Spiritual Skincare: Using a Mantra for Healing Skin

From the products you choose to the amount of time you take employing them, how you care for your skin is a deeply personal undertaking. Morning skincare rituals can set the tone for what lies ahead; in the evening, washing off makeup and applying products can feel like a ceremony by which we return to a sense of peace and self-awareness. Caring for skin can entail more than just washing and moisturizing, however; creating space for a spiritual connection in your skincare routine can not only help calm skin, but can reframe how you view yourself in the mirror, period. Here’s how incorporating a mantra into your daily regimen can help heal your skin—and your self worth.

The Meaning of a Mantra

A mantra is a powerful tool often associated with the practices of yoga or meditation, and there’s a reason they’ve been utilized for thousands of years: they work. A mantra is a meaningful word or a phrase that’s repeated silently or out loud, and the basic premise is that what we speak—and what we think—shapes our reality. The power of a mantra lies in the combination of positive words and their repetition. ‍

Too often, our internal dialogue already contains “mantras” of sorts—but instead of uplifting words that can help us move through the world with healthy self-esteem and grace, our inner thoughts batter at the edges of our minds, telling us we’re not good enough, our skin is terrible and will never be clear, we’re not successful, we’re a fraud…you get the idea. Whether we’re aware of it or not, these self-limiting beliefs become the soundtrack for our lives, holding us back from the lives we want to live, instilling fear and insecurity—and all of that negative energy lives within us…and can show up on our skin.

But if we make a conscious effort to replace these negative “broken record” thoughts with words that foster self-acceptance, improve our self worth and encourage feelings of gratitude, the ways in which we engage with the world will also start to shift. Positive thoughts beget positive actions—and when we are at peace, our bodies can function at their highest levels. Our minds can think clearer. And our skin can begin to heal.

Choosing a Mantra

Mantras needn’t be complicated. In fact, the simpler they are, the easier they are to remember, to repeat and to incorporate into daily life. So, how should you choose a mantra? You may want to begin paying attention to those negative thoughts that are so common, they serve as background noise. Get quiet and take a few minutes to really tune in to what you’re hearing: Is there something you’ve been dreaming about that you don’t think you can have? Do you feel undeserving in a particular area of your life? Do you feel you’re not good enough to do that, have that, experience that? Whatever it is, focus on the words that tell you “no.” That’s a good place to flip the script and create your personal mantra.

Instead of “My skin is a mess. I will never have clear skin,” your mantra might be, “I accept my skin as it is right now. I send it love and healing. I am grateful it protects me every day.”