For many years the concept of self-love came tightly bounded to narcissism and just being plain vain. Self-love was looked at something shameful, and as an ugly characteristic for an individual to possess, and boy, am I happy that does the days are long gone. Loving yourself has been redefined and regarded as “love of self” or “regard for one’s own happiness or advantage”. Self-love is all about being selfish… FOR ONCE. It is about cherishing yourself enough to know what you do or do not deserve. It is about being authentic to one’s truth and living it unapologetically. It is about caring for yourself and treating your body as the ultimate temple. Loving yourself is all about YOU, and treating yourself like the inner RiRi you already possess.
For a long time, I thought that working on loving yourself was just about positive affirmations and creating a ritual to feed one’s soul of positivity and the love that we often don’t get from our environment. Although that is true, the new meaning of self-love is SKINCARE. The time that you use to care for your skin is the time where you are the rawest. No makeup. No hair in your face to cover your perfect imperfections. No place to hide. It is only you, and the mirror, that get to witness this ritual that exemplifies the true meaning of self-love.
I can tell how much someone values themselves, just by how they take care of their skin. You may have perfect skin and may feel like this is not a true test of self-love, but it is. The time that you spend getting ready for bed after a shower is the most precious moment you live every day. It is the only time that you’re alone with completely no fear of someone judging you for who you truly are. As you lather body butter on your body or coconut oil in your hair, every touch tells your soul that you care. Every face oil and serums that you carefully massage on your face, tell your mind that you care enough to want to preserve the temple that you hold. That you value yourself enough to take care of your physical form as much as your soul. And that you love yourself enough to take those extra minutes to love that bared faced woman in the mirror. So take your time! Enjoy the bubble bath, have masks nights with your girls, and apply that body oil all over. Your body will thank you. Your soul with thank you. Love yourself baby girl.