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The 80-20 Rule for Beauty

The 80-20 Rule for Beauty

Beauty and Pareto’s Principle

While the words “economic theory” and “beauty products” aren’t often used in the same sentence, we’re getting academic today here at Afterglow. Read on to learn more about Pareto’s Principle, along with how applying it to your daily beauty routine can transform your skin, body, and entire beauty regimen. Examples of this principle exist everywhere in life. I’m going to fill you in on this magic ratio and then tell you how I apply it to my own highly simplified beauty routine.

The Pareto’s Principle

Also known as the “80-20 Rule,” the Pareto Principle suggests that the majority of things in life are not distributed evenly. Rather, some make a greater contribution than others.

While originally suggested by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto as he observed that 80% of his country’s wealth belonged to a mere 20% of its population, and that 20% of the pea plants in his garden yielded 80% of peas. Pareto’s Principle has since been shown to carry over to countless other areas of life in which the most significant outcomes derive from the minority of proportional efforts. This means that you should observe that 80% of your actual results come from 20% of your efforts… even in the beauty department.

After many years researching and experimenting in the health and beauty industry, I’m convinced that this principle applies to health and beauty as well. It might not be sexy or sell a lot products, but once you observe your beauty routine through this 80-20 lense, you’ll experience more joy, more vitality, more radiance and have more time. How beautiful is that?!

Now it’s time to determine which 20% of your health and beauty routine is important to focus on to yield the greatest (hopefully at least 80%) of your health and beauty results. While the 80-20 breakdown is statistically variable, the takeaways are the same: less truly can mean more.

Beauty and Pareto’s Principle

Now that we’ve got the technical stuff out of the way, you’re probably wondering, “What the heck is this doing on a beauty blog?” Well, the answer is twofold.

Let’s start with how we choose between the multitude of natural cosmetics and beauty procedures on the market. While many consumers fall into the trap of assuming that the natural cosmetic products with the most organic and natural ingredients must also be the best, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, what really matters is the seeking out products with the most effective natural ingredients and certifications to backup their claims — not to mention prioritizing formulas which promote better health instead of compromising it through the inclusion of unsavory, potentially toxic ingredients.

Then there’s your beauty regimen itself. Rather than loading your skin up with tons of heavy, synthetic chemical-laden cosmetics, a few key products and supplementing with non-invasive, skin rejuvenating techniques can achieve the same or better results while simultaneously helping you avoid the time and money trap of selecting the wrong natural cosmetic or spa service. In other words, it’s not about how many products you use, but instead about making smart natural cosmetic purchasing choices, and incorporating them into your natural beauty routine in the most efficient way.

My Natural Beauty 80-20 Beauty Routine for the Best Results

What I know for sure is that consistency and focus is key to maintain beauty and vitality. I focus on the following three areas to maintain my health and natural beauty.

I Choose Inside Out Beauty First All beauty starts with what’s going on inside. That’s why your first line of defense for maintaining vibrant skin, hair and nails is your diet. Your dry skin or acne is likely not just a topical issue that can be cured with a cream. Everything you see on the outside from wrinkles to acne and eczema is due to a systemic imbalance issue that starts on the inside; often in the gut. The sooner you come to terms with this, the sooner you can start address the root cause and heal. Your most focused effort and long term “bang for your buck” will be had getting your eating habits, food allergies, digestion, water and supplementation nailed down. Then create a systemized and reproducible routine out of your new body awareness.

For me, this means healing with food and focusing on being consistent with a healthy low allergen diet and quality, targeted supplements. To get there, I took a shortcut by going to a functional medical doctor. She ran a hormone test and a few blood panels to give us a baseline. We came up with an easy supplementation strategy and food focus. For my own hormone balancing challenges, I followed the hormone balancing class Cooking for Balance to easily create a low allergen cooking and eating routine.  I loved the Cooking for Balance program so much I became an affiliate. All of this supports long term health and beauty. Am I crazy, stressed out and dogmatic about it? No… not usually. I know that if I do the right thing for my body (almost) all the time I will naturally keep it in a state of healing and move steps closer to sustained ease, joy and beauty.

I Choose Natural Cosmetics  Of course I use all of my Afterglow Cosmetics but I also choose other natural cosmetics including my toothpaste, hair products and deodorant based on the same philosophy I use when creating Afterglow. I read ingredients. Choose products free of as many synthetic chemicals on my Never Ever List as possible and choose the less is more approach.

I Choose Light, Energy and Movement
It might surprise you to hear that I never waste my money on facials. I choose instead to put my money and time towards sessions that promote subcutaneous regeneration and healing through light (laser) and movement (self-massage). I feel I get the most natural lift and best results from Laser Genesis which is a non-ablative laser that promotes elastin and collagen production while reducing redness, acne and overall inflammation.

I also use a tool from Ashley Black called Mini 2 Fascia Blaster to massage my face a few times a week. This tool breaks up fascia on my face and body while promoting blood, oxygen and lymph movement throughout my face and body.

What do you choose?

With so many options available to us, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Even in the world of natural health and beauty, less is still more. The trick is finding the few products and services that honor your body and beauty at every level. By applying Pareto’s Principle to your overall beauty philosophy, you can embrace your inner economist while putting your best face forward. Have you stopped to reflect which things you spend your time and money on have the biggest impact on your health and beauty? I would love to know, please comment below!

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