As a college student, on a normal day, I don't wear much makeup - I only do it on a weekend when it comes to going out or when I'm dressing up. Typically I'll only wear a little bit of foundation to reduce natural redness on my face due to my fair skin and a touch of mascara.
This week I decided to give my face a break and go all natural, with no makeup. I also went the week without straightening my hair. My hair is naturally curly which isn't always as nice as it sounds - its constantly knotted making it impossible to brush, and some days waking up it just doesn't fall right.
Due to this, ever since I learned how to use one I've relied on and used my hair straightener almost every other day. This past week I also put an end to this habit. After this week, the best way to describe how I felt was refreshed; and five things to happened.
1. My face cleared up on its own
My skin was so much clearer and healthier. I had absolutely no breakouts and my skin felt as clean as ever. Along with this, it was nice to not have my eyes or face feeling heavy by the end of the day due to wearing makeup.
2. My hair felt stronger and healthier
I was shocked when I noticed just how much softer and stronger my hair was after just one week of not using my straight iron. Usually, my hair is much more dry and rough feeling, but by the end of this week, it felt healthier and more fortified.
3. I actually received compliments
I received many compliments from friends and peers such as "you look good today" or "omg I love your hair." My hair is left curly was an obvious change, so many people noticed. I've also always worn makeup on my face because I was insecure of my fair skin and the natural redness on my parts of my face that comes with it, but I was surprised to actually receive compliments on this.
4. I felt more confident in my appearance
While the various compliments I received did help boost my confidence, just seeing and getting used to myself without makeup helped me feel more confident in my all natural appearance. Like many other women, I feel more confident when I have makeup on and I'm all glammed up, but just getting used to my natural look lead me to like it and accept it more. The more I learned to like and appreciate my natural appearance, and the less I relied on makeup, the more confident I felt in myself both with and without makeup.
5. I felt refreshed, clean, and happier
Just feeling clean and refreshed put me in an overall good mood. I felt happy in that I was comfortable, and slowly becoming more confident in my natural appearance. I started to notice features about myself that make me unique such as my green eyes, which I started to notice look greener when I wear less makeup, and my curly blonde hair which I am slowly growing to love.
I'm not saying I won't ever wear makeup; of course, I will on special occasions as I've always done. What I did realize through this past week, however, is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with going all natural on any given day. We all have beautiful and unique natural features that we should be proud to showcase every day.
Sheetal Tadiparty
Flickr Creative Commons
