The trouble I am having with selfies is that I’m in them! Maybe I need a stick. I look so much better from a distance and even better before I put my glasses on. I need a selfie stick that reaches across the room! How far do those things extend? My arm is definitely too short! They even have videos telling you how to shoot the best selfies. What angles are best. Sometimes I miss not having a camera in my hand all day.
I am pretty new to social media, but I have to admit, I am rather encouraged seeing women unafraid to show their make-up free natural faces. They’re proudly sporting their, “I haven’t been to a salon in six weeks,” hair. It’s inspiring. I could stand to borrow a bit of their confidence. There is damn sure no shortage. It is admirable. I wasn’t always this way. This is actually quite new.
I recently lost some weight. Not intentionally. I wasn’t feeling so hot and just had no appetite for a few weeks. No “Rona.” I had “Stressa.” I wasn’t eating much and of course, my newly popular butt and thighs were the first to disappear. (not my butt, but butts in general!) But I noticed the weight loss in my face. Great! One of the few places on your body where a little fat is good. Face fat is youthful. Facial fat smoothes out wrinkles and eliminate sagging, so losing facial fat was not such a good thing!
In preparation for a series of events I would be attending (pre-rona) I bought my first bottle of full coverage foundation! Until then I had only ever used a light cream to even out my complexion when I had been in the sun a little too much and was either blotchy or peeling. This new heavier consistency was to cover up the concealer I was now using to camouflage creases and indentations that were also a result of weight loss! I swear! Losing weight was both a blessing and a curse! Such a double-edged sword. Can’t I lose the gut and keep the face meat?
As if hormonal aging had not already affected my mug! Hormonal aging, according to the book Bio Young by Roxy Dillon, is a decrease in essential hormones that not only affect our appearance, (skin, hair, weight gain and the list goes on!) but our energy and sex drive! You name it! Hormones! It’s hard not to sit and think some days that we were dealt a bad hand! (I know. We should be happy to still be in the game!) I have to remind myself daily to be grateful that I lived long enough to experience menopause! But baby! I’m telling you. The STRUGGLE IS REAL!!!!
Okay, so back to hormonal aging…. apparently it is a crazy and vicious cycle. The aging cells produce lower levels of hormones! (I’m going to go deep into hormones in a future post.) So, the idea is to find ways to improve cell function and balance hormones. One way, I mentioned in a prior post (Actually, I have probably mentioned it in every post because that’s how important it is!) is exercise. Dietary choices/nutrition is the other biggee. Working on those two!
The book recommends quite a few DIY treatments. Takes time, but saves money! And you will know exactly what you are putting on your mug and body! (There won’t be any of that extra stuff you can’t pronounce.) One DIY is a vitamin C serum. I was already taking vitamin C to boost my immune system and ward off gout flare-ups, but I’m now trying the vitamin C serum recipe in the book. It saves quite a bit of money when compared to the vitamin C serums, sold in stores. According to Bio Young, the serum applied topically would help decrease fat reduction and atrophy. (A much better option than Tates cookies!) Just what I needed. Something else to add to the already too long morning regimen. I will keep you posted on the results.
I’m also trying her suggestion using dill seed oil with a coconut oil base as it supposedly improves elastin and collagen production. You may already know this, and I probably did and forgot, but collagen and elastin are the structural proteins that along with keratin give strength to skin and hair. They are essential for smooth, firm skin. I’m checking out alternative ways to boost collagen production because I’m just not feeling the whole bone broth situation. I’m just not a brothy soupy kinda girl.
While I am just now starting to follow some of the book’s recommendations for treatments and supplements, I am excited about seeing an improvement in my selfies! But whatever improvement that might occur in the mirror or the lens, I know that I have some inner work to do as well. All the bone broth and serums in the world won’t address those issues. I want to feel as confident as some of these raw faces I see on Instagram. (While attempting to promote this blog)
I have always believed and it’s common knowledge that there is a direct connection between what we put ON and what we put IN our bodies. Many people fail to realize that your skin is a large organ. I try not to put anything on my skin that I couldn’t put in my mouth and not die! I have been doing some research on clean cosmetics because unfortunately many of them include toxic ingredients. I will publish a short list once I’ve done a little research!
Beauty definitely comes from within and not just what you put on and in your body, but the thoughts you feed your mind. Negative thoughts and beliefs will greatly influence not only how you feel, but also how you look. I have some work to do. Not the plastic surgeon. ME! (at least for now!) There are always ways to improve your appearance, but in terms of your thoughts, acceptance that your 30, 40 or 50 year old face is no more, is a good start. I stopped at 50 because I am hopeful at 60 maybe it gets easier! At least I hope, since I’m knocking on 60’s door! And that doesn’t mean “I’m older and screw it!” I think seeing the beauty in what is, is key.
What I do know is that I want to look and feel the best that I can every day. I do not want to run and hide whenever someone pulls out a camera. When someone says send them a photo, I don’t want to keep saying, my phone is dying! I don’t want to avoid Facetime and Zoom calls which at the moment is next to impossible, although I have managed to thus far. I just don’t want to hate my”selfie.”
How do you feel about your selfie? Is it just me?