But then I put on make-up... And it’s still full of texture
Healthy skin, some “beauty experts” tell us, should be smooth, glowing, soft and supple – almost glass like.
Well, if this is the case, I’ve never had healthy skin. In fact, if this is the case, I’ve never even seen anyone with healthy skin.
Skin has imperfections – pores, bumps, scars, redness, lines. Texture.
To add to that, your skin type can have a massive affect on the texture of your skin.
Dry, oily, combination, sensitive or normal (whatever that is). Attached to them is a range of advice and recommended products from the beauty world of how to care for your "problem" skin.
I have combination skin; my forehead does a great job of collecting all the grease while my cheeks are often drier than the Sahara desert. My skin is also a bit sensitive so anything too scented or with too many ingredients and my skin will go red. Uneven, red, pores; all very visible on my face.
But then I put on make-up… And it’s still full of texture.
What you can see here, coming through my make-up is my pores. Aren't they beautiful? No, not really, but there they are. Put the camera back a little bit and you wouldn't even see them. But guess who notices them the most? That's right, me.
Some days our skin becomes our biggest insecurity, we end up doing a Charlotte York, staring into the mirror at all our pores. These tiny little pinpricks on our skin, which we are led to think are soaking up all our make-up and denying our skin that smooth finish all the foundation adverts led us to believe was possible.
But as dermatologist dermatologist Melissa Piliang, M.D. says, "Pores are small openings on the skin that let sweat and oil drain out.” Pores aren't a reflection of the quality of my skin; they're there because my skin has a job to do.
The truth is skin isn't meant to be smooth, it's got spots, lines, sometimes it's dry, sometimes it's dull. And sometimes it's radiant. Your skin goes through phases depending on factors such as your menstrual cycle, stress levels, sun exposure or even ageing.
I think Tik Tok star @misspersephone says it best: “Beauty gurus lied to you: they sold you foundations while donning a blurring filter, without showing you the way it truly looked. They told you that make up was undetectable; they told you that it looked like an airbrush, while airbrushing their skin in post-production. So let me let you in on a secret, make-up will always look like make-up, not skin.”
Your skin is constantly evolving. And not everything that you deem wrong with your skin is caused by your environment. In fact, one study found that 1,500 out of our 25,000 genes impact our skin health and quality. Which may explain why, for some, its never too early to start using an anti-wrinkle night cream.
Make-up is meant to enhance your face, not disguise it. Make-up will always sit on the skin, it won’t magically make your skin look perfect, in some cases, it could even draw a bit more attention to your skin worries.
But what your seeing is texture. Not problem skin, not large pores, not cakey make-up, just your skin's texture.
And let's be realistic, I could tell you to wear SPF, clean your face every night before bed, use this wonder product I’ve just discovered. It might work, your skin could look flawless… but then again your skin will always have some texture, because its skin.
So while you might be on a journey to better skin, and I encourage you to keep searching for products that help you, it’s important to accept your skin as it is. Because not everything will disappear if you find that miracle skincare routine, after all it’s just texture.
A special thank you to my lovely friends who kindly sent these beautiful photos of their textured and very normal skin
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