Over the past 12 months, SAY Detroit’s Wellness Wednesdays’ collaborative effort between the SAY Play Center and the SAY Clinic has positively impacted more than 200 women from around the city who seek ways to self-care and support each other.
On Wednesday (June 15), it was time to celebrate the program’s success with a birthday cake, and even a “Happy Birthday’’ singalong — that is, after the women spent a session learning about the importance of healthy skin care, especially during the summer months.
Wellness Wednesday facilitator Maia Campbell was joined by Amber Mitchell, owner of HoneyGirl Skincare, which makes and sells all-natural skin products for all skin types using raw unprocessed honey and other natural ingredients. She is also a health and wellness instructor, and program assistant, at SAY Play.
Campbell started the program by asking the group of nearly two dozen participants about their skin routines. The responses were varied, from “I know nothing about skin care,’’ to “I always use fragrance-free’’ to “I work in a place that is very grimy and I clean my face at night with alcohol and then put Vaseline on,’’ to “I use a mixture of skin products from different countries, like, U.S. has good acne products, and Korea has good moisture-based products.’’
Mitchell explained that there is no one-size-fits-all-way of taking care of you skin, but she emphasized the importance of knowing and loving your skin.
“Strive for healthy skin over perfect skin,’’ she said. “Perfect skin is an illusion.’’
She suggested avoiding products with added perfumes and fragrances that aren’t natural. In addition, a healthy diet — including fresh fruits, vegetables and drinking plenty of water — are good for you, from the inside out.
“Amber was great,’’ Campbell said. “Everyone asked questions and contributed, and I loved that we had different ages in the room — and different complexions and skin types.’’
After taking a summer break of its own in July, Wellness Wednesdays will return in August (the 17th) with a new-time (5-6:30 pm) to accommodate more women and mothers who work during the day. The session’s theme: “Back to School.” Campbell will be joined by Wellness Wednesday’s co-facilitator Alexis Harvey, Community Health Worker and outreach coordinator at the SAY Clinic.
