Skin Sabbath is your weekly reset—part newsletter, part vlog, and a space to step outside the noise of beauty standards.
Each week, join Ashlee Neumann, a doctoral student in advertising and women’s health, as she explores her journey toward confidence by unpacking the predatory roots of the beauty industry.
We’ll demystify marketing tactics, break down regulations, share ingredient safety tips, and offer personal stories along the way.
Whether your reset falls on a Sunday, Thursday, or whatever day you need it most, this is your invitation to slow down, reconnect with nature, and rethink what beauty means—on your own terms.
Let’s find confidence beyond the standards.
Confidence (and how I stopped chasing it)
For years, I felt vulnerable—like there was always a quiet voice in the back of my mind comparing me to other women. I’d catch myself wondering if my partner was looking at someone else, convinced they had something I didn’t. I signed up for every online course that promised to teach "confidence."
One five-hour course told me to just say I was confident—over and over again. So I did. I woke up every day repeating affirmations, trying to convince myself I felt strong and beautiful. But when I looked in the mirror, or saw the images in magazines and on TV, it never stuck. I still felt like I wasn’t enough.
That feeling followed me through my teens and twenties.
It wasn’t until I began my doctoral research on advertising and women’s health that I finally saw the pattern: this billion-dollar industry had been engineered—since the 1800s—to make women feel small. The rise of the beauty industry paralleled the rise of advertising itself, with almost no regulation or boundaries around what companies could say to sell products. Confidence and self-esteem became commodities. And from that, an $800 billion global machine was built on women believing they weren’t good enough—without their product.
When I realized this, I felt angry. All those years I spent trying to mold myself into some version of the women I saw in ads—only to realize it was never really about me in the first place.
But that realization also brought freedom.
It gave me the space to begin healing, to stop chasing beauty standards, and to start defining confidence on my own terms.
If any part of this feels familiar to you, I invite you to begin your own journey. Start with just one day a week—a “Skin Sabbath”—to set a boundary with the beauty industry. Not to reject beauty, but to reclaim it.
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What’s really in our products?
As cosmetics and advertising rose together, the beauty industry grew rapidly—without oversight. Until 1938, there was no regulatory body responsible for cosmetics in the U.S. And even after the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act passed, the rules remained weak. Companies were largely left to determine safety for themselves.
What I’ve learned through my research is that when it comes to health risks, especially with chemicals, there’s often just enough uncertainty to keep harmful ingredients on the market. It’s a pattern: if there’s “not enough evidence,” regulation rarely happens.
There are more than 85,000 chemicals in production today. Many of those used in cosmetics are known endocrine disruptors—chemicals that interfere with hormone function, especially concerning for women and teens.
We’re exposed to chemicals from many sources: industrial pollution, the environment, consumer products, and even our own genetics. I think of it like a pie—each slice represents a piece of our total exposure. While we can’t control every slice, we can choose what we put on our skin.
That’s why I take steps to reduce my chemical burden. I don’t aim for perfection—but I do take breaks, read ingredient lists, and prioritize transparency over marketing hype.
Reconnect with You
Save Money on Products
+$1,000 a year
A recent study found that women with lower self-esteem tend to spend more on cosmetic products. Embrace cosmetics free moments to foster comfort and empowerment, unveiling the authentic, beautiful you that's hiding behind cosmetics all week long
Reclaim Your Time
55 Minutes
+47.6 Hours a Year
Women spend an average of 55 minutes a day applying cosmetics. Use this time during your #Skinsabbath for prayer, personal reflection, or to save the world. Delving into a deeper level of self-discovery beyond the standards imposed by the beauty industry.
Reduce Toxic Exposure
168 Chemicals a Day
-8,768 Chemicals a Year
Taking a break even once a week can reduce exposure to the estimated 168 unique chemicals that are applied with daily cosmetic usage. It is unknown exactly how bad the constant exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals can be to your health. A 24-hour detox can help give your body time to process these out of your system.