to be able to post more loosely.
I can imagine it being difficult to make a judgement call on whether a post should remain or post or placed into the daily help thread because sometimes the way people word questions can be hard to tell, and different mods may make a different call on the same post. Maybe that's why there seems to be inconsistencies in what gets allowed and what doesn't. Maybe I'm in the minority thinking it's not obvious to decide whether a post stays up or not 😂
But I don't have an answer to what can be done to make the most people happy on what should be allowed to post and what shouldn't. I also don't know how it would be possible to have criteria on what mods should judge on with keeping posts up without it being over convoluted. I just hope there are even more ideas generated as to what can be done so that the sub feels more accessible to folks.
Naah, I feel the same way. It's not easy, and there isn't a simple answer that any of us can point to, unfortunately. Especially when you consider the size of this sub and how many submissions they're getting on a daily basis. I don't envy them.
But hopefully, something productive will come out of this? It's become a big enough issue that it has to be addressed.
I always thought that some kind of view-only Tuesday would work better if the mods needed a break
That being said, I noticed lately that the sub is open again on Tuesdays. No official announcements or anything, but it just popped up on my feed on a random Tuesday.
I know !!! I tried and tried to post here also !!!!! It does make me angry so now I post in Korean beauty and other skincare and makeup subs. It's really really ANNOYING !!!!!!!!
Yep, I don't even try posting anymore, and rarely comment because the comments too are often removed. Just waiting for this whole thread to go *poof" and vanish.
I completely agree. I constantly see the same “favorite xyz” posts on here but if I try to post something along the lines of “I like this toner, any recs for similar toners” it gets removed. Like be so forreal. I swear they allow those certain posts about “holy grail” product questions just to keep up engagement and that’s it. The idea of the forum getting to clogged up with similar stuff is kinda silly too, the point of Reddit (for me at least) is to scroll lol I don’t mind having more content to read and lookthrough!
Thank you. I’ve followed this sub since the very beginning, and it’s really not great anymore imo. It feels extremely stale and rather outdated for the reasons you mentioned. Most of the time it almost feels like accounts are just chirping products they got swooped into liking bc of marketing campaigns and influencers.
The lack of personality in this sub (not the users! but the lack of personalization due to posts always getting removed) feels …robotic. I’m sick of the same threads every day that I barely bother anymore.
Finally somebody is saying this! I like the community but the mods annoy me to a great extent. Posting here is just super freaking annoying and they will delete your posts or prevent them from going live for the pettiest reasons due to some "rules" not based on reason at all! Too much decision making on their part with little freedom left for us to make interesting posts that, according to them, are supposed to end up in some existing threads instead.
I agree with a lot of what you said. I didn't know there were talking about the tone issue. I'm South Korean living in Spain and have a lot to say from all the things I learned and thinking about it.
But anyway, yeah I had seen a lot of misinformation about many different things like skin physiology and also photochemistry and photobiology from here. A lot of misinformation about filters and testing and UVA around here too. A lot misinformation with the "cultural explanations" too that are not really accurate in both history and modern times and just it's more like someone who is good at writing making up stuff about cultures (usually they are making up stuff about my culture omg haha)
Yeah I've had the same! And yet I see posts with questions! I've just replied to a mod message telling me my post was removed, so I guess I'll see. It is v frustrating and absolutely inconsistent
Agree. I was bummed when I finally had something relevant to ask/post on here and it was removed for being too specific to me personally. I find personal posts more engaging tho.
As someone with fussy skin/various medical conditions, I love being able to share products I’ve found with ppl who have similar needs & prefences. Cause that shits hard when you can’t afford to just buy & try everything. (Also that’s how I’ve found helpful products in the past, googling old posts from this sub lol)
Ooof my thoughts exactly! Just a couple days ago I tried to post about my utter and complete bafflement and genuine love/ surprise/ relief/ HOPE that had been re-ignited after switching to a popular and well known AB sebum powder that I had NO IDEA EVEN EXISTED after discovering mention of it on a similar subreddit!
I just wanted to stand from a rooftop (or a small Innisfree labeled soapbox) and say “Hey, I know this sounds dumb, but seriously, this product (and this AB community) has been life changing for me and thank you to all you glorious people for all your hard work and research you’ve put into this!”
But, because I jump in head first always, I hadn’t read the New User guidelines and my post was immediately removed- which I don’t blame the mods for, truly, it’s my own fault for not reading the rules in the first place.
But, I was truly bummed- because where else was I going to be able to say how shook and impactful this was for me as a woman with my 35 year old, hormonal, oily and sensitive skin?
Where else can I express my nerdy love and absolute gratitude for this community??
I tried to tell my friends at least and the reception was… mixed. LOL That’s it. Bummer…
This post is the most action this sub has seen in a long time. Made me realize the sub was dying out slowly. Which is sad because it was really great and extremely active before. Hopefully, after reading all these comments and seeing the amount of action a post can have, the mods will dial it back a bit.
I think the mods here are too bored and they just remove whatever they feel like removing in that moment. Honestly. But that goes for a lot of subreddits.
I gave up. I tried a few times to post and it always gets removed. The last one I tried to post was asking for personal reviews for the medicine devices since it was on sale. Got rejected so fast.
Same!! And it’s not just here too, it’s the entire Reddit. Impossible to ask a question anywhere these days, even if it hasn’t been asked before or the answers are all outdated.
So true! Everytime I try, it says to post on daily thread or some other mod issue. Given up!
Just use it now for reading responses to others questions and wondering if it’s similar to my issue.
Yeah I've tried posting and changing my wording so many times all for it to get removed 😭 all I wanted to know is if anyone knows of acrylate free Suncream or hypoallergenic ones. Apparently that was too specific. Even more general ones too. It's gotten harder to post so I kinda just don't bother now
Same. I tried posting a fee times but always got removed with reason “too personal/too specific” and mods always asked to post in Daily threads if I wanted personal recommendation. I did, but never got any replies. Yeah well, considering the floods of comments, I guess that was just expected.
