Hi Everyone,

Tina here (+1 662 830 8246, info@nakedactives.com). Here is our latest blog, and Chapter 6 of our recently published book. As you might know, our sister company Terrain Publishing has published a book with Formule De Soin, with a few of our founders from Naked Actives. Every week, we will publish all 10 Chapters from this great read and published book. The title of the book is called Skincare Collective- Conversations with Friends: From all natural skincare to the impact of social media in the beauty industry.  Click the link if you want to buy the book and read it in full or read these blogs of the book here! 

Chapter 1 of the Skincare Collective

Chapter 2 of the Skin Care Collective

Chapter 3 of the Skin Care Collective

Chapter 4 of the Skin Care Collective

Chapter 5 of the Skin Care Collective

Chapter 6 of the Skin Care Collective

Chapter 7 of the Skin Care Collective 

The Impact of Social Media on Teens

This is the second part of the interview with Ella Motley. Because it is such a hot topic, our team wanted to make this part of the conversation a chapter on its own. Please feel free to share your opinions and ideas with us at info@terrainpublishing.com

Sarah: Ella, talk to us about what you want to share with young teens and young women who are growing up in this digital online age.

Ella: Something I've noticed teaching is that the recent generations are not okay mentally when it comes to themselves. They're not confident they're broken down and they are facing unrealistic expectations. And this is kind of how the beauty industry is turning because of all of the unrealistic images that they're seeing, you know, pictures or touched up people, just not real anymore. They're putting implants, injections, this that, whatever. You'll see these girls at 19 years old, all done up with Botox and fillers and stuff like that, and just not okay.

I think everybody on the planet should take a course like this because when I was in business, doing my international commerce degree, I took an elective and it was called positive body image. I'm still in contact with the teacher. And I'm going to use some of her teachings because she's allowing me to. This class, honestly, I think should be in every high school. It was literally the best course I took in my life because what it did was highlight the images that you see in your subconscious to your psyche, and what's happening to your long-term. How to battle that and to notice when it's happening, I thought to myself, this is brilliant.

When you look at yourself, and when you look at what's out there, you'll never be good enough, ever. There's always something that you'll say, “well I don't have that, or I won’t ever be that”. It's really killing the mentality and confidence in these young girls, and I've noticed that there are times where I have to stop my class and say, Let's sit in a circle, and straighten out our heads.

When I started in the beauty industry, it was more about enhancing what you had, and you were happy with yourself, but you're like, you know what, I could fix this, or I have pimples, or I have pigmentation, or my hair is frizzy or whatever, I could fix that. I'm okay with myself.

Now it's like, what can I be? You should be happy with yourself. If I'm going to be training anyone to go out in the field, they need to understand that this is a new problem. The beauty industry is going to have people coming to them with this same problem.

And if they are not confident in themselves to be able to stand on their own two feet, how are they going to help other people? I've worked for a plastic surgeon at one point and people would come in with pictures of other people and say, I want to look like this. It’s well, if we were to break every bone in your face and reset it, maybe, but that's not what this is about. This is becoming more of a trend without going into plastic surgery now because there are so many mechanical things you can do now in the med spas.

The expectations are unrealistic, from the estheticians, and from the nurses, so it's more of a reset so that these new technicians can balance themselves before they can really put that realistic balance to their clients. If they can't say, listen, this is what we should be doing.

This is what realistic is and this is what I can achieve for you, then we have a problem here if they can't do that. So that's the major issue that I'm seeing because there are too many fads and trends and people they're following that they just don't see themselves anymore.

Sarah: We actually met with a brand agency in LA a few weeks ago. He gave us a stat that was staggering. He said that 70% of all 13-year-olds feel like they need a filter on their Instagram and social media pages. 70%

Ella: Wow

Sarah: I watch it with my kids, and I have two boys.

Ella: It's not just girls, it is boys too. I've never used a filter on any of my stuff, just because I probably don't even know how to do it. But I noticed this with a lot of people, even friends of mine, it's like, you don't even look like that. What are you doing?

I've even heard people go on dating websites where they put up pictures, and it's not to say that they look bad in their regular form. It's just they're putting forward an unrealistic image. That person falls for that visual, and then sees them in person and is disappointed.

We're now looking at a lot of mental issues that people are experiencing because of people just not feeling good about themselves and what's around them. It's just, it's sad. The beauty industry unfortunately has a huge part to play in that.

For me, if I could improve something, it would be that as well as the knowledge on what they're getting because there's a lot of twisted information out there on just about everything. I guess the power of the internet could be good or bad.

Marcus: We have a blog on our website where we talk about, you know, no filters, and it's not necessary. You know, we actually address that issue but, I've never realized it is such a significant issue.

Ella: Yes, these girls like I'm telling you, it's probably 100% of my class, I was working in their regular aesthetics program from September to April. I was just floored, I was like, I don't even know what you guys are going through right now. Because they think they must do so much to be okay. Some of them are gorgeous and they think nothing of themselves. It is just so sad.

Sarah: Definitely an issue that has to be conquered. I've been in the industry, not skincare, but in the model industry 20 years ago, and it was like that then. But at that time, we didn't have social media, where you could just instantly post or filter or do any of those things. So now everyone is a model, and everyone is Insta famous. I heard this the other day, being famous on Instagram is like having a lot of money, like Monopoly money, right? It means nothing.

Ella: That’s so true! People actually get depressed if people don't like their pictures. I don't know, there's a lot going on with that. And it's just bringing down the confidence of these generations coming up.

Marcus: My idea was sort of skincare for a self-help education, what people should be aware of regarding skincare, and how they should be treating themselves, but I thought externally and now you have me thinking internally.

Ella: If you think about skincare, that's the icing on the cake. I always tell my students, my clients that if you don't take care of my mental health, your body, if you don't sleep properly, eat properly it won’t matter what you put on your skin, it will not work if your body is not in check.

If I go to a show, and they're like, oh my god your skin looks amazing. I'm like you have no idea what the back end of it is. Yes, the products are amazing, but it's working so well because my body is healthy, my mind is healthy, it shows on your skin. So, you know it all operates together.

People tend to think well, I have XYZ on my skin. I just need a cream for it. It's like, no, it doesn't start there. Especially even with acne. It starts in the gut. Like you need cleanses you need to stop eating sugar like there are so many things before you can fix the outside. So, you know, there are so many things that tie into skincare to make it work properly.

Sarah: We could talk for hours about this. We could write an entire book on this subject.

About Ella

My name is Ella Mottley, I have been an Aesthetician for 21 years. I have worked doing many things within the beauty industry and am continuously learning and growing within it. My education also consists of Aesthetics, Massage Therapy, Bio Medical Science, International Business, International Commerce and Global Development and many certifications surrounding the Beauty industry.

I have worked for professional clinics and spas, had my own spa/clinic, worked in professional product sales and education as well as a college professor teaching Nurses and new Aestheticians Medical Aesthetics. I absolutely love what I do. It is very fulfilling to share all my knowledge and experience with the new generation of beauty therapists.

With all the knowledge and experience I have accumulated over the years; my passion is to share it all with the world. It is very easy to access lots of misinformation regarding this industry which can have negative effects on the psychological and physical wellbeing of those who observe it. My goal is to give credible information and train others to do the same so that people can make educated decisions regarding their overall health and wellbeing.

I had acne as a teenager and was always an athlete, so this industry was a perfect fit for me. I feel like I am playing around with a hobby everyday rather than doing work. The lives I have touched, mentored and educated have been so fulfilling but I am eager to reach more and more people to increase self- confidence and personal love. I personally have learned and grown tremendously through every interaction I have had and I am open to more and more.