30
May
Beauty… Why Try?
How Beauty Influences Identity
We all have a point in time when we felt pulled toward or pushed away from our own interpretation of beauty. Think back to younger years. Can you remember what it was like to to receive your first makeup kit? Did you see endless artistic possibilities or were you terrified of trying and failing? Did you pretend you were a princess when your best friend painted your nails or were you focused on that little bit brushed onto your cuticle? Or did you experience shame and ridicule when your fabulous fashion choice ended up feeling like a fashion faux pas? I am the possibilities princess who was probably the inspiration for the term “fashion faux pas.” Oh man, those were some wild years!
Our encounters with beauty shape our viewpoint of what beauty means to us. Whether we realize it or not, they influence how we embrace and define ourselves at a fundamental level. My first awareness of the power of beauty was watching my mother prepare for my father’s arrival home from work each day. She would stop everything to take rollers out of her hair, dab an Avon rose scented perfume on her neck and wrists, and apply a dark colored lipstick. Now keep in mind, she was also caring for 4 young children, preparing dinner, and making sure the house was in some semblance of order before he walked through the door. It wasn’t the act of fixing her hair or putting on lipstick which intrigued me, it was how she changed when she did. She went from what seemed like a busy, overworked mother to a confident woman in less than 30 minutes. She stood taller, she spoke louder, she smiled. It was in these moments when I realized beauty is defined by how we feel, not how we look. There was no magic in her lipstick, it was simply a tool she used to access a different version of herself.
This idea was reinforced during my encounters with my paternal grandmother. She raised 12 children on an 80 acre farm in rural Minnesota, losing one to Leukemia and saving one from Polio. She grew her own food, washed clothes from a well, did all her cooking and baking on a wood stove, and had no indoor bathroom. Her day began before sunrise. She stood tall, she moved quickly, and always wore an apron. From what I could see, she had no time or use for makeup. I’m not sure she even owned a lipstick. In fact, the only beauty routine I observed was in the evenings when her day was done. After changing to her night clothes, she removed the four pins holding up her loose bun and let her long silver hair fall. It was then, with her bristled brush in hand, that she cared for herself with intention. I watched as her breath went from shallow to deep and for those moments, she was able to close her eyes and return to her essence amongst the weight of responsibility.
We must not allow our desire to appear beautiful overshadow the fact that we are beautiful. Makeup is simply a way to access a different version of ourselves, a social currency, which can make it easier to navigate a superficial world. Are you comfortable in your own beauty with or without makeup? I would challenge you to learn both worlds. In doing so, you will open doors to the parts of yourself that have been waiting for your time and attention.
Bridgeport Laser & Wellness Center Team
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The team at Bridgeport Laser & Wellness Center in Tualatin, OR, is led by Alina Wilson, Author, Founder and Active CEO, and Michelle Young, ND, LAc, Medical Director. They are joined by Natalia Glawe, LE, CMA, Medical Aesthetics Specialist; Kathy Nesen, CAE, Medical Aesthetics Specialist; Lisa Lovell, CMA, Injection Specialist; Keisha Harrison, CMA, LE, Injection Specialist. Specializing in Thoughtful Aging, the team emphasizes a holistic approach to aging, promoting vibrant skin and wellness through extensively researched and tested treatments. At Bridgeport Laser & Wellness Center, they focus on enhancing natural beauty and supporting a positive outlook on aging, utilizing state-of-the-art technologies and treatments to provide personalized, results-oriented care.
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A Patient View on Thoughtful Aging vs Anti-Aging
Do things that help the process in your journey and make you feel good. Love the way you look!
I think you have to do things that maybe help the process in your journey and make you feel good and bring happiness to you and if that means getting a little Botox or getting a microderm you know which is something that you know I’ll walk away and look in the mirror and think oh I love the way I look but then it’s also a balance of being like it’s okay I’ve made it to 53 and I’m healthy and I think that’s where the thoughtful aging comes in versus the anti-aging
Drew Barrymore Talks on Emsculpt
I’m 44 I have two kids and I work constantly. I’m traveling and it’s really hard to have consistency in your life. My body isn’t the same after having two kids and even just on a functional level, if I would try to work out, I kept injuring myself, and I wasn’t working from this strong foundation of core or where I should have been and I was getting really discouraged. I wanted to change my life and do something really positive so that I could go into my closet and get dressed feeling good, so that I could eat pasta here and there, so I could drink wine here and there, and just find that elusive balance called 80/20. I’ve certainly known 80/20 in the opposite direction; you realize that being healthy and strong is really important. I wanted to condition my body differently so I could exercise regularly without injury, and then I did a bunch of recon with a lot of women, a lot of who you know some of you don’t, some who are really amazing actresses or athletes, and I was like, I found out all the cool girls were already doing it, and it made me feel really safe about the process. I got really excited as opposed to curious and they’re all doing it. So I was like, well then I want to do it as I had been doing a lot of core work. So I did Emsculpt in tendem, and it completely changed my foundation; it just really changed my life, and I get to go work out with my girlfriends and do dance cardio. I feel better when I’m picking up my kids. I’m just exercising smarter because I’m stronger. I’m not really a champion or into anything invasive and I’m not into aesthetics. I care about athletics and being capable and a strong woman, and I don’t know what exactly that looks like because it’s totally different for every single woman. But for me and my personal life I know the line and I know when I’m feeling good. I know what I’m looking better for me, well I definitely see lines in my stomach where I never have which is a total anomaly for me. I’m just getting to live the life I want to, I look better, I feel better, but I’m working out consistently without landing in a physical therapists office because I’ve overdone it or thrown my back out my car was like a fish tank after kids when women have kids nobody talks about how broken the body is and you’re trying to get back to where you were but you’ll never be in the same clade. So I think people probably do this for a multitude of reasons. I have friends who do Ironman, who do it, me as a mother who couldn’t put her body back together the right way. That was why I did it, I just wanted health and wellness in my life. Some people do it for posture, some people do it for conditioning, some people are hardcore athletes, and want to get even stronger and get that extra boost. All the cool girls are doing it for sure.
A Patient View on Thoughtful Aging
I just think the whole phrase thoughtful aging is so beautiful; it’s such a healthier approach but to keep your young youthful skin the best you can. I say this as I think it’s really important, and it makes sense to me, and it makes me feel good. Where again, anti-aging, this makes me feel defeated. Bridgeport laser and wellness is by far the best place to go for thoughtful aging