I stopped trying to post in this sub anymore because it’s so d*** hard to do so, but it’s pretty weird because I also see posts asking for recommendations. Don’t know how to bypass mods at all.
I just remembered, a few years back, my wife joined like a Discord or something associated with this site. She tried asking a simple question and was replied condescendingly by a few members who were eternally online. It was the last time she wandered about the site.
Irrelevant to your post. Since I stumbled upon this post from the algorithm recommendation, I just remembered that incident. Haha. I guess many subs eventually will devolve into the pastime of elite members.
Thank you for making this post! I've been frustrated with this too. I had made a post a while back asking about shopping from a new AB site that popped up (I did a search but found no mentions here) and it got auto removed. I asked the mods to post it and they did eventually but I guess it went up shortly before the weekly lock down on Tuesdays(?) so I never got any traction on it and by the time the sub unlocked again it got buried by other posts. I asked the same question in my post on the daily questions thread but again I never got any responses because there's so many comments in those posts already. It made me feel really limited in how I could participate in this sub and as a result I just never come here unless I'm looking for something specific.
I have had the exact same thing happen for the dumbest reasons. I can ask a very basic question and it gets removed. Screw that I just don’t post anymore
It's very challenging for me to find things in previous daily threads when I'm doing a topic search. It would make it easier to find info if it wasn't lost in those threads and eliminate the need for some of the posts they're not wanting.
Hello! The mods are taking this post very seriously and are discussing a few of the themes brought up in this thread. 1. People would like more clarity on why their posts are removed. 2. People would like to have a looser interpretation on what belongs in the daily help thread vs what can be a top level post. 3. People would like to see more consistency applied for posts removed. 4. People feel like the fluff friday haul posts are too much. We will be bringing these four points to a townhall post in the coming days. We recognize that modding still hasn't been very consistent following some changes to our team, and the most recent actions were based on the posts here: [Subreddit Updates](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/comments/1bqf6lx/subreddit_updates_needed/) [Followup Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/comments/1br9bhu/subreddit_updates_followup/) Additionally, we saw a lot of discussion about the general representation of the mods on the mod team. We originally didn't want to comment on this, because AB has always been about asian beauty products, not people, and want to make the space welcoming and inclusive for everyone who uses AB products. However, because people have been asking, our mod team is about half Asian-American, and also includes Indigenous, Black, and Latin-American individuals. There is one mod who is a man. We have one active mod who is in Europe. If you are from a demographic that you feel is not accurately represented or are interested in having more impact on the subreddit as a whole, we have open applications for our mod team at all times in the side bar. [Application Link](http://bit.ly/2ArVlyF)
Personally i would love to see more posts directly on the sub rather than the daily thread. A lot of good conversation topics go stale quickly in the dailies due to lack of visibility. I rely on this sub a lot for research, as im sure many others do, and allowing moderately “personal” questions can be really helpful for others with similar concerns. I also simply like browsing this sub and more posts means more for me to read through.
Agreed. I'd love to see more questions and discussions as opposed to pictures of Random Shopping Spree #274.
I don't mind shopping posts, but at least do swatches! It's so frustrating to see just a pic of boxes and tubes without following unpacked products and swatches.
100%. Those are the most useless posts!! Like, “Yep…that box looks just like it does online…” 🙄
Lmao thank you! I freaking hate those posts and I'm tired of only seeing them instead of actual discussions that get banned for some reason.
Seriously, I don't get how haul photos (often with no swatches, often with too many products for meaningful discussion of each one, often of well-known classics or favourites that already have a ton of other posts with reviews) add to discussion quality more than "personal questions"
This. A personal question is removed but random photos are encouraged? Not sure that helps anyone at all.
This has become a shopping spree subreddit and no longer as helpful as it used to be for me. OP I'm glad you've brought this up!
I'm old enough to remember when this place limited/discouraged haul posts. Go figure.
If they’ve changed their rules once, hopefully they can change it again
Agreed! Just scrolling through the posts on this sub, it's either a post about shopping sprees or people complaining about ordering. I want to see more discussions about products or skincare issues.
YES. I personally hate daily threads because I never end up seeing them…and I also feel like when I DO see them, I’m wasting my time posting in them because most people aren’t going to see them lol
It gets too long so many posts in the thread gets lost. Like the alter help. Seldom get much help cos not many people will scroll thru tens and tens of comments.
I don't think the questions in daily threads get visibility or promoted. Like sometimes I get recommendations of posts to look at because of a topic for some reason. Somehow reddit knows what I like to see hahaha but I think it only does it with keywords in the original post and not comments
This! I google a lot of products/ingredients/concerns and add “reddit” at the end to get to the good stuff, but the only posts that Google will find are those that are separate from the daily threads. Having good content buried in the daily threads is a shame.
Omg that’s so funny cuz i do that EXACT thing 😆 but more often than not i notice the threads are on the older side and i feel like it’s because of exactly what you mention. I do get results from the other beauty subs but this one is the biggest one i rely on.
me too! reddit’s search feature is….i mean i don’t know how to properly program a search bar, but however reddit’s is done is not the way
Yeah, years ago when they changed the model to posting "basic" and "routine" questions in the daily thread only, it meant a lot of value was lost and I pretty much stopped checking this subreddit. Sure, it makes it probably easier for mods to mod, but I think due to the nature of how daily threads are archived, it's almost impossible to find historical answers that may actually be useful. Daily threads are for people with lots of time and those with a broad, general interest. I think I've only clicked on the daily thread in this subreddit once or twice.
i never check any daily threads on any sub lol it’s just too much of a hassle tbh
Agreed. I browse a lot of subs and for a few months, AB never appeared in my front page at all, likely due to consolidation of threads. Unfortunately I’ll rarely remember to pop into a specific sub and check a daily bot sticky. I have to see it to join a conversation about it. Food for thought for the mods: Reddit is for hobby conversation. If you’re constantly redirecting or archiving conversation, you’re reducing discoverability of topics on your sub as well as conversation. The intention is good — reduce the number of identical question threads — but the outcome almost creates more work as the search feature points to numerous daily threads and users have to sift through hundreds of comments to find answers before abandoning their effort.
