Dear Rachel,
My daughter is 15yrs old and is obsessed with beauty products. I tell her that her skin is clear and beautiful and she doesn’t need to mess it up with “product”. She has the young glow of youth! How can I help her to see that she will have years ahead of her to waste her money searching for the magic mascara and to many years to buy an array of marketing products and to wear makeup.
Sincerely,
Frustrated Mom
Dear Frustrated Mom,
Stop fighting it! Did you listen to your mom when she told you that you were wasting your money? I didn’t listen either! Your daughter, like mine, is caught up streaming Youtube videos of girls promoting cosmetic brands and ways to use them. Teenage girls think that they have reached “nirvana” when they walk into Sephora or the cosmetic aisle of CVS. And, can you blame them? All of the companies do a kick ass job of promoting the best mascara or the cream that will make your skin glow. I am three times my daughter’s age and I fall for the same marketing scam! I have an obsession with drugstore lipgloss. I am in contact search of the perfect gloss that will give me kissable lips that aren’t sticky! I don’t think it exists and yet I continue to search!
So, why don’t you engage your daughter in a day or weekend of “beauty detox”. Here are some thoughts that I have:
As with other detoxes—food, clutter—the new year is ideal for taking a beauty breather. Even if you are using the highest quality products, give your skin a chance to rest. Often people don’t realize how much their hair, nails, and skin are overtaxed with products (even if all natural).
The longer you detox, the greater the payoff will be. You may notice that your hair, nails and skin all look healthier.
A fun thing to do is to use what you have in the fridge for a do-it-yourself beauty treatment. For example, use overripe avocado for a face mask. Coconut oil works great as a body oil. And a mix of olive oil, lemon juice and brown sugar is a great body scrub.
I am not saying not to go back to using your beauty products, but having taken a break, you will notice that they are that much more effective when you go back to using them.
Eat whole foods- what you put into your body is every bit as important as what you put onto your face and hair and nails. The more you eat organic fruits and vegetables and whole grain products the better you will feel overall.
Hope this helps! For more information, contact me at rachel@livehealthynyc.com