Last month, I came back home from a wedding party and I wanted to prepare myself for bed and do my usual beauty routine for the night. I removed my false lashes, I properly removed my wig, then, I took out my colored contact lenses and finally removed my makeup.
As I was doing all that stuff, I was thinking: “When the heck did beauty become so complicated? At what point did it become “natural” to adopt these extensive beauty regimens? When did we become so insecure about going out without all that stuff?”
We were under covid lockdown for so long that we started to look a lot more like us without all of these “enhancements”. I got so used to seeing my true self in the mirror that it felt so wrong to do otherwise. I mean, this is not my curly hair, this is not even my eye color, and where did my freckles go?
It’s a completely different person and I do not know who that is! Doing all of that stuff has made me lose touch with myself; I truly lost the connection to my body because I don’t recognize the person in the mirror anymore. It’s really troubling to not feel connected to your body.
It was time that I finally started to embrace myself just the way I am. It’s time to let my curly hair out, to fall in love with my brown eyes, to embrace my freckles, and to learn to be proud of my natural beauty.
So, what is natural beauty? What does it even mean?
Natural Beauty Meaning
Natural beauty is beauty without the added enhancements; it’s when we look our best selves underneath all those layers of makeup and any other enhancements. Natural beauty is also the ability to age gracefully without botox or fillers.
What most of us fail to realize is that we all have natural beauty; we just don’t know how to embrace it. We are all beautiful.
You can’t really blame yourself for having these beauty standards because it has been embedded in our neurological system for so long. You are taught that you can’t look beautiful unless you look like this. You can’t blame yourself for changing the way you look because you were bullied for having this type of hair or this type of body.
Tips On Embracing Your Natural Beauty
1- Time To Hit The Unfollow Button
Social media platforms have a major impact on how we perceive beauty and how we set beauty standards. Those celebrities and influencers set unrealistic beauty standards and promote them vigorously to a point where we believe that we’re genuinely ugly for not looking like them.
We do NOT all have to have that hourglass body figure; we do NOT all have zero rolls or flat tummies when we sit down
We do not have to look the same, we don’t have the same body type, and our hair doesn’t have to be silky smooth to be called pretty.
How bad do you feel after you scroll through your Instagram?
If it’s making you feel bad, it’s time to hit the unfollow button and follow people who promote more “natural” beauty standards.
2- Time To Run In Different Circles
I was always surrounded by plastics; my friends were so obsessed with their looks and it was contagious. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with loving yourself and looking your best; however, it’s wrong to tell people how they should or should not look.
My friends used to tell me to straighten my hair and cover my freckles. They used to tell me “you could look so much better than this; you have great potential. If you could just do something with those curls, you would automatically look ten times better”.
I was naive to listen and thought that my friends have my best interest in their hearts. I never knew how poisonous the relationship was until I let them go.
If your friends make you feel bad about looking a certain way, it’s time to run in a different circle.
3- Learn To Love Yourself
Learning to love yourself takes time and patience; it won’t happen overnight. Learning to love yourself means that you start taking care of your body. Care for yourself just as much as you would for others! Putting yourself first means that you have to do the best for yourself even if you have to let other people down.
You can start taking care of yourself by doing the following:
1- Eating Healthier Foods
You have to repeat this sentence until you believe it’s the truth: You are what you eat.
The minute you start eating healthier foods, your body will thank you. You can start loving your body the right way when you start putting healthier stuff in it. This is by no means our way of telling you that you need to skip the occasional slice of pizza or piece of cake.
Eating healthier foods will make your skin and hair glow, and it will tone out your body. It will make it easier for you to enhance your natural beauty and embrace it to the fullest.
2- Don’t Skimp On Your Workouts
Working out will make you see what your body is capable of enduring. It will make you cherish your body and appreciate it for the things it can do. You will be increasing your flexibility and resilience; plus, you would be toning your body.
Exercising is a sure way to make you fall in love with your body. Not to mention the number of happy hormones that your brain will be producing that will make you appreciate everything around you!