What's your intention?
Every day we set an intention for ourselves, whether we are conscious of it or not. I get to work on a diverse group of people all the time and there are two major things that I see as a commonality amongst my clients time and time again: 1 - They all have skin (duh) and 2 - There are disconnects with their intention for themselves and intention for their skin. You can’t commit to being healthy or loving to yourself and exclude your skin in that factor. Your skin is part of the package people so it’s important to remember that you can put forth just as much love in your skin as you do everything else. So how do you start setting intentions for your skin? Here’s how to do it.
Timelines for your skin
One question I am constantly faced with regarding skin concerns is a timeline on when things will be better. I hate to break it to y’all but putting a timeline on your health is like telling God your plans - it doesn’t work out that way. There are a few things you can do to help create a plan for yourself but when dealing with a live organ that reflects the imbalances of your internal organs, there is only so much you can control. I want to run through a few steps to help you stay on track when things seem to be going nowhere or even feels like you’re taking a few steps backward.
Physical and emotional scars
A common topic that has been brought up to me over the last few weeks has been scarring. Whether it’s a physical scar or just the emotional aftermath of a bad breakout, this topic is very difficult for anyone who has suffered from an inflammatory skin condition. Remember when we thought scars were cool when the rugged bad boys from the movies would proudly wear one? Scars have a bit of a backstory and most of them can be worn as a badge of honor. That is unless they are a painful reminder of a previous breakout or other skin imbalance. So many clients are concerned about potential scarring from their previous acne that they would literally do anything to make it go away. For the client whose main concern is scarring and I tend to ease their mind by reminding them that not all scars are created equal and with the right homework they will turnover their cells enough to smooth out their skin. In order to to do there are a few questions to be taken into consideration first:
Why makeup is a luxury, not a necessity.
If you’ve ever had a treatment with me you know that in my consultation form my very last question is what is your ultimate skin goal? I wrote a post about year ago about becoming makeup free and since then the most common answer to my skin goal question still remains the same - to be makeup free. I may have done a few of you a disservice by immediately exclaiming how easy that goal is because of my personal relationship with makeup. I grew up obsessed with makeup to the point that if I could translate the equivalent of my obsession to the current time, I would 100% be one of those instagram/snapchat/youtube tutorial gals. I loved creating looks, doing other people’s makeup and I was praised for my natural ability in this department. I booked jobs all the time in the beginning of my career that I can safely say that the spring and summers of 2007 and 2008 were spent with me at my makeup counter dolling gals up for events like prom, graduation and weddings. I loved it but it also taught me a lot about how many people lacked confidence, self awareness and even struggled with a little body/facial dysmorphia. My love of makeup started because of artistry but my relationship to it on an everyday basis changed because of my own evolution of self love and acceptance. So with that, I want to dive back into how being makeup free has nothing to do with skincare, it has everything to do with acceptance.
My social media anxieties
I go through the typical love/hate stages with social media often. Most of the time I can get past the obvious social media sensitivities like “how come this person is always on vacation?” or “this person posts so much better content than me.” but sometimes I get triggered and it’s taken me a little perspective and self care to uncover what those fears were really stemming from. First, I am a firm believer that we are all in it to win it so my comparison attitude is based from a deep rooted crippling perfectionism that I have only started shedding over the last 2 years - obviously something I need to work on a little more. I do feel like we all can be successful and it takes for me to see how someone else is successful to remind me that I can do it too. Trust me there are times that I have woken up from dreams that all of a sudden the new trend is to not treat your skin and I would be completely out of work. But after 11 years I still manage to get more questions, new clients and seem to be increasing in my success with each year. So why does an instagram sometimes make me want to give up? Or at least crawl under a pillow for a few hours.
Retrograde Madness...
Ever feel like the universe is working against you? The answer is most likely yes and if not, I want to know your secret. No matter how zen we try to be sometimes it feels like no matter what is going on it can just feel extra difficult. For the last two months we have been experiencing some universal pulls because a couple of our planets have been in retrograde. If you are wondering what a planet being in retrograde means, it is when a planet decides to reverse its direction or simply move backwards. This universal pull messes with our typical flow and can mess with communication, relationships and tons of other important aspects of your day to day. Retrogrades are a concept that I was introduced to my very first month of working as an esthetician. I don’t know why folks in my industry are hyper aware of the shifts in our universe, but we are. I blame the fact that we need a reason for late cancellations, clients forgetting appointments or technology blunders. I admittedly have always been one of those typical retrograde weirdos that try to avoid certain behaviors during these shifts.
Who Cares!
It’s important to find balance in life right? I know I’m constantly working on what to shift my focus on. This world is so over-stimulating that we can often start to feel overwhelmed with what to care for? I’ve learned that as an empath I take on a lot more energy than needed. In fact there is a point in which you can care too much. This is the fine line I’ve danced with over the last few years and you know what, it’s okay to let go of some of that baggage. As an esthetician I inevitably act as a source of therapy for some, and a punching bag for others. It comes with the territory and after 10 years, I understand that the ones who need to use me as their excuse to be upset it’s simply a projection of what is going on with them. You know what I do for those folks? Give them more love, since they clearly need it.
"You are you and that is your power"
Over the last year I have developed a wonderful new sense of self. At 28 I finally can feel how I am propelling towards to my destiny. I have never really had a clear vision of my future and this has always scared and excited me at the same time. Since the moment I came up with “therapeutic skin coach” I realized I have a real responsibility in helping people see the best in themselves. Having any issues with our skin can put us in a very emotionally vulnerable place which can lead to an intense decrease in our confidence. That lack of confidence has a trickle down effect to every aspect of our life. Whether you become less social or start to feel as if you have lost your voice. It can often feel like people are only looking at your skin and not listening to you. You are an important being to this world and your skin’s current state of health should not be the focal point of you. I feel like my mission in life is to make anyone who has been told they are not pretty enough, smart enough, deserving enough or just frankly good enough, realize they ARE enough. You are you and that is your power. Let me help you own it!