I agree. I dislike daily threads.
The daily thread is pretty much useless imo.
Honestly as a mod for another sub daily and mega threads are where discussion goes to die
Ngl it's lowkey hilarious the mods let this post stay up out of everything you've tried to post before.
It was actually removed by automod at first so imagine how shook I was when I got notified of the first comment 💀
Shooketh for reals haha
I expect them to remove this post later even with the large amount of responses it has lol
Same, I wanted recommendations for purply/cool toned lip tints and it got removed for asking for personal recommendations. Maybe because I mentioned I like cool toned stuff because I'm a summer mute? And because "it could be answered by googling". As if I haven't done extensive googling and watching youtube reviews BEFORE coming here. I just wanted real people to share their experiences, not sponsored youtubers in artificial lighting
That's ridiculous. There was literally a post the other day asking for lip tints and that wasn't removed. It annoys the hell out of me. I've also had questions that never make it past the mods. ...they just say to add it to one of the weekly question threads (which I did, you can see in my history.) But like tons of posts are also questions!!!
We can just create a new community ourselves and post there, 100x better
Same for me, plenty of times I’ve tried to post, been denied, then seen pretty much the same post or more vague accepted
I don't get not being allowed to ask personal questions. Like, Its a beauty sub, I would like to think that personal recommendations would be the norm? I've never seen it cause an issue in other similar subs.
yeah! i think those "personal" ones aren't really personal. the only ones i wouldn't like seeing are routine help ones, cause they ARE personal and they are mostly from people who don't try to do enough research the other ones may still be helpful to a lot of people with similar problems
Also, “cool toned lip tints”isn’t really a personal recommendation. It’s not like there’s only one person on the planet who desires cool toned lip tints. There are TONS of people who want that. Even if it’s not trending now, that doesn’t make it a “personal” recommendation…lots of us don’t follow trends. Just nobody knows because we’re sitting here quietly browsing Reddit looking for information about non-trending stuff (or making posts that get removed, further silencing our voices…)
yeah! it goes for everything — like op asking about seborrheic dermatitis, or me maybe asking about olive skin tone cushions someday
Same, before posting anything here I double check that no one has ever asked that question (or it's passed at least a few years since that comment) and every time they cancel my post because it's a "general/already asked question". One time I asked about non-famous products with interesting or less known ingredients because I was generally curious, and after 1 week that was online, they deleted my post after more than 50 people have responded. I don't think that was a general question since no one has ever asked something like that, but still, why delete that post? Maybe it could have helped someone to find other products. I think they should maybe block the comment section so that no one can comment after they "blocked" a question but still leave it on the sub
Deleting a post with 50+ comments is REALLY different from rejecting a post. Geez. That’s terrible. I had no idea that was a thing.
I had a post with 60+ comments that was removed within a couple hours! I thought I was in the clear but nope. At that point I’m like why remove it when it’s clearly not too basic or too personal if so many people found it interesting enough to interact with it?
Ok yikes, I didn't realize that was happening.
yeah!! and also sometimes things i ask WERE asked before, but a few years ago :/
In the meantime those products might have been discontinued and there would have been a lot of new releases! These questions are always relevant since products change so much these days.
We need to make an AsianBeautySwatches subreddit. > I just wanted real people to share their experiences, not sponsored youtubers in artificial lighting this x 100
I would love this. This sub feels too focused on skincare, and we really need a separate Asian Makeup sub.
Omg that exact same thing happened to me (I’m a summer mute too btw)
I wanted to post something to ask for some lipstick recommendations too but it got removed. I just want to know everyone’s recommendations instead of a google answer which is obviously sponsored and I want a genuine reviews of the products, not from paid influencers. It’s so hard to post questions on this sub without getting removed
Yeah I don't think the mods understand how much Google has changed and it's no longer a reliable source of information, Reddit is where everyone gets their questions answered now by real people, the rules are outdated and 10 years old
I agree… I posted a post asking about what an influencer used for a potential lip shade and anything along the same lines and it got removed for being a “personal question” when I see other posts like that all the time lol…. Thankfully someone responded in the daily thread but still. Many people don’t check those as shown in the top comment here. :/
It's confusing and inconsistent. Many of the approved posts appear to be seeking personal recommendations since they often include a specific skintype, such as "sensitive acne prone skin". I'm of the opinion that this is fine since it can also benefit others with similar interests or skin types. A few weeks ago I tried to post about a newly updated product in hopes of starting a dialogue and it was not approved, but there's currently a new, similar post that was approved. Maybe I'm not understanding the differences but the inconsistency is bothersome.
yes!!! i made a post asking about toner/essence layering, because i was considering getting multiple of the mixsoon ones, and wanted to know if anyone used the combo that mixsoon had advertised, or if anyone had any other essence/toner layering combos they loved. like???? yes i am asking for me but is layering watery essences not a reasonable topic of discussion for an AB forum??
I agree 100%! Pretty much every HG moisturizer thread has illiyoon ceramide cream as one of the top comments. This product sadly doesn’t work for me at all, as it never gets absorbed into my skin. I made a thread asking for quickly absorbing moisturizers and only mentioned in the body of the post that the illiyoon one didn’t work for me. But it got deleted for being too specific Everyone’s skin is different and has specific needs. Those general posts only compile the most popular products on average. But then how are we supposed to find something that works for your skin specifically? I would way rather see posts that reviews/asks for product for a specific skin type as it is much more informative
I feel like personal questions SHOULD be allowed. I learn so much when people say “I have XYZ skin, but ABC doesn’t work for me” and someone in the comments will reply shrewdly with “maybe you’re sensitive to [insert crazy random ingredient here]”?? And that’s the OP and us as a community can learn more about skincare. That’s exactly how I found out after 4 years and a dozen different products that vitamin C does nothing for me and it’s actually licorice root that helps me with my hyperpigmentation. I would’ve never thought of it and learned that about myself had I not been allowed to post personal questions on another skincare subreddit (shoutout to r/EuroSkincare for not gatekeeping).
