I used to feel weird about my job.
There was a point early in my 18-year career as an esthetician when I wondered, “What the heck am I even doing here? Isn’t this work too shallow?”
I think it’s because I entered this work through the lens of Big Beauty, you know the industry that sells the perception of youth as salvation and pushes the need to burn, peel, freeze, or inject anything that makes you look like you’ve lived. It is the weaponization of beauty, and the promotion of toxic femininity, a performance of beauty. For a long time, I couldn’t see past what beauty culture appeared to be. I was confusing the marketing of beauty with the essence of beauty.
If for you, my dear reader- beauty has begun to feel like a performance, maybe it’s because no one ever told you it could be a prayer… and that’s what I’m here to tell you.
It took me a long time to understand that beauty isn’t shallow. Beauty is sacred.
In preparation for writing this piece, I asked myself: What does that even mean? “Beauty is sacred” it sounds lovely and poetic, but what does it really mean?
So, I tried to define beauty.
Which proved to be next-to-impossible.
Is beauty about symmetry? Is it life force? Is it a reflection of God? If so, how the heck do you even pin that down into a definition?
Beauty is like “love”, it’s many things and sort of vague at the same time. I suppose what matters is the context.
The context I’m speaking from is that: Tending to your physical beauty is a holy practice.
I haven’t always felt comfortable saying that.
As women, we’re expected to be beautiful, but not too into our looks, or you’re vain. And… I’m not actually going to play that game anymore.
Because the body is a temple and there is nothing wrong with tending your temple, there is actually everything right with it.
Tantra is a spiritual tradition that originated in India that sees God in everything including your physical body. It’s often misrepresented as being all about sex, but that’s a narrow and Westernized take. That’s not what it’s really about. Tantra means to weave, as in, to weave divine into the material.
From this lens, tending to physical beauty, especially by engaging with topical products that are alive with crafted from the earth ingredients that were created with life force in mind. With facial massage, anointing with oils, adorning with beautiful items… This is holy work, a communion with God.
If you feel like your face care is a chore, you’re missing the point.
The intentional acts that may feel mundane, like applying your hydrosol and facial oil are actually a shift in consciousness. An arrival into presence. This may not always be obvious, but I can tell you, there is nothing like cleansing your face, spraying a hydrosol and then applying a facial oil when you are using products rich with the intelligence of nature.
This is what sacred beauty looks like.
If you are interested in the types of products I’m talking about, check out my sacred beauty apothecary online here.
