I get it, the last thing we want to do with an uncomfortable outward appearance is immortalize it. We spend hours primping our hair, wearing clothes that make our bodies look just right, cake on concealer to hide our uneven skin tones. The concept of taking a photo of the raw and real truth seems absurd. Why would we want to remember what we dislike so much?
Because, it is the first step in improvement.
We hear it time and time again, something can only begin to change once we accept there is a problem. The alcoholic will never begin their sobriety journey, the overweight individual will never begin their health journey, and the acne prone adult will never begin their clear-skin journey until they first acknowledge that there is a problem.
Things will never change until we acknowledge that they must, for a happier, healthier way of living.
Of my many clients, I would say over half of them forget to take a photo before beginning their skincare journey. It makes sense. We don’t want to be reminded of how “bad” our skin was, we just want improvement. Sometimes we fleetingly remind ourselves, but “drat, I have all my makeup on” or “drat, I just got into bed.” The inevitable “I will do it in the morning” never happens and 5 days later, their new skincare arrives. With excitement, the box is ripped open and the first wash is complete …without the photo.
Why is this such a problem?
Humans are like a Frog in Hot Water. Remember that fable from elementary school? A scientist puts a frog in boiling hot water. Naturally, the frog jumps out and ribbits “YIKES.” Another scientist puts another frog in a pot of cool water and slowly heats it up. The frog does not realize its environment is changing and eventually no ribbits were left to be had, only frog legs. As humans we tend to forget the bad, call it what you will, but I call it a defense mechanism.
We are innately prone to try and forget the bad parts of our past.
This includes our bad skin. Without a photo to remember why we began the journey in the first place, we may experience change so slowly, that we dont believe a change is occuring at all. Many clients have called, disgruntled that their skincare products are not doing what they want them to. However, because I demanded they take a “before” photo, we revisit the “proof” and lo-and-behold the change has been dramatic!
So before you begin your next journey, whip your cameras out and be sure to document the process. It is the best way to decipher and track whether a change is occurring. From hair changes and makeovers, to a skincare adventure, selfies are always a good place to start.
Class and Sunshie 