When the skincare culture was introduced in 3000 BC in Ancient Egypt, Egyptians depended on their natural environment as a resource to care for their skin of which they took great pride in their everyday lives that made their appearance and hygiene a top priority. They used natural oils extracted from plants and herbs to care for many skin concerns such as anti-aging, healing, and most importantly, the beautification of their skin's appearance. It was a routine ritual that consisted of cleansing the entire body at least twice a day. This routine ritual was important to the Egyptians because taking care of their skin signified royalty, health, and pride.
For many years, and even more than before, skincare has been at the forefront of beauty. It is one of the first steps in all aspects of beauty before starting any routine of self-care; face, or body. We take great pride in choosing the right products that we hope will do the job for whatever skin concerns we may have. Some people even take extreme measures to speed up the process to gain faster results.
As we may know, patience is a virtue when it comes to skincare. It can be time-consuming and on the other hand, have great results with time. What's most significant is that we understand the "why" in skincare and it's culture.
Skincare should be treated like the water we drink and the food we choose to ingest in our bodies. It should be treated as an investment like we invest in our education especially if its something that we will have to live with for the rest of our lives and something that we're applying on topically.
Our skin is the first line of defense. Think of it as the soldiers on the front line combating any intruders that may approach and we are the captains; delegating what route we should take.
Skincare means something different for everyone. There is no one person that has identical skin; we all know this. So, what's the point? It goes beyond just having a clean canvas to build upon, or washing your face clean, or taking upon a skincare routine because of it's trend. There's more to it than all of this.
Skincare is understanding your skin's behavior and why. As silly as this may sound, this means having a conversation with your skin and learning it (like your skin type and how it responds to certain applications of product). It means understanding what your skin is actually saying (not that it will verbally respond); however, our skin will speak loud with its actions if we experience a breakout of some sort. It means understanding what ingredients are in our products that will help assist the healing and stabilization of our skin's journey and knowing where those ingredients are sourced by doing your due diligence and researching products before applying anything.
As the Chinese Proverbs is explained: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." Taking this step towards educating yourself on the "why" in your skincare routine will help you assist the journey of your skin goals and embodying the culture of skincare.
It's Kuench Time!