An Instagram star lost 5,000 followers after she started posting unfiltered photos

A photo posted by STINA SANDERS (@stinasanders)Nov 15, 2015 at 11:59pm PST

Polished and posh social media photos are facing a major backlash. Instagram celebrities are now trending toward showing "behind the scenes" looks at their everyday lives. 

Australian Instagram star Essena O'Neill made waves in early November with her call to quit social media, and now London blogger Stina Sanders is dismantling the idealistic realm of photo blogs in a different way. The Daily Mail challenged the 24-year-old to post "photographs to her followers that would never normally make the cut." 

Mic's Ellie Krupnick spoke with Sanders, and learned more about what the experience was like. 

"I was definitely up for the experiment because for a while, I've realised how fake social media has become," Sanders told Mic. "I was tired of hearing people say how glam my life is because of the images I share...I wanted to not only reveal what is actually behind my mask but how easy social media can portray someone's life to be something else."

Her Instagram feed went from featuring done-up selfies like this:

A photo posted by STINA SANDERS (@stinasanders)Sep 14, 2015 at 1:50pm PDT

To more "natural" shots:

A photo posted by STINA SANDERS (@stinasanders)Nov 10, 2015 at 4:52am PST

She also posted pictures of her feet and a shot at the doctor's office before receiving a "colonic irrigation" for her IBS.

Sanders began losing followers who clearly didn't care for this peek behind the curtain. "I thought that my followers would remain the same but I would get no likes, but the total opposite happened," Sanders explained to People. "I had an influx of likes, but I had a massive decrease of followers."

So far, Sanders estimates a total of 5,000 lost followers, but now she's reaching a new audience.

The media coverage on her decision has allowed Sanders to find followers who appreciate the change. Comments on her new photos praise the beauty blogger, calling her "brave" and "awesome" for "keeping it real." 

Time will tell if her follower count balances out, but in the meantime Sanders is setting an example for bloggers everywhere. The quantity of admirers isn't always what counts — sometimes it's about quality.