Getting Checked: Baking Soda, Brighter Skin, and Skincare Snobbery
My friend (who shall remain nameless to prevent public shaming) always brings up that she washes her face with baking soda. She proclaims, quite proudly, that she also uses baking soda to brush her teeth and clean her bathroom. It’s like I can see her with various baking soda-crusted brushes protruding from a holder, scrubbing everything from her mouth to her medicine cabinet.
It’s hard not to clutch my pearls and fein death when she speaks about this terrifying skincare faux pas. Why on earth would anyone choose to turn this basic, multi-purpose kitchen pantry item into a skincare ritual?
Before I could start spinning together and spitting out all the reasons why this was a terrible idea, she unknowingly snapped my skincare-snobby mouth shut: “It’s brightening my skin! My dark spots are going away since I started using baking soda to wash my face.”
Holy historical ingredient hack, Batman. All my arguments and eye rolls couldn’t counter this punch. Like a NASA scientist working a math problem, I rapidly deduced that the ancient ingredient baking soda, classified chemically as sodium bicarbonate, could truly be lessening her dark spots.
Like any good litigator, I found precedent for my conclusion: If it helps brighten teeth, it can absolutely help brighten skin.
What’s the takeaway? That I’m a skincare snob ready to shame anyone who suggests something out of my knowledge orbit? Or a skincare junkie ready to learn, recognizing and respecting the various pathways in which we discover skin care? Like all things, anyone’s exploration of skincare will always be over-ridden by who they are, where they are coming from, and what are their desires in this moment.
More importantly, if this is her form of self care, I have NO jurisdiction. We all deserve a moment of self care and inner satisfaction that comes only from stepping confidently into the decisions we make for our SELF: Our SELF in the moment we’re in, based on who we were, what we’ve been through, what we’re dealing with, and what we will face.
It’s very possible that rubbing her skin with baking soda ignites the same feeling I get when prepping my skin with a prebiotic cleanser followed by a tri-active exfoliant and wrapping with a hydrating face mask. These moments are when my inner self hears my mom’s voice:
”To each their own.”
I’m not a proponent of home-whipped masks and home-spun skincare with home-jarred roots that lean-in to a person’s soul-craving to be and do something more by simply making a conscious skin care decision. (It’s a bacteria thing that I don’t want to go into at this moment….).
However, I have such a deficit when it comes to knowing what is real family and love and friendship and giving and “being there” that I have a lot to learn from people who crave an emotional, heart-sourced connection to their skin care. And I’m so lucky that none of my friends criticize me for being passionate about skincare while lacking emotions in other areas. Rather, they’re waiting for the moment when I’m ready to learn more…to see that I’m more than the basic baking soda pantry item, and am actually the sodium bicarbonate that makes sure everything rises and shines.