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We all want to be beautiful
We want to be full of it,
full of this thing we call beauty,
But what is it, really?
If we forget about the western beauty standards that have been drilled into our minds for a second..
And we think about all the beautiful people we know from all over the world..
We all have cousins,
Aunts,
Friends
Random girls at school or work,
That we see and we think, oh she has something nice about her..
But is not all the same,
As you have seen, we can’t pick one kind of something that makes people beautiful, because there are so many features, colors, shapes that when combined in different ways make people specially unique..
I have thought and reflected about this for a long time,
What is it that we are looking for when we say we want to be beautiful,
(And i mean it in a way that does not involve changing anything about our features)
You know what i think it is?
It’s HEALTH!
All the things we search for when we strive to be more beautiful are all related to being healthy,
Let’s think about it:
Smooth complexion: an even complexion, without marks or blemishes, is an indication that our body is healthy, for the moment we feel sick, most of the time there are physical manifestations: think about conditions like chicken pox, o measles.
Or others like Lupus, Psoriasis or Eczema.
Even simple things like acne have a root inside the body when there is a lof of inflammation. So our quest for smooth skin has roots in having a body that is functioning without any disruption.
(Mostly) Red or Coral toned Lip Colors: again, our lips, at their optimal state have a nice pinkish-reddish-brown color.
And so think about those really long fasts and how dehydration affects your lips, (and imagine you had no lip balm on hand), or think about how cold sores show up on the lips even though it’s an internal condition.
Also did you know that people with anemia can have a slightly bluish tint to their lips? Or that vitamin deficiencies can have an impact on the color of our lips as well?
Have you wondered why blue or green lipsticks don’t ever seem to be in fashion? And black lips are usually liked by a small percentage of women?
Our lips being blue naturally is a result of lower than usual oxygen levels in our bodies, it’s a color that is not associated with health, and so most of us move towards red, pink, coral and peach lip colors, because they signal a happy body.
Blushed cheeks: All i can tell you with this one is to picture naturally flushed, pink cheeks (together with smooth complexion) Where do you see this most?
In healthy chubby babies! Who are being nurtured and taken care off, and massaged often (which means good blood flow which goes to the cheeks).
Of course you also blush when you are embarrassed, or emotional or out in the cold, but generally , cheeks with that pinkish/peach tint signal to our brain that whoever has them is in a good healthy state…
What about eyebrows, and eyeliner? : I think about this too, and how everyone has mutually agreed over thousands and thousands of year to make the eye area darker.
Is not like there were no other color options, after all red has been used since the beginning of time!
But why black and not red around the eyes?
Well just think about red eyes….and when do you have red eyes?
Allergies, fever, pink eye, or anything getting in your eye that should not be there…when things are out of the ordinary in your eyes, there is most likely redness,
But when you are healthy, the white part of your eyes is nice and bright, and what better way to contrast this than to put black around it.
Not to mention that black makes your lashes more accentuated, and I don’t have to explain to you about dark, thick eyelashes, because it’s just wired into our brains to love them.
But again, why do we love them? Because thick, healthy hair doesn’t happen unless there is strong, healthy body behind it!
So you see how we are wired to look for beauty, not just as a superficial desire, but based on something that has benefit to us.
Allah wants us to be full of beauty, which means to be full of health and vibrancy and strength!
But sadly, the way that beauty has been handled is to take the deeper meaning of it(health) and just focus on the superficial(looks)
In the next article I will tell you why with this knowledge, I don’t hate any breakouts or, dark circles, or hyperpigmentation, dullness or dryness I might be dealing with…
I use it to my advantage…
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