Tell me about a wellness habit, skincare practice, or personal ritual you genuinely believe makes a difference in your own life.
I could sit and preach about my skincare philosophy and all the wellness hacks I swear by (and trust me, I have strong opinions on both). However, my most important personal ritual and the biggest piece of advice I give to my kids is to Be Happy!!! To me, people that are happy exude the most amount of beauty. I wake up every day and try to focus on the positive and not get consumed by negativity or negative people. This attitude of course came with age, confidence, and surrounding myself with people who bring me an abundance of joy. To me, having inner peace is the icing on the cake of life!
How do social media, filters, and the growing accessibility of cosmetic treatments affect the way younger generations perceive themselves and what conversations should parents be having about these influences?
Social media has completely changed the way younger generations perceive beauty, and not always for the better. We're living in a world where filters and photo editing have created beauty standards that aren't achievable in real life. What's particularly concerning to me is that young people are beginning to view completely normal facial features as imperfections that need to be corrected.
I only treat patients over the age of 21 and oftentimes try to talk my younger patients out of cosmetic treatments. As a mother, my anecdotal advice to other parents based on what I have seen in my practice is typically when parents have a healthy self-image, oftentimes their kids do as well. And the opposite of that is true as well. Our kids are watching and listening to us and we can choose what kind of role model we want to be to impact their self-esteem in a positive way.