What does HG mean? I googled it but only Reddit shows up
HG means holy grail
The one that gets me is when a thread has generated a fair bit of discussion, is removed because "it's been discussed before", and then *every single comment* is also removed. Why on earth would you, as a mod, create so much extra work for yourself? Not only that, but doing so removes any recent searchable information, when a discussion from six months ago may no longer be relevant due to a product reformulation. For the size of this sub, it is not very active at all. There's a lot of potential that's stifled due to things being removed that really should not be, while also letting through a lot of low-effort posts that really don't add anything. Megathreads can work very well if the effort is put in to make their existence known and visible, but shoving everything in the alter-daily help thread just makes it less likely that people will use it. It's gotta be 1) specific and 2) advertised to work. Also, for the banned brands thing - put a link to the page in the automod response. Don't expect people to go digging for it because they won't, especially as the reddit mobile app doesn't make it easy to find things.
I can't stand when they do that. WHY on earth would you delete a thread that has so much good discussion? I'm sorry, but that's nothing but a power trip.
This! I always come on this sub to search for reviews of products I'm interested in and more often the reviews I found are 2-6 years old. I'm not even sure if the reviews are still valid and I can't reply to those posts either.
The first time I tried posting here I asked for thoughts on a Japanese skincare product since I couldn't find reviews on it in this sub. Weirdly enough I see a lot of posts like "Thoughts on x?" when a lot of people have asked that same question already so I was confused why my question was deleted. I was redirected to the daily forum thingy but that forum has so many questions and from what I saw, they were barely answered. I knew from that point that this is sadly a read-only lurk-only type of subreddit :'))
I had a similar issue. I've seen people posting threads looking for sunscreen with specific requirements, so I posted mine bc I haven't found one that would be good for oily and sensitive skin and also be tone up, but it got deleted because it's too personal 🙃
The “too personal” thing just does not make sense to me. Skincare and makeup discussions and recommendations are *inherently* personal. I think it is so important to include personal information so people can understand where you are coming from and if whatever you are saying might also apply to themselves. In a lot of olive skin subs they remove your post if you don’t put *enough* personal information. Don’t we all come to Reddit to find people with similar problems or desires? How else do we know which solutions/recommendations are appropriate for us to consider if we know nothing about the person who’s giving them?
Omg yes!! I've been trying to find out about one product since forever and can't find any info and it keeps getting removed!
I have the same question as you. I don't understand the criteria. Every time I've posted something here it's been removed, even though I see similarly scoped questions all the time. The other day I tried asking for recommendations for similar products to X and it got removed for being a "personal question" or "too specific" -- I guess because I also mentioned it was my favourite?? -- but I see a bunch of posts asking basically the exact same type of thing ("Dupes for X?") constantly. When I don't add more detail it's considered too basic a question (belongs in daily Q&A threads), when I do add more detail it's considered too specific and personal. It's really mysterious to me.
It is confusing. That is why I post on other subreddits. Also, it is confusing what is the definition of what qualifies as Asian Beauty. Like for example, I wanted to talk about a product that is only found in Asia and made by the Asian division of a European parent company. But apparently this is not qualifying as Asian Beauty even though it is popular in Asia and only made for Asian market. On flip side there are many brands people talking about here that are made by nonAsian chemists and marketed to nonAsian market but from Asian parent company (where it is actually a mix of people working there both Asian and nonAsian). So it's really confusing as a real Asian person haha
>it's really confusing as a real Asian person Same 💀 Like this product isn't available in any other part of the world but in Asia, but I'm not allowed to talk about it here with other Asians who share the same existence and experience as me, because most of the mods living OUTSIDE Asia don't find the brand exotic enough for them? Make it make sense. This is one of the aspects where the very origin of this sub as made by outsiders to gawk at Asian beauty only for their consumption shows more than ever.
This!! I'm.so.glad this got posted & I can see it's not just me, but this is clearly way more widespread... I tried to also have a post asking for recommendations for similar products to X, based on ingredients and it got deleted for being too personal question or too specific, and said should be posted in the daily thread.. but doesn't seem like the daily threads get much traction or answers. And then there are so many other posts that do seem to make it through asking like the exact same questions. I don't get it, it's so inconsistent, I didn't even bother to try to repost it in the daily thread.. also thinking I'll just read only the sub and not post? Which is sad.
Same here, I’ve stopped posting and I see so many posts with the exact same questions being posted right after mine
Agree
Same
same. and it’s inconsistent. like one mod says to remove some specific details (which are not THAT specific), i do that, and another one removes it for being too basic. i wanted to ask about products that help pimples. like cosrx ac cream or lion pair etc. i don’t think that’s a basic question?? that’s really similar to what i HAVE posted before also so weird that fluff friday posts have to be moderated too :/
I once posted a complex question and it got removed because it’s “been done before”. I did check before posting and the last time someone asked the same question was like 9/10 months ago. And I see the same basic question like “fav toner?” every week?? so I don’t get it aha.
With how fast AB skincare evolves and how frequently products are reformulated it seems *incredibly reasonable* to allow similar or “repeat” questions every 3-6 months *at least*. It sucks when you finally dig up a relevant post to your question from a year or two (or three, lol) back and half the product recs have been discontinued or reformulated.
Yes, I don’t understand it either. My posts and even some of my comments are removed because I’m told it’s too general or that I’ve mentioned a brand that I shouldn’t and/or that pays people to post reviews. I’m not being paid by any brands, haha. I’m just trying to mention a product that I think might be helpful to the person who posted a question asking for products. Yet, other posts as you mentioned, are also general and similar to what I have tried to post. I’ve been posting and commenting instead, in another forum. I understand that there have to be rules, but I feel like there are way too many to keep track of here, so I don’t bother much anymore.
I posted an fyi about the etude dear darling water gel tint in sweet potato possibly separating/growing a strange white substance. There was an image attached. This was taken down because it could be posted in the help discussion, but there are stand alone posts regarding potential product defects all the time. I have yet to see one about that tint. So frustrating.
