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Jul 11, 2022Liked by Hitha Palepu

The “Who is Beauty For?” piece was so interesting. The “mainstreaming” of things, anything really, strips the context away. Putting that context back is a fascinating education. @seeratsaini has had some great pieces on beauty traditions coming from South Asian communities - including some great stories on hair oiling, the traditions associated with it, and ways to get into the practice that come from a place of understanding and support South Asian businesses in the beauty space.

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I love Seerat! She and two other friends (@kalyaveda and @ranavat) do such an incredible job of educating and inviting non-South Asians to adopt these practices while honoring their roots.

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Jul 11, 2022Liked by Hitha Palepu

I think I found her through one of your stories and have really enjoyed following her.

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Jul 11, 2022Liked by Hitha Palepu

I love Jessica DeFino’s Unpublishable newsletter! It’s absolutely made me re-think my connection to makeup and skincare and how and why I use it, in addition to the cultural implications and repackaging of traditions. (Also, The Beauty Myth book.) She’s also written many google-able articles, Your Skin Doesn’t Need Skincare, Are You Using Hyaluronic Acid Wrong, among many others. You start to notice the isolation of ingredients in skincare can mirror the Western medicine tendency to separate body parts from each other for diagnosis and treatment.

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Jul 11, 2022Liked by Hitha Palepu

Ooo will have to check these out.

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Jessica's newsletter is phenomenal! I haven't checked out the book but I'll add it to my TBR list!

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