It starts with procrastination.
I’ve been tinkering around the edge with the idea to write a blog and create a website for a while. First in 2008, then later in 2010, but my plans were shuttled off into a slightly different direction, still with a blog about beauty at the heart of it.
Beauty and Skin Care was my profession for most of my career, it made sense to write about it, yet nothing came to pass.
Momentum picked up in 2011 only to have all my plans come to a crashing halt when my darling mother succumbed to the debilitating effects of vascular dementia and diabetes. So, my journey or perhaps it would be better to say the path I was travelling on, changed dramatically.
The winds of change blew me in a direction I was not expecting. All this at the age of 51.
I cared for my mother until her passing in January 2013. During the 18 months of full-time care, when there was little thought for anything other than keeping my mum safe on the final leg of her own personal journey, thoughts of the life I had and what my future would hold gave rise to the somewhat existential dilemma; what it all meant and the life-shaking, unsettling feeling of futility.
Despite this temporary state of bleak, I see life as an amazing gift and a privilege, but after losing a parent in what seemed far too soon, I also saw clearly the shortness of life. Sure, we all talk about life being short, but really? We still live in a place of denial most of the time. The silliness of so many things we fuss about, thoughts, fears and unruly emotions hold us back and stop us from being truly happy.
A different perspective.
All this pondering led me to change my view of the world of ‘beauty I had come to inhabit.
You see, the preservation of youthful, healthy skin has always been a driving force in my career or, if I’m truthful, the preservation of my own beauty. I guess vanity played a part. Narcissist? I can barely spell it. Surely not moi?
Strange, isn’t it, where life leads us? Many people I know in the beauty industry come to it because of their own personal fears and worries. It’s not unique to the beauty industry; think Oprah Winfrey. Obviously, her life mission and career came from her own personal troubles and a burning desire to help others.
But for me? Once I was introduced to the science of the body’s largest organ, the skin, I was hooked.
Finding the silver lining.
With all this seeking of knowledge came a desire to help others. Oh, the noble cause. Yes, I know (tongue planted firmly in cheek). But honestly, I’ve met enough people with skin conditions that deeply impact their confidence to know it actually can be quite a noble profession. Although these days, for me, the solutions are more likely to be found in how your health and mental wellbeing impact your skin, your beauty and your life, not just a jar of cream or a jab of dermal filler to smooth away wrinkles.
And now? I want to preserve more than my skin but the longevity of my mind and for as long as possible. No point in having lovely skin if your mind and body fail you? Of course, I’ll always pursue ways to have better skin that defies my years. After all, obsessions are hard to give up. But all joke to one side, I’m embracing the desire, not just to care for my skin, but to adopt a holistic and balanced approach to every organ of the body and seek out longevity through health and my mental wellbeing.
Sharing what I’ve found out.
So, I want to talk about a lot more than your skin, although I’ll always come back to how best to care for your skin; after all, it’s the reason this website was born. I love the science of the skin; so incredibly thin and yet so strong and such a busy organ. You may think it funny to say, but I think we should pay homage to our skin, but instead, we ignore it. We shouldn’t, and you shouldn’t. It’s essential to self-care, and for more reasons than the obvious ones.
Pay homage to your skin. It’s essential to self-care, and for more reasons than the obvious one of vanity. Sometimes not caring is a sign of something else; denial, depression or hiding from who we are or things we don’t want to face.
Your skin is one of only two body organs visible to you (the other being your eyes). How amazing is that! Your heart, your lungs, your liver… all a bit of a mystery. But, your skin? Ahh, yes, a true reflection of your inner health, both mentally and physically.
So, I’m done tinkering.
As with so many things, the life and career you make for yourself rarely come without a little happenstance. I like that. If all our best-laid plans came to fruition, it may not necessarily be how we thought it would be or what we wanted. The element of not knowing spurs us on to look ahead to the future with a sense of anticipation, no matter what the view looks like today, no matter what transpired in the past, no matter what age.
So I began. If you’re new here, you’ll find stories about having and getting beautiful skin, living mindfully, loving the skin and body you’re in and being as happy as a human can be, no matter how far along in your life you are.
See you next time.