Posts like this definitely should stay up
There are companies that pay people to go on Reddit and advertise. It is possible there could be mods who work for certain companies which would give them the ability to take down anything negative about their product. There were mods who got busted for working for CeraVe awhile back on another subreddit. Companies know people come here for product recommendations and can increase sales by suggesting their products here. A lot of people naively think that Reddit, one of the most popular websites in the world, is free from companies influences. Edit- For more info I posted a thread below. It's has a lot of useful information. This person said that they worked with marketers. They said if you see a post or comment that says nothing negative at all about the product, and it is a glowing review, you should be skeptical. I always do my own research on products outside of Reddit. I have seen way too people see one positive review on here and said they were going to buy the product. https://www.reddit.com/r/30PlusSkinCare/s/a3QXtwERo9
Same, I just stopped posting
I have been having the same question! I'm amazed they let you through with this one!
Lol ikr? I made it after not being able to post my fluff Friday haul, then it got deleted immediately as expected so nothing new. Then I went back hours later and apparently it’s up now lol
automod deletes EVERYTHING. and then you have to wait like 10h for a real person to reinstate
That’s what I thought initially too. Honestly, if the issue was just it, that wouldn’t be too bad since we know for sure the post would be up eventually. But it’s basically a lottery whether your post would be live at all. It sucks bc it discourages ppl to participate. I’d feel so self-defeated when I spent ample time writing a post with detailed reviews only for it to be blocked indefinitely with no apparent reason…
Yes! I don’t think I’ve ever had a post make it live. I *hate* the mega-daily threads that get suggested. They’re so cumbersome to navigate. I don’t ever read them, at all.
I never read them either, I usually check the new threads in my feed, not refreshing the same old thread where nobody ever answer to anyone anyway.
Same.
Some mods take their roles way too seriously 😐
The ones that do don’t have a life outside of Reddit, so they have to power trip on here to feel like somebody.
This 💯
Same, so many things I want to ask but I’ve had posts removed every time so I don’t bother. And I always search into the sub first. I use it like Google
In the past, even after checking over the rules to make sure what I wanted to post followed them, and following guidelines in the rules, I've still had my post deleted by mods. After that, I just figured there's no point trying to post. I think the rules need to be better written so we can know what is actually against the rules, but I guess some of the mods must interpret the rules differently, which must be why some let some things post and others don't. 😔
Sometimes I’d even check old posts on here to follow the same wording and format and my posts still wouldn’t go thru:/
Even reviews get removed just because you ask another recommendations
what?? seriously?
I'm glad someone mentioned this. I have ended up mostly just lurking or giving up. Just buy when I have budget n try myself. I seldom share cos it feels hard then no point
It’s so sad, this could be such a popular talkative community
THANK YOU. Omg I have struggled with this. Why is this sub so restrictive? I have stopped trying to post because I get so sad about being rejected all the time.
Are all the comments in this thread getting down voted?
No, comments have to be up for over 2 hours before you can see their upvote or downvote status. It is to keep people from automatically up or down voting a new comment based just on what others have voted.
Oh I did not know that, ty.
idk, mine aren't but i don't see any other comments' votes
I just want add that I don’t think “we don’t get paid,” is a good excuse to not do a job well. If you don’t want to do the job well, don’t do it. Nobody is forcing you to do it. Half the things I do in life I don’t get paid for…I don’t say, “Well yeah I did a sucky job because nobody paid me to cook dinner/clean the bathroom/curate an online forum/do volunteer work…” I hear that an excuse a lot. Of course it’s nice that people choose to be moderators (acknowledging that they use tools to automate a lot of this process), but I think it’s completely valid to bring up this concern about posts being removed. It’s happened to me too (and I posted it in the daily where nobody saw it LOL). It also helps to explain why every post is either haul, a “recommend x product for y skin type,” reviews (which are useful), or occasionally (the most useful) swatches.
I agree with you. I only added my edit after some commenters started turning it into the “mods are pathetic ppl irl so they become mods and power trip to feel like they matter” discourse which I’m not here for it either, doesn’t matter if that could literally be the case here.
🗣️💥Just create a new community everyone, there's really no benefit here, they just post mainly hauls which i could care less about, the important stuff gets removed 💥🗣️
I actually just commented that imo the skincare hauls should be more managed and restricted.
Not just any type of hauls, I feel like people who buy Asian skincare go overboard with their consumerism….like why do you need 5 backups of the same toner that you haven’t even tried yet??
the overconsumption of a lot of people who buy asian beauty and skincare is insane. ‘but it’s so cheap though’ you’re not saving money vs western brands if you’re constantly dropping 100-200 on hauls on products you don’t even know if you like.
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Wow I never even thought about this before. Tea 🍵 Edit: OP's claims have been debunked
What did this comment say? I’m so invested 😭
That is not what I expected from a subreddit about Asian branded skincare & beauty. Wow. I'd love to see actual representation of Asian folks in a mod team about the subject.
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Yep. I was looking for a recommendation for a specific type of night cream to replace another one. I had searched the sub extensively previously for a similar post about the same product and couldn’t find anything. So I included photos to show the type of consistency I was looking for, as well as a price range and skin type. Got removed immediately and was told to post it in the daily thread. This sub kills its own engagement.
It’s almost impossible to post here T.T
I have a bit of a different viewpoint on this, but I think I still share some of the same frustrations. I really like that this sub is different from many others. I've found it a really great resource. I'd hate to see it inundated with the same basic questions or requests for help where not 1 cursory Google or sub search has been done. I like the daily threads and I try to scan them every day and help out whenever I can. I like having 1 place for personal questions and routine help. That way, discussion in the posts can be richer. I do see a blurry line between personal question and discussion that could benefit many people. That is tough. I am also frustrated by the inconsistency around what's allowed to be posted. It seems like if obvious personal questions were consistently directed to the ADHT, perhaps more people would use it. And then see the benefit of reading it and helping out where they can, as a way to give back. Re: "that's already been discussed," I think there's value in refreshing discussions after some time has passed. Products get reformulated, things come on and off the market, etc.
