What's a Beauty Ritual vs. a Routine?
While it’s been accepted that skincare is the care of a actual living organ, and in some places, the term “skincare” has even been replaced with the term “skin health”, a more meticulous skincare ritual is still often viewed as a mundane routine at best, or at worst, as an act of superficial vanity.
Routines Reduce Anxiety
The fact is that developing daily routines such as washing and moisturizing your face every morning can enhance our mental health. We humans don’t do well with uncertainty. We feel anxious in the face of uncertainty and of loss of control. Creating and maintaining a routine requires that we organize ourselves to the point that we know what to expect, which in turn gives us a sense of control. Routines anchor and empower us.
The Difference between a Routine and a Ritual
While routines are a matter of organization and repetition, what distinguishes a ritual from a routine is the meaning and intention we impart on the routine. Turning a routine into a ritual requires making a conscious effort, a commitment, an intention to an otherwise ordinary, mundane act. The otherwise mundane act of washing your face before bed-time becomes a ritual of freeing yourself from the stress and worry that piled up over the course of the day. The act of applying a moisturizer becomes a ritual of nourishing not just your skin but your soul with new energy. And the more we repeat a ritual over time, the more meaningful they become to us. If you rely on the nightly ritual of washing your face as a way to also take off the mental and emotional burden of the day, not washing your face one night will likely make you feel a little off kilter.
Skincare lends itself to such calming self-care rituals because while washing our face or applying moisturizer, is a simple task, it does take a level of focus, being in the moment and touching your skin - you are literally getting in touch with yourself and increasing mindfulness during a moment of intentional self-care.
