Thanksgiving is almost upon us and this is the time of year where we find ourselves taking time to reflect and think about the things in life that we are most grateful for.
Sometimes it is the “little things” that can have the greatest and lasting impact on the way we live our lives, who we become and how we think of ourselves. A little piece of advise, a “tip or trick” or even the way someone lives their life can leave a big impact upon us.
When I think of Thanksgiving and I think of beauty, I can’t help but remember some of those funny little “tips” that have been passed down from generation to generation and how they have impacted the way we approach self-care today.
Growing up in the 70s I was subject to some pretty amusing things. It is hard to believe today that these treatments were what was “in vogue” for the times.
Some of the most memorable tips that were passed down from my Grandmother to my Mother and then to me were:
Ironing hair with an actual clothes iron to straighten it, which would often make it break off near the scalp, using orange juice cans to roll hair after wetting down the hair with beer, slathering a mixture of baby oil and iodine all over your body and baking in the sun for a “gorgeous tan”, putting toothpaste on pimples to dry them up, and using razors that were so bad that they tore up our legs causing us to spend the rest of the day walking around with little dots of toilet paper all over our legs to stop the bleeding.
When talking about this with my dear friend and colleague Ann Marie D’Onofrio, RN, MSN, WHNP-C she reflects on being grateful for her 94 year old Grandmother and how she impacted her prospective on beauty. Here is what Ann Marie has to say….
“My beautiful grandmother, a retired “cosmetician,” still prides herself in looking much younger than her 94 years, and she will wholeheartedly tell you that she owes it all to good genes and a lifetime of daily Pond’s Cold Cream use for makeup removal and moisturizing. When I was a young girl, she also taught me about the restorative properties of weekly masques whipped up in the kitchen with equal parts egg white, oatmeal, and honey. Of course, such concoctions should only be applied to open pores, accomplished by tenting one’s head with a bath towel over a wash basin filled with hot, hot water for 10 minutes or more. Fast forward to the 21st Century, and I’m proud to report that my grandmother, although still a proponent of her daily cold cream regimen, is a loyal fan of the Revision skincare line that we carry here at Premier!”
Thinking about all of this makes me grateful for something else too and that is education, technology and access to actual therapeutic products and treatments.
The biggest impact these “tips/tricks” have had on my own life is simply teaching me that taking time for myself is important. Over the years I have used some of the tricks I have been taught to develop my own unique beauty regime. I am extra lucky because not only do I have the advice from my Mother/Grandmother to consider, I also have access to all of the latest and greatest tools and education and for that I am EXTRA grateful. But that doesn’t stop me from sharing some fun and “trendy” tips with my own daughter such as glitter nail polish and sparkly eye shadow on days I am feeling extra playful.
Although times have changed and treatment options have vastly improved, the same message stands the test of time and that is it is important to take time to take care of yourself. That what you are doing and saying about your own beauty regime and how you practice self-care is rubbing off on the next generation. Children follow by example. Watching their Mother take the time out of her busy schedule to wash and care for her face each night is a good way to send the message that although she is busy, she values herself enough to make time to care for herself. Practicing self-care impacts self-worth and showing our children that we are worth this care is equally as important to their own future self-worth.
One day they too will reflect on what you taught them and may even share a laugh or two about that glittery nail polish….