As a woman who grew up in a very harsh, judgmental, unrealistic culture that places utmost importance on being 'perfect' I have had quite a bit of struggle growing up with imperfect skin.
When I was younger (starting around age 12), I used to rely heavily on prescriptions as over-the-counter topicals would often leave me with irritation or inflammation which only made the situation worse. I remember spending hours looking into the mirror and hating what I saw staring back at me. I tried everything to make my skin look the way it did in the magazines or on TV but nothing ever worked- at least not long term. I mean sure, I could cover the problems up with expensive products but all that would do was leave me with a problem to deal with in the future (like the time I had a pimple on my nose for staff pictures and I was so insecure about it, I attacked it with vicious force and now, have an everlasting scar where it used to be.)
See, the problem with much of what we do to our skin is that we are taking a base issue and making it worse by trying to 'band-aid it.' Oftentimes, especially in the case of women, skin problems are a sign of underlying, internal imbalances. (Make-up often clogs the pores which ironically creates more skin problems...) While there is much to be said about internal imbalances, I will save the hormonal talk for another time as this post is about the products we use and their effects.
If you take your favorite products out from your cupboards and look at the label- can you tell me what the ingredients are? Do you know what is in your face cleanser? What about your makeup? Most of the time the ingredients are too difficult to read! After a lot of research into this, I decided to ditch all of the products I had, realizing all of the problems I was causing myself. Hundreds of dollars thrown away in order to help detoxify my skin of all the expensive junk that I kept putting into it! I was only contributing to the problem! The irony of that realization hit me hard especially when I had to start replacing items that broke my bank in the first place.
Our skin in the largest organ in our body! What we put on it seeps into our bloodstream and becomes part of us. The nightmare list of ingredients that plague most of our most popular and beloved brands hurts my heart (literally). Why are we doing this to ourselves? I remember fighting with my husband a few years back about my hair conditioner. He brought it out and pointed out some seriously harmful chemicals in it. He brought me the research and I flat out did not care.
Why?
I thought my hair looked good and that was all I could see at the time. Some slight digging shows that those parabens and sulphates contribute to many health problems... so needless to say, now I am very selective about what products I use and where I get my sources because I can see the results firsthand.
I'm writing this as part of my personal mission to help instigate the change I have went through in those who might care and want to do somethings differently but do not know where to start. I have been there and I try my best to always research everything both ways before I make a decision on anything and I'm constantly learning.
In this case, I have seen drastic results. My hair is stronger, thicker and healthier. My skin is still damaged from years of abuse but I can see that it is healthier now and the scars are starting to fade. It takes time to undo what we have done, especially if it is negative in nature but if you are looking for a change or would like any recommendations I would be happy to share my research with you! I have a superhero league of products that I trust and love that have served to change my life while I delve into learning to make my own. (So far my biggest feat was a magnesium body butter that is straight up miracle cream!)
Finally, I am going to end on a philosophical note. The biggest lesson I have had to learn (and am still learning) is to love myself, including my skin, my hair, my body... Whatever I have problems with- others do too. It's been important for me to understand that perfect is only a construct of the media and that I am beautiful how I am, and so are you. However, artificial chemicals are not beautiful and they seem to only work in circles (we have a problem so we buy the product and then we have a new problem so we need another product...) Let's start a movement to have these chemicals taken out of our products by choosing not to buy them and looking for alternative, natural options. Just because something says 'organic' or 'all natural' on the label does not make it so! Knowledge is power and we can be more powerful together!
This is a photo that I took really quick but the surroundings, the moment, everything about it made me feel beautiful! I encourage you- challenge you to post a photo today where you feel great about yourself, with no judgment. This message needs to get out there, women need to hear it and the big corporations poisoning us need to be held accountable! Make your vote on this count by throwing away the harmful products in your household and let's get better together!
Love yourself, you are beautiful <3
Thank you! That was inspirational!! I just checked the ingredients on some of my shampoos, etc. It's time to swap them out for more healthy products.
It's crazy what is in those bottles! So happy to hear you got something from this and even more so that you're wanting a change! I hope we can work towards more people throwing away those harsh chemicals! Some of the organic, wild-crafted, actually good for you products are more expensive than box stores but they are super worth it! I wish you the best :)