If you type ‘using gratitude in your beauty routine’ into Google, a plethora of content appears. Publications like The Cut, The Guardian and Bustle have all written about it.
Who knew that skin gratitude was a thing? Not me.
While the concept of beauty-related gratitude has apparently existed for years now, writer Jessica L. Yarbrough of The Cut, has reignited the conversation.
Yarbrough recently highlighted how many well-known women in the beauty industry use gratitude as part of their daily wellness routines.
Glossier founder and CEO, Emily Weiss, uses a gratitude journal that she writes in every day for five minutes. Poet Cleo Wade told Allure that “staying present” was one of her beauty secrets and influencer Christina Grasso (aka @thepouf) included the practice in her daily ritual. “I absolutely consider gratitude to be a part of my personal beauty routine,” she told The Cut.
Yarbrough herself revealed how she uses skin gratitude every day. “Every morning, I start my meditation by taking a few deep breaths and saying, in my head, “Thank you, skin,” Yarbough wrote.
“I think about how everything my skin does is literally meant to protect me, and try to find the positive in the perceived “flaw.”
While the intentional use of gratitude has become increasingly popular across all areas of people’s lives, it makes sense that it would also enter the beauty world too.
Brands using gratitude
Individuals aren’t the only ones using skin gratitude. A number of beauty brands can also be counted as fans.
A post touching on skin gratitude appeared on the blog of skincare brand Mario Badescu all the way back in November 2013.
Entitled ‘The Beauty of Thanks’, the post celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday and touched on the very tenets of skin gratitude.
“On this day of thanks, I can’t help but wonder: is there a connection between gratitude and beautiful skin? Can gratefulness be attractive?” the post reads.
“Of course! We’ve all witnessed how a lovely thought can transform a face, elevating the plain into the extraordinary.”
Skincare company Murad also recommends the use of gratitude and affirmations alongside its products. Brand founder Dr. Howard Murad told The Cut that using affirmations could even change your skin.
Dr. Murad developed an app (to be used alongside the brand’s Replenishing Multi-Acid Peel and AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser) that gives the user a daily affirmation notification.
“The 11 affirmations I recommend today are based on a clinical study that produced positive, measurable results related to stress reduction,” Dr. Murad told The Cut.
According to Dr. Murad, after “just eight weeks of saying these 11 affirmations twice a day and journaling for five minutes,” participants saw “reduced fine lines, dark circles, and redness.”
The science of gratitude
According to Heathline, there is scientific evidence that shows that people who regularly practice gratitude can actually experience health benefits.
Research from the University of Miami measured how participants felt when they practiced gratitude versus those who framed things negatively.
The study asked three separate groups to write a few sentences a week. One group wrote what they were grateful for that week, while the second group focused on daily irritations. The third group wrote about events in their daily life but with no emphasis on whether they were positive or negative.
After 10 weeks, the participants who wrote about things through the lens of gratitude were much more optimistic and felt better about their lives.
Another study also used gratitude writing to measure the long term impacts. The results were astounding, with those who participated in the letter writing exercise demonstrating behavioural increases in gratitude that lasted for a whopping three months.
According to psychodermatologist, Dr. Amy Wechsler, the effect of gratitude on the skin is linked to stress.
“Anything that lowers stress levels improves the health of the skin,” she told The Cut.
It’s all about perspective
Whether or not you’re on board with beauty-related gratitude, it could be a fun experiment to try. Negative self-talk is something so many people (myself included) deal with on a daily basis, so if infusing a little bit of positivity via gratitude into your daily routine helps, then I recommend running with it.