Written by Bridgett Burrick Brown  As parents, we often approach conversations about body image with the best intentions, hoping to protect our children from a world filled with unrealistic beauty and body image standards. While these efforts often always come from a place of love, they can sometimes cause unintended harm, introducing ideas our children are too young to process or projecting our own insecurities onto them. Body image issues are not innate—they’re learned. Non

Written by Stephanie Voytek Hip bones that stick out of low-rise jeans. Rib lines that run parallel to hollowed cheekbones. Legs that resemble arms. Thong straps that search for fat to grip onto. So many of us Millennial women don’t need to be reminded of the images of heroin chic that informed our body image. In the early 00’s, “heroin chic” became a “thing of the past”, as evidenced by a newer wave of models who carried a whole pound more of fat than their predecessors. Our

Written by Stephanie Voytek Everyone says that I should love my body, but how can I when it feels like it’s changing everyday? Throughout my years as an eating disorder dietitian, so many of my clients have repeated this exact line. Sometimes spoken loudly, sometimes with tears, and sometimes apprehensively waiting for me to tell them that they’re wrong. That loving your body is easy if you just will yourself. Love your body. Love your fat. Fat is normal. Embrace your rolls.

Written by Bridgett Burrick Brown "To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself." - Thich Nhat Hanh Embracing mindfulness with myself and others is something that is important to me -it's how I discern the kind of person I am in the world, and I always want to be the best version of myself. But as I get older and wiser ;) -the definition of what this means and how I get there is changing. More than ever, finding

December 30th, 2023 Reflecting on the Beyond Beauty Project journey, I am deeply grateful for the incredible team that has been by my side. From the early supporters who helped shape the project's foundation to the current team members who bring so much passion and creativity, each one has played a crucial role. The collaborative spirit and unwavering dedication of this team have been the driving force behind our shared success. Every individual, past and present, has left an

Written by Bend Beauty At Bend Beauty, we create products that inspire beauty you can see – and feel. While true beauty is more than skin deep, your skin is a reflection of your overall health and well-being. We like to think of skincare the way we think of any other healthy habit: to see results, consistency is key. Results are not instant and are only maintained with dedication. You wouldn’t master an instrument after just one lesson; likewise, healthy skincare habits need

Written by Nikki Heyder In a world inundated with beauty standards and trends, it's easy to lose touch with our inner voice and sense of self. Disconnection from our intuition can lead us down a path of making decisions about our bodies that don't align with our morals and values. The pressure to conform to societal norms often overshadows our own authentic desires. So how does a disconnection from our intuition even happen, and how does it impact our choices within the beaut

Written by Dr. Katie Takayasu Movement Philosophy on Exercise I am a big believer in exercise being a key to successful stress management. Exercise is my favorite feel-good pill. I realized this personally while in college, finding that the days I prioritized movement were the days I was more productive and felt happier (and noticed that it made my monthly menstrual cramps almost disappear). Now I recognize that exercise is my number one tool to regulating my mood, so I prior

Written by Jolene Hart, CHC Rest doesn’t need to be slow or quiet— there’s compelling evidence that some of the most effectively recharging pursuits are active! Here’s how to recharge by planning a summer of ‘active rest.’ Although the hottest temperatures do slow us down at times, the abundant sunshine of the summer season also allows us to be more active, more social, and more energized than at any other time of the year. The good news? Being active can also be restful for

written by Bridgett Burrick Brown We are so much more than our beauty. Still, unrealistic beauty ideals, primarily for women, are deeply ingrained in our society, teaching us that our worth is closely tied to our appearance. This leaves women spending enormous amounts of time, energy, and money chasing something that is often impossible. From a very young age, girls are taught how to look, act and exist in the world. The constant media messaging enforces an idealized image of

Written by Brittany Wehrle I’m a dietitian, and when I was going through school I used to believe that you could tell if someone was healthy or not by looking at them. Spoiler alert: I was very, very wrong (and I’m so glad that I have evolved well beyond that old version of myself!) In a world where we get a lot of our health and wellness information from thin, conventionally attractive, energetic, and carefully curated influencers, it makes sense why we believe that healthy

Written by Nikki Heyder Shame is a universal human emotion that we've all experienced at some point in our lives. It's that feeling of discomfort or embarrassment that arises when we feel like we've done something wrong or failed to meet expectations. Oftentimes when I work with clients who have experienced shame they say things like - “I just wanted to sink under the table and disappear” or “I had my hands over my eyes the whole time - I didn’t want them to see me”. While it

Written by Team BBP May is Mental Health Awareness Month. To create a culture of acceptance and understanding, we must recognize as a collective that mental illness is a common and treatable health condition, and seeking help is a sign of strength - not weakness. At BBP, we strive to create a safe, supportive, and inclusive space where we can feel comfortable discussing our mental health without facing the stigma - because it is okay to not be okay and if you are struggling

Written by Bend Beauty Key Takeaways: Optimizing gut health requires ensuring you have the right amount of healthy bacteria in your body While probiotics provide active, live bacteria, prebiotics provide that bacteria with what it needs to thrive Many people connect supplementation for gut health with probiotics, but today we want to educate you about prebiotics. First, let’s dive into gut health for context. What Affects Gut Health? According to the Harvard School of Public

Written by Dr. Katie Takayusa Photo by Cottonbro Studio Sleep makes almost everything better. Taking time for adequate rest is one of the best things you can do for your body, as it’s the time our bodies use to heal and recharge our systems. How much sleep do we need? How much sleep we need is an individual answer based on your homeostatic sleep drive and circadian rhythm. Your homeostatic sleep drive is the amount of sleep you naturally need to feel rested. Most of us need 7

Written by Jolene Hart, CHC Sneaky nutritional stressors (which may not leave you feeling a typical ‘stress’ reaction at all) can fuel exhaustion and hormone imbalance— often without your knowledge. Here’s how to know if they’re affecting you, and easy ways to avoid them. We’re all well-acquainted with the concept of stress. We’ve also heard about the wear and tear that elevated stress levels cause on our bodies over time. Stress, when prolonged and in large amounts, sparks a

Written by Bend Beauty Bend Beauty and the Beyond Beauty Project are committed to helping improve our self-esteem and confidence around body image and mental health. Our collaboration is focused on changing the way we talk about beauty – from eliminating the term “anti-aging” from our vocabularies, to understanding that it’s never too late to take better care of your skin, or yourself. Our next series is all about gut health – starting with the connection between your gut hea

Written by Nikki Heyder Have you ever found yourself striving for perfection in certain aspects of your life? Maybe you feel like you need to act a particular way to earn love or attention from those around you, or maybe you just have a fear of making mistakes. Perhaps you feel as though if you are in control of everything around you, it means you can avoid chaos or unpredictability. Whatever the reason, perfectionistic thinking can oftentimes feel like a good idea, but actua

Hi Beauties, It's March, and this month is near and dear to my heart! To start, it's Women's History Month, and if you know me, I pretty much came out of the womb championing for women. So, celebrating those who have helped us get the freedom we have today is my kind of month. I love my tribes of women —my confidantes, my dance partners, my ride or dies, the women who have my back and pick me up when I'm down. I have relied on them during extremely hard times but also had som

Written by Summer Innanen I don’t care if you love your body or think your body is beautiful. Your body is not your power. I want you to not hate it so you can go out and do meaningful things with your life. I want you to know that you don’t have to be attractive to know that you’re worthy and valuable. I’m not going to tell you that you’re perfect because I want you to be ok with imperfection. I want you to be weird, quirky, smart, sassy, bold, be a good listener and speak u