There are times in life when the world around us hurts.
Stress, disappointment, heartbreak, uncertainty, work, relationships, finances, family—sometimes everything seems to arrive at once. We may tell ourselves that we’re handling it, but our bodies have their own way of keeping score.
And sometimes, our skin tells the story.
Stress can affect the skin in very real ways. When we’re under prolonged stress, changes in hormones such as cortisol can influence inflammation, the skin barrier, oil production, healing, and conditions such as acne or eczema. We may also sleep less, eat differently, drink less water, or simply stop taking care of ourselves.
But here’s something I’ve been thinking about lately:
Your skin tells your story—but you get to decide how the next chapter is written.
Taking Care of the Outside Can Help the Inside
Self-care isn’t vanity.
Sometimes something as simple as washing your face slowly, applying a serum you love, moisturizing your hands and feet, caring for your hair, taking a warm shower, sitting quietly in the sunshine, or giving yourself ten peaceful minutes can remind you:
I am still worth taking care of.
There is something incredibly powerful about continuing to care for yourself when life hasn’t been particularly gentle with you.
You don’t have to be the youngest person in the room.
You don’t have to be the most beautiful.
You don’t need perfect skin.
And you certainly don’t need a perfect life.
You simply need to remember that the person looking back at you in the mirror deserves your kindness too.
What Buddhism Has Been Teaching Me About Peace
Recently, I’ve found myself enjoying learning about Buddhist teachings and their emphasis on peace, compassion, mindfulness, and letting go of the things we cannot control.
One Buddhist teaching that has stayed with me comes from the Dhammapada:
“Hatred is never appeased by hatred.”
It’s such a simple idea, but an incredibly difficult one to practice when someone has hurt us.
Another teaching reminds us:
“Better than a thousand useless words is one useful word, hearing which one attains peace.”
Peace doesn’t mean pretending something didn’t hurt.
It doesn’t mean allowing people to mistreat you.
Sometimes peace means recognizing what is hurting you, setting boundaries, walking forward, and refusing to carry someone else’s behavior inside of you forever.
I’ve been learning that what happens around us and what we allow to live within us are two different things.
We cannot control every person.
We cannot control every disappointment.
We cannot make life perfect.
But we can become much more careful about what we allow to take up permanent residence in our minds, bodies, and hearts.
Let Your Mind, Body, Soul—and Skin—Begin to Align
Beauty isn’t perfection.
To me, beauty is becoming comfortable with the human being you already are.
Be honest.
Be kind.
Treat people the way you would want to be treated.
Protect your peace without losing your compassion.
Walk away from things that repeatedly damage you.
Take care of your body.
Take care of your mind.
And yes, take care of your skin.
There will be wrinkles. There will be scars. There will be sunspots, laugh lines, changes and imperfections. Those things are part of being alive.
But don’t let a painful period of your life become the only story you see when you look in the mirror.
Give yourself sleep.
Give yourself nourishment.
Give yourself movement.
Give yourself quiet.
Give yourself skincare.
Give yourself forgiveness.
And most importantly, give yourself permission to move forward.
Because self-love isn’t believing you’re perfect.
It’s deciding you’re worth caring for even when life isn’t.
At SIOL Skincare, I’ve always said:
Honor your skin. Your skin tells your story.
Today I’d add one more thought:
Make sure the story you’re telling yourself is as kind as the care you’re giving your skin. And make sure the story you present to the public aligns with your honesty and your heart.
— Michelle
SIOL Skincare
Science + Nature
Honor your skin. Your skin tells your story.