By Sable Yong, Allure
I recently met someone who had the most beautiful head of soft shiny hair I'd ever felt on a grown person. Her chestnut-colored hair had natural sunlight-stroked highlights, and again — I can't stress to you how damn soft it was. Being cosmetically curious, I asked, "What do you use on your hair?" to which I received a wholly self-pleased, "Oh nothing. I never wash it. I just rinse with water—" ... And then my brain glazed over once she dove into a diatribe of how putting products on your hair is BAD, and products are all BAD pretty much in general all-around. And OK, sure — she's not technically wrong. But, good Lorde! Had I known that a simple question would open me up to what I could only call a product-shaming tirade based on one's own very genetically-blessed follicles, I would've minded my own damn business. What is it about the voluntary rejection of products or tools that begets a certain smugness about not "needing" any cosmetic assistance?
[post_ads]Readers, I thought about this long and hard. I thought about all the beauty brands born of eschewing all products wholesale, and how the resulting success stories oozed with a superior sense of beating the supposed system and coming out a vision of health, with a holier-than-thou glow for us plebs to bask upon. And, perhaps you've noticed, these life-changing product-ditching epiphanies always seem to be evangelized by a naturally gorgeous model-like person. Indeed, ditching products and somehow becoming more beautiful is the ultimate flex, is it not — especially for those already snugly fitting into conventional beauty standards.
There's no real prescribed amount of products one should put on their bodies, faces or hair — truly, it really is different for different people's needs and lifestyles. That's what boggles me about people who are super judgmental about the many "detoxes" that one can do — how can one presume to know what's best for everyone? They can't — which is the most off-putting part about the mouthy and superior nature of a product detox. There's nothing inherently wrong about talking about drastic lifestyle changes like that; it's just that all too often that conversation is conducted with a judgmental tone that presumes to know how anyone else should live their lives. It's like when people talk about a woman as "looking better without makeup." Did she ask you? Probably not. But however good, not good, natural, or coiffed she appears is her business, you know?
As a beauty editor, going on a product strike would be bad for business. But since I'm inundated with a never-ending supply of new beauty launches and everything else under the sun, I'd like to think I've become rather astute at determining what works best for my beauty, as it were. The discovery process is at times overwhelming and confusing but always scrupulous and honestly, really fun and informative.
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Editing and curating my own beauty regimen — which can rotate given season, mood, or if I have any special events coming up — is a personal hobby of mine. I have gone deep to discover what works for me and what doesn't, which popular ingredients are actually legit, and to some extent the side effects or adverse interactions certain products and ingredients can have with each other. I've become the point person for friends and acquaintances when it comes to skin care and makeup recommendations and nothing makes me happier than leading someone to a beauty product or regimen that they really love.
Beauty can be overwhelming, frankly. But it's a part of one's lifestyle that begs respect, especially when self-determining something as personal as beauty or identity. Perhaps your identity relies on using less, and hey — that's great if that's working for you — but more steps in a routine doesn't mean that anyone is more or less better off. It probably just means that their medicine cabinets are still in flux through their own personal trials and errors.
I recently met someone who had the most beautiful head of soft shiny hair I'd ever felt on a grown person. Her chestnut-colored hair had natural sunlight-stroked highlights, and again — I can't stress to you how damn soft it was. Being cosmetically curious, I asked, "What do you use on your hair?" to which I received a wholly self-pleased, "Oh nothing. I never wash it. I just rinse with water—" ... And then my brain glazed over once she dove into a diatribe of how putting products on your hair is BAD, and products are all BAD pretty much in general all-around. And OK, sure — she's not technically wrong. But, good Lorde! Had I known that a simple question would open me up to what I could only call a product-shaming tirade based on one's own very genetically-blessed follicles, I would've minded my own damn business. What is it about the voluntary rejection of products or tools that begets a certain smugness about not "needing" any cosmetic assistance?
[post_ads]Readers, I thought about this long and hard. I thought about all the beauty brands born of eschewing all products wholesale, and how the resulting success stories oozed with a superior sense of beating the supposed system and coming out a vision of health, with a holier-than-thou glow for us plebs to bask upon. And, perhaps you've noticed, these life-changing product-ditching epiphanies always seem to be evangelized by a naturally gorgeous model-like person. Indeed, ditching products and somehow becoming more beautiful is the ultimate flex, is it not — especially for those already snugly fitting into conventional beauty standards.
There's no real prescribed amount of products one should put on their bodies, faces or hair — truly, it really is different for different people's needs and lifestyles. That's what boggles me about people who are super judgmental about the many "detoxes" that one can do — how can one presume to know what's best for everyone? They can't — which is the most off-putting part about the mouthy and superior nature of a product detox. There's nothing inherently wrong about talking about drastic lifestyle changes like that; it's just that all too often that conversation is conducted with a judgmental tone that presumes to know how anyone else should live their lives. It's like when people talk about a woman as "looking better without makeup." Did she ask you? Probably not. But however good, not good, natural, or coiffed she appears is her business, you know?
As a beauty editor, going on a product strike would be bad for business. But since I'm inundated with a never-ending supply of new beauty launches and everything else under the sun, I'd like to think I've become rather astute at determining what works best for my beauty, as it were. The discovery process is at times overwhelming and confusing but always scrupulous and honestly, really fun and informative.
[post_ads_2]
Editing and curating my own beauty regimen — which can rotate given season, mood, or if I have any special events coming up — is a personal hobby of mine. I have gone deep to discover what works for me and what doesn't, which popular ingredients are actually legit, and to some extent the side effects or adverse interactions certain products and ingredients can have with each other. I've become the point person for friends and acquaintances when it comes to skin care and makeup recommendations and nothing makes me happier than leading someone to a beauty product or regimen that they really love.
Beauty can be overwhelming, frankly. But it's a part of one's lifestyle that begs respect, especially when self-determining something as personal as beauty or identity. Perhaps your identity relies on using less, and hey — that's great if that's working for you — but more steps in a routine doesn't mean that anyone is more or less better off. It probably just means that their medicine cabinets are still in flux through their own personal trials and errors.
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