How I Connect With My Latinx Heritage Through These 2 Beauty Ingredients

Living in New York City by myself, without any family nearby, I struggle with intertwining my Honduran heritage into my everyday life. But one way I keep the energy of my Abuela and mother in my life and home is by following some of the beauty tips and secret ingredients that they brought from Honduras to the United States that they have been teaching me since I was a little girl.

My Abuela is religious when it comes to using aloe vera on her skin every day. I was first introduced to the aloe vera plant by her during my childhood visits to Honduras. As a kid, she used to tell my cousins and I to eat it when clean water was not available during our adventures playing in the jungles and rivers of Honduras. My Abuela and my great-grandmother grew aloe vera plants in her backyard along with mango, lime, and lemon trees. She brought her green thumb to our home in Miami, where she continued to grow them. My Abuela and mom taught me to use it to detoxify and hydrate the skin when I had any redness, irritation, or breakouts. She taught me to remove the needles on the sides of the leaves, then soak the leaf in warm water to soften it, split the leaves in half, and remove the clear goo. My Abuela and I would apply it the entire face as a facial mask and use it to soothe the skin after a long day of being in the sun. And for extra moisture through out the day, my Abuela taught me how to water the aloe vera down and transform it into a daily hydrating mist to spray on the face. (Abuela Tip: Keep the aloe vera mist in the fridge! Helps preserve it longer!).

My mom LIVES by coconut oil, something she has used since she was a little girl and always ensures that it is an integral ingredient in all her beauty products. Pure coconut oil is rich in antioxidants and has antibacterial properties, minerals, and vitamins that help nourish skin and hair.

I went from having natural pin-straight hair as a kid to having naturally frizzy, curly hair as an adult, I have tried so many products for my frizz, and one day, my mom recommended rubbing a teaspoon of coconut oil between my hands and running them through my hair to control my frizz. My mom and I massage it into our scalp and use it as a hair mask to improve scalp health and nourish hair from the root. It truly works like magic for my hair!

I struggled to accept my natural features throughout my teen years and didn't like when I was told I had "Indigenous cheekbones" or "Indigenous eyes." I would be put down because it wasn't conforming to the beauty standards held in the US, but I love all that my ancestors, my Abuela, and my mom have passed on to me, for I am everyone who came before me.