An epiphany in the beauty section
As I made my way down the aisles at the nearby CVS, I was more determined than ever to find what I’d set out for.
My most recent obsession: Something that would shrink my oversized pores, and (if I was so lucky) also reduce the shine that seemed to plague my nose and forehead.
This seemed to be my routine; I’d recognize some glaring flaw - smile lines, a new wrinkle, or some dark mark left behind from a stubborn zit. After having an initial “how long has that been there?” reaction, I’d have an epiphany: Pinterest. Any cosmetic issue I was having could surely be addressed with some DIY recipe, and if not, there had to be a product that people with budgets could afford. So, again I found myself standing in the skincare section, with high expectations and a much lower budget.
After 15 minutes of scanning jars and tubes, reading labels and searching through products, I finally called it quits. I left exasperated and empty handed. As I got into my silver Kia Rio before catching a glimpse of my reflection in the car window, I had another epiphany, but this one was one that wouldn’t cost me anything.
Un-Industrializing beauty
We live in a world that is obsessive, compulsive, and just downright centered around beauty. Women and men both spend hundreds and thousands for the flowy, shiny, round, full, thick, slim, toned, and tight looks that they desire. While some are home-grown, a lot of people rely on the beauty industry to provide whatever it is they feel God “forgot” to give. But when I think about the words “beauty” and “industry”, it almost sounds as oxymoronic as the idea of an organic McDonalds. Authentic beauty isn’t something that can be processed or purchased, or produced. It naturally blooms from the soil of our lives when we begin to accept the deeply rooted image of God in us. We can’t do that until we accept that God is perfect and makes no mistakes in His creations, and guess what? He says we are his masterpieces, hand-made in His image - no improvements needed.
Back to that day in the beauty department, I realized that my own frustration was less about not being able to find the perfect solution to my perceived "problems" amidst the shelves and shelves of products, but it was more about why I couldn’t accept myself as I am.
I was mad about what people would think of the laugh lines on my face. What they’d say behind my back about the unruly curls I was too tired to straighten today. Why did I need to find something to erase, hide, cover, straighten, correct, conceal, and contour away the fact that I am already beautifully human?
From now on I want to have conversations about what was the last thing that made you laugh, not what shade bronzer you're wearing. I want to share about how I had to get stitches from hitting a wall while playing hide-and-seek as a young girl. I want people to know that I love to laugh, I love learning about people, and I love life. You can see it on my face - and actually, that's OK.
If that doesn’t make me beautiful in someone's eyes, then I would challenge any standard of beauty that promises to make me look like anything other than me: flaws and all.
Deenah is
a writer, musician, and psychology student. She is an introvert who loves making cover songs, blogging, and wearing comfortable shoes. Click here to checkout her blog for more!