Let’s get real about our skin

There is so much pressure for people to have the perfect kind of skin; the dewy, blemish-free, flawless skin that has no run-ins with zits. The eyebrows are just the right thickness, the features are perfectly symmetrical, the nose is straight and long and the cheekbones, you can cut your heart down on them.

One would think that all these words are gibberish; of course, there is no such thing as the ‘perfectly beautiful,’ and no one has it all. Except, thanks to social media, there are people who seemingly do have it all.

It is all a mirage!

What we do not see are the countless procedures, the visits to the aestheticians and the calls to the Best Dermatologist in Karachi to get to the point of being that beautiful.

And even if it were all natural, conforming to just the one ideal of beauty is extremely unfair, to say the least. Instead of celebrating the diversity then, it leads to conformity. And there is no end to human desire, and the pursuit of perfection, people then put themselves through hell.

For those who cannot attain that level of beauty, life itself becomes hell. Your complexes make you hate your skin, you become dissatisfied with your look, and it opens a Pandora’s box of mental health issues that frankly, no one should have to deal with.

Unlearn the oppressive values

If you find yourself in the place whereby you are taught what is the definition of beauty, and why you are falling short of socially approved standards of beauty, do not beat yourself.

These forces are extremely powerful. Of course, we all want to be loved and to be liked, and only the very strong people are able to withstand the pressures of society.

But it certainly does not mean that you continue to conform, and you stay in the box. You can still get out of the system that makes you hate your own skin, belittle your own being, and make you feel small.

Here are some things that you can do to feel more confident in yourself and love the way you look.

Affirmations

Write your affirmations down, the short phrases that you want yourself to believe. These can be something as simple as “I am beautiful” or something more specific to your circumstances.

Repeating these everyday can help you brain unlearn all the oppressive values that you have assimilated. These also play a part in reparenting yourself, which is important in cases where the insecurities are deeply rooted in childhood.

Skin comes in different shapes and forms

It is important for people to observe diversity around them to realize that skin comes in different forms; there will be pores, blemishes, pigmentation, thick brows, thin brows, texture, different skin tones, and a hoard of factors. And all these are a cause for celebration. Why should there be any right skin tone or appearance? Why reduce the diversity around us because we only see on form on the mass media?

It is okay to pamper yourself

Just because you are making a political statement does not mean that you should entirely forgo skincare or stop making it out to be as a form of selfcare.

It is the intention with which you go for it that is important here; if you are slathering the products on because you want to appear pretty for the society, you need to have a moment with yourself. If you are doing it solely for the sake of yourself, and because it makes you feel good about yourself, then go for it.

Talk to an expert about it

Sometimes, we need an expert to reassure us that there is nothing wrong with our skin, or us for that matter, just because it does not look like our image when using the Instagram filter. Or going to an expert can help in getting treatment that might remedy things causing you complex. So, when needed, do consider visiting Skin Specialist in Lahore.