Finding Serenity [And Self-Acceptance] In The Skincare Aisle
Girls' Life magazine|April/May 2017

After a brutal battle with a crazy complexion, Samantha Wilson learned that if she wanted to make peace with her skin, she had to stop treating it like an enemy.

Samantha Wilson
Finding Serenity [And Self-Acceptance] In The Skincare Aisle

Every night I stand in front of the bathroom mirror—hair in a messy bun, dressed in my best fuzzy cat slippers—and massage a bit of love into my skin. (Psst: By “love” I mean a very basic moisturizer…and, well, that’s about it.)

This pared-down product lineup is a major change from what my skincare routine looked like a year ago: washing and rinsing and scrubbing. Layering on creams and serums and spot treatments.

I’ve always had combination skin that’s a lovely blend of dryness (dull, itchy, flaky) but also somehow oily (and often blessed with patches of pimples on my chin and nose). For years I would wake up, look in the mirror and decide what I needed to fix that day—and what miracle product would solve all of my problems.

It might be a jar of thick cream to slap on my peeling, crocodile-esque cheeks. Or maybe I’d seek out the latest buzzy ingredient, like a charcoal face wash that promised to “draw out impurities,” for my extra-oily forehead.

This story is from the April/May 2017 edition of Girls' Life magazine.

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This story is from the April/May 2017 edition of Girls' Life magazine.

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