New Hero: Cydney Helsdown
AURORE spoke with self-love influencer Cydney Helsdown (@cydneythelight) about postpartum bodies, centering self-love, the bodies as a canvas, and more.
When did you begin your body positivity journey and why?
Cydney sits in front of the camera with one hand cupping her breast and another holding her hair up. There is a sunray hitting her body and she wears maroon-colored lace lingerie. Image courtesy of Cydney Helsdown.
My body positive journey began during lockdown in 2020 (a whole 7 years after giving birth to my son), at the time I was suffering with adult acne and had a really hard time accepting what was happening to my skin. I’d wake up obsessing over my face, often ending up in tears. I spent hours researching skincare online and eventually found the acne community. I was inspired by those who were comfortable in their skin, sharing their imperfections openly online. This sparked something within me to just fully accept and embrace my skin from head to toe. So having a skin condition was the catalyst to my body positive journey; sharing my acne online just kind’ve went hand in hand with accepting my ‘mum bod’. I felt liberated to be unfiltered, authentic and wanted to share the message to love your skin, every inch of it. The rest is history!
Who do you hope your posts reach?
Initially it started with me wanting to reach others with skin issues like adult acne of course. Then it included other mums who feel underrepresented and who, like me, were embarrassed/ashamed of their post-partum body. But over time I realized it’s not just mums that benefit from the message I share, it’s literally anyone who feels like they can’t live up to society's beauty standards. To anyone that has felt inferior because of the ‘perfection’ portrayed to us in the media and to anyone who wants to challenge society's beauty standards and redefine what normal should look like. My posts are a reminder to anyone and everyone what real, normal skin looks like, whether it’s blemishes, pores, cellulite, stretch marks, hair, warts and all.
As a mother, what advice would you give to other child-bearing people facing societal stigmas about postpartum bodies?
Your body will change, and that’s okay. You won’t recognize yourself at first and you may grieve your former body, but be gentle with yourself and embrace your new body. Give yourself tender loving care too and show your body how much you appreciate it for literally creating life and always supporting you. There’s no point judging it or hating it for not being the same as it was before. Your body always has and always will be beautiful and worthy as it grows and changes with you.
What does it feel like to share your sensuality with thousands of people at any given time?
It can be quite daunting, but as time has gone on and I’ve continued creating and sharing to a growing platform, I’ve become so much more confident in my body and sensuality and I don’t often get phased anymore. It’s empowering for me to create the content, If I got caught up on the numbers I don’t think I’d ever post again haha. The community I’ve built online is so supportive, each follower is also on their own self love and acceptance journey so it feels like sharing to friends.
How can we all become more comfortable with the idea that our bodies are art?
Cydney has her back towards the camera and is nude with lined gold paint curving around her body. Image courtesy of Cydney Helsdown.
The way I like to see it is that our bodies are a canvas, each detail tells a story and as a whole our bodies are unique masterpieces. I think by shifting our mindset from constantly criticizing our bodies, to viewing them subjectively like art, we can appreciate them for what they are and start to see so called ‘flaws’ or ‘imperfections’ as literally normal details of a human body.
What has a previous or current lover done that made you feel more comfortable in your skin?
Words of affirmation are my love language, so compliments are always welcomed and have made me feel more comfortable with past lovers. I also appreciate physical touch, the sweetest thing is getting kissed all over, it’s such a nice feeling to have someone take their time to enjoy all of you. I also think it’s important to not rely on a lover to make us feel good, we can spend time exploring and appreciating our bodies individually. In the bedroom, I’ve had a fake it till you make it attitude haha so by not getting caught up on my insecurities and enjoying the moment, makes it a much more enjoyable experience, in turn I’ve become more confident.
How do you decompress after a difficult day?
Ahh my favorite way to decompress is to put on a mix of slowed and reverbed R&B songs, run a hot bath with some candles and sink into some bubbly water. Then spending the rest of the evening away from my phone, indulging in a long skincare routine, massaging my body and some form of meditation or journalling.