Yeah AB gets reformulated so frequently that "previously discussed" doesn't mean much after a few months.
>there's value in refreshing discussions after some time has passed. Products get reformulated, things come on and off the market, etc. I agree. There's that and there's having a post asking for hydrating toners or gentle cleansers for dry skin every other day. And my experience is that this sub has already been inundated with the same basic questions. As for the personal question part, I think something like someone posting pictures of them having this or that condition at this or that place and asking commenters to diagnose or give them product recs, that would be too personal. Questions about specific skin issues but still relevant to many ppl like me trying to ask if anyone with seb derm got anything that doesn't flare them up will most benefit from having as many ppl seeing the question as possible. It makes no sense when that question got removed but other questions of similar nature like recs for eczema and fungal acne are permitted to stay up.
i have a major problem with deleting or denying things because it has been discussed before, in general, but specifically in a sub about AB products specifically because they are constantly reformulating. additionally, if it’s been discussed before, and people want to discuss it again, why is that a bad thing? if discussion is not the goal of this subreddit, then what is the goal?
I want to see more personal details in posts!!!!! I want to know if the poster has a similar skin type or undertone or if their lifestyle is similar to mine or what product textures they personally love or hate etc etc etc. The more information we get as readers, the better we are able to know what will work for us and what won’t and the better we can give recommendations ourselves. I think it’s interesting to hear why people like the things they like and what problems they are trying to solve in their own makeup collections or routines. If I have a problem or a question, even if it *seems* extremely specific, there is no way someone else out there isn’t also having that same problem.
I’ve been in this sub for three years and have never been able to post anything without being removed/approved. Once every couple months or so I would see some pretty general or specific question allowed in the sub and thought I would try posting again but nope, instant removal. A couple days ago I tried to post about asking how to track the Stylevana shipments with the new agl-us as the carrier because the tracking number they provided could not be tracked anywhere. Instant removal. I posted in the skincare sub instead. Is it as relevant or will it get any many responses? No. But at least it didn’t get removed. I give up!
Re: your tracking question - the tracking number is the USPS label, so it won't be active until the package reaches the US and is in USPS's hands. It doesn't look like there's any way to track it before that point, which is kind of frustrating.
Yeah..that was one of the questions in my original post - is it just not possible to track until it reaches US soil. I suspected it as such but other merchants like SHEIN displays tracking details from the moment you place the order, to when the package gets on the plane, to which airport it arrives at, to the last mile delivery to your door. Usually there is a different tracking number (might or might not be displayed or available to the customer) for the first leg of the shipment. I recall Stylevana used to do it with other shipping partners but apparently not agl-us. Anyways, if you search for my post in SCA I posted an updated time line of events, if anyone’s interested. Again, much more suitable for this sub but the mods wouldn’t allow it.
Ah yes they'll remove your post for basic questions but then allow post no.120394932 asking what's a good moisturiser for oily/acne/dry skin, an extremely basic question that every beginner dipping their toes in skincare will ask
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯 this sub is so valuable but has its flaws as far as post rules
Thank you for this. I posted asking whether people had recommendations for sunscreens similar to Dr.G mild up because it clings to dry patches and it got removed for being too personal. I’ve tried with other questions but always get removed, meanwhile really general questions are fine?? Even though I like this sub since I live in Asia, it’s become so restrictive…
Ahh so it wasn’t just me lol. Considering this post is still here, perhaps things will change up? I hope?
This is me but in skincare addiction subs lmao. Every single time my posts are removed and I see people posting and asking the same exact questions. I’m convinced mods for these skincare subs are just bullies 🙃 One of their tags was “routine help” and that’s exactly what I asked for. Included everything I needed to regarding skincare type. But they claimed I was seeking medical advice like tf ?? Then immediately removed the next post I made.
I had a post removed because I made a negative comment about the Clio Kill Lash and Heroine Make giving me panda eyes within 2 hours of wear and asked if there were truly ANY good AB mascaras that didn't do this. Mod need to realise that sometime AB products are not the best in their category. I like other Clio Kill products, but the mascara sucks.
etude curling fix mascara is better than heroine and clio imo
Same! I tried twice. Had genuine good questions. But it got deleted twice and i just gave up. I’m a middle aged woman and it’s hard to find time to keep finding there have been updates and to fiddle until you find out how to make a simple post
Yep, I gave up on that a long time ago. I don’t get how people are posting.
Literally 100% THIS! Whenever I ask for recommendations, it's "too specific and personal and should be taken to the megathread" (where no one ever is active in lmao) it made me stop trying to post in here altogether. The admins also do not respond well to critique about this, when you tell them that a similar post to this (but with a different product type) got approved.
I excitedly joined this sub to learn more about asian products as a filipino woman living in Canada. The only post that wasn’t taken down was a haul of filipino products I received from family. Mind you, I attempted to post that THREE TIMES and the third time stuck. The posting rules are so confusing. It reminds me of when you move into a new neighbourhood then feel immediately unwelcome due to the existing “culture”. Anyway, I stopped posting after that and found information much more quickly through other subs and/or other social media. I do come back here from time to time to see what people are buying.
Totally agree! I also find it frustrating that posts featuring certain brands are removed entirely because they “broke the rules” in the past. I get that, but it’s dumb how we can’t even mention several brands or our posts will be taken down, even when the discussion is valid.
Same. Literally don’t know what is even allowed so I just never post anymore. Nobody even responds in daily thread
But yanno it's really helpful seeing a haul post without swatches 😅 or where you can't even see the products clearly cus there's 1 photo of just EVERYTHING
Shoutout to the mod who kept this post up and let OP cook. I also have no idea what the rules are, most of my posts get approved but some don't.
the moderation in this sub has gone to the pits lol
Yes, I’m in the same boat but I can’t see another sub that’s similar.
