Why Skin Care is Self-Care

I’ve written previous articles on fashion and make up, so naturally I feel as though skin care would be something that I’d also be passionate about. When I’d watch make up videos on YouTube when I was young, skin care videos would also show up, but at the age of 10 I didn’t realize the importance of taking care of my skin. I didn’t start getting into skin care until my mid-teens. I started feeling overwhelmed with the wealth of information and the fact that I wasn’t able to read ingredients lists.

My orientation and mobility instructor was a big help during this time. She told me about different age-appropriate brands that would be good to start with as well as supported me in finding products that were cruelty free. For one of our lessons, we went to a Sephora. This gave me an opportunity to ask questions and learn a lot about my skin. For example I learned that my face isn’t all the same colour and I do have some minor discolouration and hyperpigmentation. I also went through most of my life thinking that I have dry skin however I actually have more combination dry skin and that’s why I started getting more acne as I became a teenager. They also gave me sample size products to try first before spending my money on something that might not work.

For the most part, I don’t have any issues with skin care due to my visual impairment. Most of my products are in different shaped containers and I’m able to use my small amount of remaining vision to differentiate. A problem mostly arises when I get products from the same brand in the same style of packaging. I first check to see if there is a fragrance. If I open a giant white pot and smell watermelon then I know it’s my moisturizer. If I smell a chemical type of smell I know it’s my acid treatment. If the products are odourless, then I will use an app called Seeing AI to read me the product name. I also organize my bathroom counter in the order that I use the products in. Specialty products that I only use once or twice a week go at the very back since I use them less frequently. I also recommend using two different cleansers if you wear makeup. I’m not able to tell if I removed all of my make up by looking in the mirror, so cleansing twice makes me feel confident that I removed everything.

I used to think that skin care was just a necessary part of basic hygiene; however it is so much more than that. I love being able to create my own at home spa experience by wearing a face mask, listening to a podcast, and drinking cucumber water. I’ve also found an amazing skin care community on YouTube and watching videos is truly an important part of my self-care ritual.

by Nika Najafi

Skin care was something that I had a complicated relationship with for a few years. Growing up with acne, I saw it as a solution to fix all my problems. I treated it as a chore that I needed to do in order to get the perfect glowing skin that I thought I needed to have. My skin was always a huge insecurity of mine. I thought that people always judged me for not having perfectly clear skin, and I felt as though my self-worth was often attached to the way that I looked. So I bounced from product to product, trying to find the one thing that would work for my skin. I asked doctors to recommend any products that they thought would be beneficial, and often got frustrated when I didn’t see immediate results from what I was using.

After a few years of the cycle, I gave up and thought that nothing would help the condition of my skin. It wasn’t until the beginning of quarantine that I was able to completely change my perspective on skin care. I was able to see a trusted medical professional that was able to explain to me that my acne was caused due to underlying health conditions, and would likely take a while to fully resolve. You might think that getting this news was disheartening considering how long I tried to find a quick fix for my skin concerns, but it was actually really alleviating to know that there is a reason behind why my skin was acting the way it was.

I came home that evening wanting to learn as much as I can about my condition and how it affects the skin. I spent days pouring over articles from dermatologist and healthcare providers explaining the science behind the anatomy of our skin. I was fascinated about what I was learning, and wanted to see if I could approach skin care in a similar manner. I began educating myself on the science behind skin care products and how they interact with our skin. I learned that skin care is a process and cannot be taken with a problem fixing approach. I found myself loving the process of having a routine both in the morning and at night, and taking the time to take care of myself.

Being partially sighted, I often found myself feeling a little frustrated with being unable to distinguish what products I was picking up and wanting to use. Some brands do you have accessible packaging with braille labels on them, however not all products within stores do. A few hacks that I have learned is to wrap certain products in different textured rubber bands so that I can feel and distinguish between all the products. “Skincare is self-care”, this is something that I learned through years of frustration, but it could not be more true. If I had any advice, it would be to be patient, and enjoy the process of taking care of your skin and yourself.

by Ishita Bhatia