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Skin Changes. And That’s Okay.
Face Value started with changes to our facial menu, but somewhere along the way it became about something much bigger for me. The way we talk about our skin. The way we look at aging. And even the way I look at my own face.
I’m getting older too, and of course I notice it.
I notice changes in my skin that weren’t there a few years ago. The pigmentation, the lines, changes in texture and firmness. Some days I’m completely fine with them. Other days, if I’m being truthful, I’m not.
I think a lot of people probably feel the same way. We want to embrace getting older and feel confident in ourselves, but we also still want to look good. We want our skin to feel healthy. Maybe there are things we’d like to improve. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. What I don’t want is for us to feel like we’re constantly chasing the face we had 10 or 20 years ago. And I definitely don’t want that to be the message received when you walk through the doors of The Spa.
Our skin is supposed to change. Sometimes I think we forget that aging skin isn’t skin that has gone wrong. Our skin naturally changes as we get older. It can become thinner and drier. Collagen and elastin change. Hormones can affect it. Years of sun exposure and our environment can show up differently over time. These aren’t necessarily imperfections. A lot of them are simply part of having skin that has been with us for 40, 50, 60, 70 years and beyond.
So maybe instead of always asking,
“How do I make my skin look younger?” we start asking, “What does my skin need now?”
That feels like a much healthier conversation to me. The words we use matter.
Working in this industry, we talk about skin concerns all the time. Fine lines. Pigmentation. Loss of firmness. Dryness. Texture. Those words have a purpose. They help us understand what is happening within the skin and help us decide how best to care for it. But I also think we need to be careful. If every line becomes a concern, every spot becomes something to correct and every change becomes something to reverse, at what point are we making people feel like simply getting older is the problem?
I've researched this conversation. Articles I have reviewed looking at , aging and body image found that body-image concerns can continue throughout our lives. The researchers also discussed how anti-aging messages can promote unrealistic expectations around the aging female body.
That really stayed with me. Because our industry has a choice. We can add to that pressure, or we can approach things differently. That doesn’t mean we stop caring. This is probably the part I feel strongest about. Embracing your skin doesn’t mean you stop caring about it.
You can love your face and still want a facial. You can embrace aging and still want to treat pigmentation. You can accept your lines and still want your skin to feel firmer, brighter or more hydrated. You can invest in good products and professional treatments simply because taking care of yourself feels good. Those things can exist together.
If you come into The Spa and say, “This pigmentation really bothers me. What can we do?” we’re going to listen and help you understand your options. But if you come in with lines around your eyes that don’t bother you, I don’t want us pointing them out and giving you another thing to worry about. You shouldn’t leave a consultation with us with a new list of insecurities. That matters to me.
So, what does Face Value mean?
When we started developing Face Value, I knew I didn’t want it to become another skin campaign telling women everything that was wrong with their face.
I wanted it to be something more.
I want us to look at your skin as it is today.
I want to know what you care about.
And then I want our providers to use their knowledge to support you.
Sometimes that might mean doing more.
Sometimes it means doing less.
Sometimes we’ll be working toward a specific result.
And sometimes you just want an hour where someone takes really good care of you.
All of those are good reasons to have a facial. I’m figuring it out too. I’m not going to pretend I love every change I see when I look in the mirror. I don’t. And I don’t think embracing aging means we have to. There will probably always be things I choose to work on, and there are other things I’m learning to leave alone.
Maybe that’s the balance.
We can take care of ourselves.
We can want to look good.
We can invest in our skin.
And we can do all of that without believing we need to stay looking the same forever.
There’s something beautiful about a face that changes with a life being lived.
And maybe taking care of our skin doesn’t have to be about chasing younger skin at all.
Maybe it’s simply about taking really good care of the skin we’re in now.
That’s what Face Value means to me.
-Sabrina
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