It’s 10:00AM and I’m seated at the aesthetician’s waiting on the reason I found myself here in the first place — an artiste. Not that I wouldn’t go to the aesthetician but my relationship with my skin is very personal and I’ve stayed a little farther because everyone who has visited a dermatologist/aesthetician around me either looks red, black, yellow or just transparent. But that’s not the point.
Our appointment was early, the place was quiet and pretty scanty for the first few minutes, until around 10:16 when people, women, started trooping in one after another within an average of three minutes in between — all responding “yes” to it being their first time here.
This experience was new to me as it was my own first time even being in that space (which means I’d respond “yes” too if I booked an appointment for myself...eek). So, I wondered: was there an ongoing event, is business just good here or was that a simple representation of how fast people are looking for skin solutions? No idea. But waiting in that lounge made be think about skin trends these days and the perception of skin.
BEAUTY dot com
Websites, social media and the people plus brands that use them, constantly flood the online space with steps to one beauty hack or the other, enlightening and educating users on how to achieve great skin and I’ve been diligently monitoring them like the curious cat that I am.
I’ve discovered quite a number of concepts. Some have something going on while others? Well, not sure I can say they’re giving what they’re supposed to give. But let’s get into a few, dare I say, my most fascinating:
Slugging — the process of slapping petroleum jelly all over your face to seal in moisture. Maybe not like the picture in reference, but close?
Skin fasting — the process of reducing or stopping the use of products and treatment on your face for a period of time. If your stomach can fast, guess your face can too.
Citrucide — This is the name I gave the process that involves using lime, lemon or any citrus with a rigorous rub on your face especially to lighten dark areas.
Trends for clear skin jump out and about every month. The downside side about these social hacks is that there’s hardly any recommendation from an expert. So, it’s trial and error. A case of “you get what you see”.
Yet some people are so religious and focused on the one goal, that is: Clear skin. So if they’re not shopping for all the items as recommended by quack aestheticians and dermatologists online, they’re booking appointments with certified ones. Looking forward to each session— not just the physical results. But when did clear skin become such a thing of desire? And to what end?
Everyone Breaks Out
The period is a decade ago. The internet (for those who managed to get on it) was that place where everyone was okay with having the occasional acne or full on acne, which would often be termed “puberty”. It slowly evolved into a community where people would safely discuss when they started noticing acne, how long they’ve had it, how they try to treat it etc. It was something of a support group but with friends.
Then blogs began to rise and rage.
Skincare — which bloggers would argue was over looked and undermined rapidly became a beauty commodity and cute-o-meter. They would publish tips to get rid of this and that and medicines (seriously eyeing you Vitamin C and Benzoyl Peroxide) to use and exfoliants to purchase and routines to begin and so on. Skincare became self-care and self-care became the lust for clear (read: spotless) skin.
Drink water for clear skin they said. At its absolute best, even if you took 8 gallons a day, your skin will behave not in isolation but in response to what your entire system is saying. Sometimes you’d have dry skin, sometimes you won’t. Sometimes you’d have pimples, sometimes you won’t. When skin wants to be consistent in clearness, it will be. When it doesn’t, it simply won’t.
The insecurity and controversy (if one is more popular) surrounding skin conditions, diseases and disorders has plunged people into seeking unnatural beauty standards and plastering on anything to make the skin look…perfect.
Honestly, I totally get it. In this current digital world where the human face is literally the face of each person’s brand, each ‘blemish’ might strip one off their confidence. Your skin is the way it is for various reasons: age, hormones, environment, genetics, products etc. but don’t panic about having visible skin conditions.
Yet again, I won’t discourage you from having an expert opinion (I should probably get one too). It’s good to know and understand your skin, why it may be acting the way it is at a given time and how you can keep it healthy. What I would discourage is you rushing into executing random hacks on social media that promise you immediate results or in fact “perfect” skin.
Finally,
I wish I didn’t internalize this impossible standard. I wish I didn’t have to justify the existence of my pores and pimples. I wish I didn’t let the state of my skin determine my sense of self-worth. I wish I didn’t doubt it, just a little bit, when my boyfriend tells me I’m beautiful. I wish I didn’t feel compelled to convince us all that it’s OK to let our skin be skin, but here I am.
Skin is skin.
It is not glass, and it is not supposed to be.
It always has texture and pores, and it sometimes has acne and oil slicks and inflammation.
It’s alive, it’s dynamic, it’s divinely designed, and it’s talking to you.
Do you really want to silence it for the sake of looking like a transparent shard of molten sand? — JESSICA DEFINO