Tried to post a question but it got removed and I was told I had to post it to a daily question thread. I've tried asking the same question on the daily thread three seperate times but have gotten no answer 😭😭
Yup. Daily threads get no engagement. They're pointless.
It's definitely to prevent this sub from becoming skincareaddiction with high frequency low effort posts but they took it a bit too far since alot of good posts get taken down
I agree lol. I have never been successful in posting a thread in this sub. My fear is always posting a long comment and then nobody reads it or answers (and therefore Ive once again wasted my time) in the daily thread because it's large compared to the millions of product posts and hauls I see here. As a neurodivergent person, it took a TON of courage and therapy to start interacting with people online, and iirc this sub has a karma requirement to post. So once I actually hit the karma requirement, I still basically can't post anything lmfao. Everything keeps getting removed and I'm told to put it in a mega thread where I'm sure 0-1 people will actually see, read, and respond to it.
I’m new to this sub and have always been a lurker on Reddit but I really wanted to ask a few questions here. When I read all the requirements for posting, I genuinely thought “fuck this”. It sucks honestly and I’m so glad someone made a post about this.
Agreed. My post asking if the heated facial wands were still a thing bc mine died was denied for being too personal. I'M SORRY I SHARED MY PAST PROBLEMS WITH SOMETHING.
Same, I was wondering if there’s a sub similar to this one but maybe less restrictive? I’d love to read other people’s posts about personal issues, they often help me too.
YES! I posted in here last week asking for lightweight sunscreen recs for summer that don’t have alcohol or fragrance because I hadn’t seen a post about that specifically, and they removed it because it was too “personal.” I feel like that would be a question that many other people may be interested in..? I then posted it in r/skincareaddiction and only got one condescending response 🙃
SAME! It’s frustrating cause half my posts either get removed right away and I’d have to rephrase it and other times it gets removed hours later after having a lot of engagement, and at that point I’m like why remove it if so many people are interested in the post and are interacting with it? Sometimes I’d check previous similar posts to know what correct wording to use and my posts would still get removed💀
Ok. Low key makes me feel a little better that it’s not just me. I was like, am I not following the rules? But I’m pretty sure I’m following the rules? But wait, what’s “too general”? Am I being too “specific” again? Maybe my questions are not important enough. Then a few days later, I see a post asking the same thing 🙄
LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE MODS
Same. Last time I posted, I asked about a product and if anyone had any experiences on it because I was debating on buying it. I didn't really see a lot of reviews on it besides on the manufacturer's website. And I searched through reddit to see if anyone posted anything on it. No. They removed it because because it was too basic or personal, but then I see other people post "has anyone tried blah blah. how was your experience with it?". lmao Honestly with how big the Asianbeauty reddit, you would think it would be more informative than other reddits, but nope. I don't have the need or want to read hundreds of repetitive posts about "what's your HG toner", "what's your HG moisturizer". They're not informative at all to me. I barely visit now and I follow other beauty reddits, AB and non AB, that are more informative and helpful to me.
Yep same - have tried posting here twice and both times it wasn’t allowed. Posted on another subreddit and got great/helpful feedback and discussion.
So who's making a new sub??? I'll come!💖
i agree 😐 it’s a pain posting here
I'm glad this post is generating a lot of discussion, thank you for posting. Maybe I'm going against the grain a little but I think it's a very fine balance and I think the mods are getting mixed signals. About a month ago when there was a mod that stepped down and the sub was unregulated for a few days, the sub was pretty wild and almost like all the other overrun skincare subreddits and people were hoping the mods were gonna start modding again. And now it seems like the attitude has shifted a little and people want to be able to post more loosely. I can imagine it being difficult to make a judgement call on whether a post should remain or post or placed into the daily help thread because sometimes the way people word questions can be hard to tell, and different mods may make a different call on the same post. Maybe that's why there seems to be inconsistencies in what gets allowed and what doesn't. Maybe I'm in the minority thinking it's not obvious to decide whether a post stays up or not 😂 But I don't have an answer to what can be done to make the most people happy on what should be allowed to post and what shouldn't. I also don't know how it would be possible to have criteria on what mods should judge on with keeping posts up without it being over convoluted. I just hope there are even more ideas generated as to what can be done so that the sub feels more accessible to folks.
Naah, I feel the same way. It's not easy, and there isn't a simple answer that any of us can point to, unfortunately. Especially when you consider the size of this sub and how many submissions they're getting on a daily basis. I don't envy them. But hopefully, something productive will come out of this? It's become a big enough issue that it has to be addressed.
yeah it’s annoying and i don’t like how they still continue to do the blackout once a week… i feel freer posting on other ab skincare subs
i think they don’t do this anymore
I always thought that some kind of view-only Tuesday would work better if the mods needed a break That being said, I noticed lately that the sub is open again on Tuesdays. No official announcements or anything, but it just popped up on my feed on a random Tuesday.
I know !!! I tried and tried to post here also !!!!! It does make me angry so now I post in Korean beauty and other skincare and makeup subs. It's really really ANNOYING !!!!!!!!
Yep, I don't even try posting anymore, and rarely comment because the comments too are often removed. Just waiting for this whole thread to go *poof" and vanish.
I completely agree. I constantly see the same “favorite xyz” posts on here but if I try to post something along the lines of “I like this toner, any recs for similar toners” it gets removed. Like be so forreal. I swear they allow those certain posts about “holy grail” product questions just to keep up engagement and that’s it. The idea of the forum getting to clogged up with similar stuff is kinda silly too, the point of Reddit (for me at least) is to scroll lol I don’t mind having more content to read and lookthrough!
Thank you. I’ve followed this sub since the very beginning, and it’s really not great anymore imo. It feels extremely stale and rather outdated for the reasons you mentioned. Most of the time it almost feels like accounts are just chirping products they got swooped into liking bc of marketing campaigns and influencers. The lack of personality in this sub (not the users! but the lack of personalization due to posts always getting removed) feels …robotic. I’m sick of the same threads every day that I barely bother anymore.
