Educated in Skincare?

​Here we are, winter has set in.....kinda. Tennessee can not get it's shit together. It was 20 degrees yesterday and it's 63 degrees today. So I don't know where we're at. Today's blog post will be brief I hope, as it's just a few thoughts I have that I wanted to put out there and see if I was the only one or possibly to make others think.

First of all I want to say growing up and seeing gorgeous models in ads for beauty companies whether that is skin, hair, or makeup gives you somewhat, no matter how confident you are,  of a "well that's not me......" and then you feel like you don't measure up. Moving on, what I also find is thanks to that subconscious thought of "I must not look like I'm supposed to" that leads you face first into the rabbit hole ( at a young age I must say) into finding any product that will promise you results. Now, before I go further I understand everyone wanting a beautiful person to represent their company. I just think maybe it'd be nice if their definition of "beauty" was widened some. To clarify it has gotten better, some, in the recent years and also I learned to take everything with a grain of salt. I'm not naming names because literally, they've all done it. There is plenty of beautiful people in this world.
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That is what leads me to my next point, because I was in such a weird funk of feeling like I could be "improved", at the very least, I found myself believing everything a company said or the product claims. Which is part of the reason why I always put in the company claims when I'm reviewing a product. I want you to see the advertising words and I want you to see an actual review all in one. Not all of them are a stretch but I think we all know by now that dark circles aren't going away and neither is cellulite. I also think I partially knew that it was going to be a stretch but I just was that desperate to hear it, even if it wasn't true, because I was getting more and more at odds with my own self. Also, I didn't think companies could out right lie and make false claims because in my head I thought that was illegal.....turns out they can say whatever they damn well please. 

Which brings me here. I'll be 30 this month. I've made major faux-pa's with my skin and I'm sure I'll make more as technology and information progresses (not baking soda on a tooth brush scrubbing my face though), things that look "DIY" should be labeled as DDAA (double D double A = Don't Do At All). There's very few things that make a noticeable difference that can be a DIY. Also, research. There is a major lack of research I notice when I talk to people, which is odd because we have the whole world in the palm of our hand everyday and it's called a phone. At first I was really surprised that no one researched things before they bought them, then I realized I didn't either until I learned that companies as a whole didn't have my best interests at heart. So why in the world did I take their claims to be Gospel. Here's where lovely people like Caroline Hirons, Nadine Baggott, Stephanie Nicole and some genuine friends in the skincare social media groups became a life line and helped me get to the information I needed whether it was through a link, doing their own research, even telling me what newsletters to subscribe to or what articles to read. Which makes me a skincare nerd, yes. It doesn't make me a know it all, but it does make me ask questions. Even to the companies I trust the most, I still ask questions. That's the point of this is first make sure you're not believing everything at face value, and also don't feel intimidated or worried to ask questions and even if you don't get a reply (because a lot of times you may not) you can still research ingredients, studies, clinical trials, and other people's experiences with products. There is a vast amount of knowledge out there and it's completely free to use. So be confident enough to educate yourself. OR educate yourself until you're confident enough in a product. 

Because skincare is not a gimmick, (seriously one more glitter mask and I'm going to scream) it's not a "hack", it's not a DIY project. It's YOUR skin and you only get one. So start young and ask questions, research products, ask professionals their opinion on something you're leery of and if it makes you too uncomfortable or you're just not sure of it....don't use it. There are lots of great skincare products out and there are GOOD brands available that actually do have your best interests in mind now. Join groups on facebook, follow people on Instagram, watch youtube videos, read articles, familiarize yourself with ingredients, etc. Making you one very educated person that knows what their skin needs rather than a CEO at some big company producing a product every five minutes with the mind set "well one of them will be a hit". In my opinion there's no room for that anymore, we have advanced so much in technology and science that there shouldn't be any sub-par products on the market in any category. Simple is fine, "doesn't work at all" is unacceptable. ​So let's be skincare nerds together.

via GIPHY