Maa way or highway?

   

Do all the girls out there have a beauty secret or a beauty ritual they follow? I asked everyone on my Instagram what they grew up following, and I got the most engagement to any question that I’ve ever asked on my stories. 

From haldi doodh and besan (gram flour) to Aloe Vera and raw fruit peels, brown girls have tried and tested it all as teenagers. 

My earliest memory of following one of these beauty rituals as a child was when my mother would bathe me in a scrub made of besan, yogurt, and turmeric. She applied it all over my body and let it dry before scrubbing it off, this was said to remove all the peach fuzz we have as kids, but I hated it! 

I still do, whenever I’m offered an at-home solution for skin trouble, I reject it on the grounds of how much effort it takes to just simply prepare the ingredients. 

Modern skin care has always appealed to me the most, from moisturisers to toners and serums with active ingredients, these are the kind of products I always end up spending my money on and gravitate towards. I’ve spent so much time listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos and reading blog posts about how certain chemicals work on our skin and how and what they fix. 

What I didn’t realise is that beyond the pretty and attractive packaging lies products that have come from the OG ayurvedic ingredients and philosophies. Brands like Dr Sheth’s, Inde Wild, mamaearth and Keihl’s have all been using ingredients that our mothers have been preaching to us. 

It’s not that these products have instant gratification compared to those we make at home, then why is that many of us believe that these products are of superior quality? With all the science and research that goes behind creating the skin care that we buy off shelves, I’m pretty sure they deliver what they all promise. 

Is it just the ease that attracts us to these products or do they really work better than our humble, homemade skin care? 

I've concluded that there are 2 kinds of people,  those like me and then there are those who prefer the kind of skin care that comes from their pantries.

As long as you end up using the right ingredients for your skin type and concern, I believe you will find the results you’re looking for. 

I personally, have decided to uncomplicate my am and pm routines and have a healthy mix of skin care items, starting with the ever famous besan face pack once a week. 

Pray for this lazy girl and hope a future with glowing skin motivates her enough to get to her pantry!