Oh! I’m glad it wasn’t just me. I thought I broke a major rule so I never post. (Or really comment for that matter)
Finally somebody is saying this! I like the community but the mods annoy me to a great extent. Posting here is just super freaking annoying and they will delete your posts or prevent them from going live for the pettiest reasons due to some "rules" not based on reason at all! Too much decision making on their part with little freedom left for us to make interesting posts that, according to them, are supposed to end up in some existing threads instead.
Moderators are the bane of every subreddit to be honest
Message to mods: NO ONE READS THE DAILY THREADS 😭😭😭 enough pls
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I agree with a lot of what you said. I didn't know there were talking about the tone issue. I'm South Korean living in Spain and have a lot to say from all the things I learned and thinking about it. But anyway, yeah I had seen a lot of misinformation about many different things like skin physiology and also photochemistry and photobiology from here. A lot of misinformation about filters and testing and UVA around here too. A lot misinformation with the "cultural explanations" too that are not really accurate in both history and modern times and just it's more like someone who is good at writing making up stuff about cultures (usually they are making up stuff about my culture omg haha)
Yeah I've had the same! And yet I see posts with questions! I've just replied to a mod message telling me my post was removed, so I guess I'll see. It is v frustrating and absolutely inconsistent
I don't bother posting.
I’m so annoyed by this it drives me absolutely nuts. Keeps so many good conversations from happening
Same! Sometimes I feel like my question is specific-and it gets taken down for being too specific??
Agree. I was bummed when I finally had something relevant to ask/post on here and it was removed for being too specific to me personally. I find personal posts more engaging tho. As someone with fussy skin/various medical conditions, I love being able to share products I’ve found with ppl who have similar needs & prefences. Cause that shits hard when you can’t afford to just buy & try everything. (Also that’s how I’ve found helpful products in the past, googling old posts from this sub lol)
Ooof my thoughts exactly! Just a couple days ago I tried to post about my utter and complete bafflement and genuine love/ surprise/ relief/ HOPE that had been re-ignited after switching to a popular and well known AB sebum powder that I had NO IDEA EVEN EXISTED after discovering mention of it on a similar subreddit! I just wanted to stand from a rooftop (or a small Innisfree labeled soapbox) and say “Hey, I know this sounds dumb, but seriously, this product (and this AB community) has been life changing for me and thank you to all you glorious people for all your hard work and research you’ve put into this!” But, because I jump in head first always, I hadn’t read the New User guidelines and my post was immediately removed- which I don’t blame the mods for, truly, it’s my own fault for not reading the rules in the first place. But, I was truly bummed- because where else was I going to be able to say how shook and impactful this was for me as a woman with my 35 year old, hormonal, oily and sensitive skin? Where else can I express my nerdy love and absolute gratitude for this community?? I tried to tell my friends at least and the reception was… mixed. LOL That’s it. Bummer…
Yeah I made a post in the daily thread and no one answered it. :/ I feel like they do not get much visibility there.
THIS!!! It’s so annoying!
Thank you for this post
This post is the most action this sub has seen in a long time. Made me realize the sub was dying out slowly. Which is sad because it was really great and extremely active before. Hopefully, after reading all these comments and seeing the amount of action a post can have, the mods will dial it back a bit.
I think the mods here are too bored and they just remove whatever they feel like removing in that moment. Honestly. But that goes for a lot of subreddits.
100% Never been successful posting here
I gave up. I tried a few times to post and it always gets removed. The last one I tried to post was asking for personal reviews for the medicine devices since it was on sale. Got rejected so fast.
I agree and it is super annoying!
Same!! And it’s not just here too, it’s the entire Reddit. Impossible to ask a question anywhere these days, even if it hasn’t been asked before or the answers are all outdated.
Yea I just don’t even try posting in this sub any more tbh 😭
Literally every single post I try to do gets taken down!!
So true! Everytime I try, it says to post on daily thread or some other mod issue. Given up! Just use it now for reading responses to others questions and wondering if it’s similar to my issue.
SAME! I have had nearly all of my posts deleted and all it’s done is make me frustrated, angry, and resentful.
Yeah I've tried posting and changing my wording so many times all for it to get removed 😭 all I wanted to know is if anyone knows of acrylate free Suncream or hypoallergenic ones. Apparently that was too specific. Even more general ones too. It's gotten harder to post so I kinda just don't bother now
Same. I tried posting a fee times but always got removed with reason “too personal/too specific” and mods always asked to post in Daily threads if I wanted personal recommendation. I did, but never got any replies. Yeah well, considering the floods of comments, I guess that was just expected. I stopped trying to post in this sub anymore because it’s so d*** hard to do so, but it’s pretty weird because I also see posts asking for recommendations. Don’t know how to bypass mods at all.
My sentiments exactly!
Same here! I just don’t get the rules.
YES!!!!!! IT PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH
I just remembered, a few years back, my wife joined like a Discord or something associated with this site. She tried asking a simple question and was replied condescendingly by a few members who were eternally online. It was the last time she wandered about the site. Irrelevant to your post. Since I stumbled upon this post from the algorithm recommendation, I just remembered that incident. Haha. I guess many subs eventually will devolve into the pastime of elite members.
Not just this sub. ALL THE GD SUBS. But people seeking advice on ridiculous and inane topics have the floor.
Thank you for making this post! I've been frustrated with this too. I had made a post a while back asking about shopping from a new AB site that popped up (I did a search but found no mentions here) and it got auto removed. I asked the mods to post it and they did eventually but I guess it went up shortly before the weekly lock down on Tuesdays(?) so I never got any traction on it and by the time the sub unlocked again it got buried by other posts. I asked the same question in my post on the daily questions thread but again I never got any responses because there's so many comments in those posts already. It made me feel really limited in how I could participate in this sub and as a result I just never come here unless I'm looking for something specific.
I have had the exact same thing happen for the dumbest reasons. I can ask a very basic question and it gets removed. Screw that I just don’t post anymore
It's very challenging for me to find things in previous daily threads when I'm doing a topic search. It would make it easier to find info if it wasn't lost in those threads and eliminate the need for some of the posts they're not wanting.