"I realize that when I do my relaxing eight-step skincare ritual every night, I don't feel relaxed or mentally well." Illustration: Lola Beltran/The Guardian
I've been obsessed with makeup and beauty products for years and have read a lot (and seen a lot of TikToks) about how your beauty routine can be a form of meditation or mindfulness. I've had that feeling for a long time.Recently, I realize that even if I do my relaxing eight-step skincare ritual every night and have my little morning mental health kitwith make-up and coffee - "girl therapy" - I usually don't feel relaxed or mentally well. (Not in a "seek treatment" way, but in a general malaise way.) Am I doing it wrong? Do you think makeup could one day be a therapeutic practice or mindfulness tool?
- Girl therapy doesn't work
The line between the beauty and wellness industries has blurred to the point of non-existence. It is from this place of nothing that we get the concept of 'makeup as meditation'. Maybe it's the beauty industry's attempt to monetize mindfulness, or maybe it's the industry's attempt to sabotage mindfulness so that customers can't rise above the brainwashing of beauty culture.
Whatever its origins, it's everywhere now. See: How to Turn Your Beauty Routine into a Meditation Session, How Applying Makeup Can Serve as a Built-in Form of Daily Meditation, or 'Makeupfulness' is where makeup and mindfulness meet.
Makeup. MAKEUP FINE? I'm not surprised this isn't working for you, Girl Therapy.
Related: Ask Ugly: I'm addicted to lip balm, but it doesn't work. What is a better alternative?
First, meditation is the search for the unconditioned self, and beauty products in modern contexts are often instruments of the conditioned self. When you "meditate" by looking in the mirror, hyperfocus on your hyperpigmentation, and cover it with concealer, you are essentially acting out of your social conditioning-and systematically internalizing beauty standards.
I'm also not convinced that "meditation" through makeup provides stress relief. The idea that the slow, deliberate application of blush and contour, combined with deep breathing, relaxes the nervous system seems plausible at first glance; Some forms of meditation center the sensation of touch.
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However, the purpose of such methods is to feel inside the body like it is, do not change the body to appear as it is not. And while "pleasant touch" (hugging, holding hands) has been shown to calm the nervous system, other forms of touch can have the opposite effect. In The Body's Edge, medical ethicist Dr. Marc Lappé pointed out that traditional meditation methods tend to encourage silence because "excessive skin abnormalities [skin] stimulation can be the bane of healthy psychological functioning."
My personal conclusion to all this? The physical stimulation of so-called "makeup as meditation" most likely negates the benefits of traditional meditation-a practice that's supposed to center your mind, not even your skin color.
I don't mean to be an absolutist here. Sometimes makeup is a pure, divine, artistic expression of self, and that is beautiful. It's not meditation But I think equating the two devalues the spiritual practice of meditation.
As you're beginning to suspect, obsessively applying skincare products isn't quite the conscious ritual that social media has made it out to be either.
"Rituals are processes of embodiment," writes philosopher Byung-Chul Han in The Disappearance of Rituals, and the average Instagrammable skincare routine looks more like a process of disembodiment: The body's innate oils are washed away and replaced with moisturizers. Beneficial bacteria are killed with benzoyl peroxide and restored with probiotics. The epidermis is thinned with acids and filled with peptide creams.
These products increase the pressure consumers feel to meet inhumane beauty standards (ageless faces! hairless bodies!). This relentless pressure can manifest as stress, and stress can manifest as - conveniently for the market - inflamed, irritated, sensitive skin. This can make you feel like you need more products, and then make you feel more stressed, forever and ever, amen.
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You mention that people call this "girl therapy," but I'd say it's more likely a path to it need therapy.
You got it. You live it! You are exfoliated and anxious; you don't want professional help, but you do want to feel better. I've been there myself and I know exactly what you need. You too: mindfulness.
My favorite definition of mindfulness comes from Deepak Chopra, who once explained it as "being aware of who you are and what you are doing at any given moment. It is the opposite of acting out of habit, old conditioning and automatic reflexes. You are no longer a brain puppet that responds."
Mindfulness is conscious awareness. It is observation without judgement. It is immersing yourself in the present moment. It's also easier and cheaper than the beauty and wellness industry would have you believe.
To get started, I recommend researching the origins of mindfulness in Buddhism and Ayurveda to see which practices appeal to you. Some solid options for beginners: meditation (without concealer), mantra work, deep breathing, gratitude journaling. All have been shown to calm the nervous system and calm the mind; none will cost you money.
Related: Ask Ugly: I get ads for beauty products for my baby. Babies don't need skin care, right?
You say your makeup and skincare routines don't make you feel better, Girl Therapy, and yet you feel compelled to complete them anyway. Mindfulness can also help with this. One of my personal favorite awareness exercises is taking a basic beauty standard, removing the marketing language (the lie) and re-explaining it to myself in clear terms (the truth).
If I am observant and aware, a whitehead is no longer an ugly, frightening disaster that I must immediately destroy with an antibacterial agent (a lie), but a 1 mm long manifestation of a natural immune response that will resolve itself in no time . few days (the truth).
When I am observant and aware, products and recipes that promise eternal youth are no longer a necessary part of skin care (a lie), but an ultimately fruitless attempt at skin control (the truth).
When I am mindful and aware, makeup is no longer something I wear 'for myself' (a lie), but something I wear to alleviate the societal pressure I feel to have perfect skin, full eyebrows and to have fluffy eyelashes (my truth, but not necessarily yours).
Consistently cultivating awareness of your beauty habits will make it easier to break free from the habits that don't really enrich your life.
You also ask whether applying makeup or skin care can ever be part of a mindfulness practice. Personally, I don't think so - at least not if it serves overconsumption or oppressive appearance ideals. Over there Are certain skin care practices that may be good for you and support your overall health (e.g. wearing sunscreen), but I wouldn't call them part of a 'mindfulness' routine any more than I would call your daily bowel movements (also good for you) part of a mindfulness routine.
Here's a fun twist, though: meditation, deep breathing, and gratitude journaling have all been shown to strengthen the skin barrier by reducing trans-epidermal water loss, improving the skin's ability to protect you.
So while a moisturizer is not mindfulness, technically mindfulness is a moisturizer.
