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Willie Geist: Ladies, relax and #LoveYourSelfie, you look great to us

This week, TODAY has been exploring self-esteem and body image. Our TODAY/AOL body image survey found that the average woman spends 55 minutes a day on her appearance — two weeks a year — and 60 percent of women have negative thoughts about themselves weekly, compared to 36 percent of men. TODAY anchor Willie Geist has a little something to say about that.All right, ladies, here’s the deal.

This week, TODAY has been exploring self-esteem and body image. Our TODAY/AOL body image survey found that the average woman spends 55 minutes a day on her appearance — two weeks a year — and 60 percent of women have negative thoughts about themselves weekly, compared to 36 percent of men. TODAY anchor Willie Geist has a little something to say about that.

All right, ladies, here’s the deal. We men respect your right to color your hair, thread your eyebrows, pour hot wax on unmentionable places, polish your bodies with pomegranate seeds, put Preparation H under your eyes, spray paint yourselves gold from head to toe, and shoot "Star Wars" lasers at your face in the name of beauty, but we want you to know you’re free to stop. Especially with the hemorrhoid cream under your eyes. That’s just weird. The constant tugging, tweezing, and tweaking of your body must be awful. And expensive.

If you like the way all that makes you look and feel, more power to you. I get it. I’ve had two pedicures in my life, and they were glorious. The first was mandated by my wife before our wedding nearly 11 years ago. I immediately saw the appeal of reading Us Weekly in a giant recliner with my feet submerged in a mini-Jacuzzi. I even had an earnest conversation about “The Bachelor” with a woman seated next to me. (“Who should Andrew Firestone pick?!”) Yeah, I went all in on the pedicure experience, so I’d never begrudge anyone else the same joy.

All I’m saying is we love you for reasons unrelated to your beauty regimen. If the relentless personal maintenance plan has taken over your life, give it a rest. We’re there because you’re funny, you’re smart, you’re generous, you’re driven, you’re sweet and you’re cool. No need to paint over all that with orange bronzer.

And, by the way, those giant, penciled-in eyebrows scare the hell out of us.