3 Reasons to Read Girl, Wash Your Face and 1 Not to

Emily Chen

With the extra amount of time I have due to quarantine, less schoolwork, and fewer classes, I’ve been listening to a lot of audio books. I really love these because I can learn something new or gather motivation while going on runs, cleaning, or walking my dog. They have been a great way for me to get some reading in whenever I’m working on another task or have some extra time. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of self-improvement audio books to keep me motivated during these uncertain times. Most recently: Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis. The book’s chapters each consist of a lie people tell themselves that holds them back, Rachel’s personal experience with it, and how you can stop believing in it to create a better version of yourself. These range from “The Lie: I’ll Start Tomorrow” to “The Lie: There’s Only One Right Way to Be.” Here are three aspects I enjoyed about the book and one I didn’t.

1. Its Tangible Advice

Girl, Wash Your Face is centered around ceasing to believe lies that hold you back; however, Hollis doesn’t simply tell readers to stop believing them. She provides real, tangible advice on exactly how to do that. After explaining why certain lies are so detrimental and motivating readers to take action against them, she explains what steps to take in order to overcome them. In chapter two, “The Lie: I’ll Start Tomorrow,” Hollis talks about how you must keep your promises to yourself and stick to your goals today, or they’ll never get done. The steps she lays out are “starting with one small goal” to build up confidence, “being careful with commitments” to make sure you can follow through, and “being honest with yourself” about the goals you didn’t stick to. These small pieces of advice are stepping stones to achieving the goal laid out in the chapter.

2. It Backs up Its Points with Stories

In each chapter, she explains why we should stop telling ourselves a particular lie and backs each up with personal experiences. These show the impact these lies have made in her life and how she worked to overcome them. She details her personal experiences with them in hopes that others can learn from her stories. Again, in chapter two, Hollis insists that we need to start keeping the promises we make to ourselves. “Your subconscious knows that you, yourself, cannot be trusted after breaking so many plans and giving up on so many goals.” She then reinforces her point by referencing her own experiences. 

“I realized how hard I was fighting to keep my promises to other people while quickly cancelling on myself…. I decided to give up [Diet Coke] for a month. The only problem was, I’d never in my life stuck to any kind of diet, exercise, writing, you-name-it without quitting. What if just this once, I really saw it through? So I did…. Establishing success in this one small area made me realize that the only thing standing between me and achieving my goals is the ability to build on past successes.”

3. Its Honesty

“For every gloriously styled cupcake picture we produced, I shared a photo of myself with facial paralysis. If I went somewhere fancy like the Oscars, I balanced that with a post about my struggle with weight loss…. I hope that they’ll encourage you.” Throughout the entire book, Hollis makes it a point to remain honest about her own life, which engages readers and boosts their trust in her and the advice she’s giving. She isn’t afraid to reveal embarrassing moments of her own life in hopes that others will be able to relate to, and learn from, her stories. This also portrays her as very human, which allows readers to better relate to her advice and stories. It shows that she isn’t perfect. It tells readers that while the journey won’t be easy, anyone can achieve success and happiness.

1. I Did Not Relate to Some Chapters

While Girl, Wash Your Face contains a lot of valuable content, I also found that quite a few of its chapters didn’t relate to my life. For example, three of the twenty chapters are centered around motherhood, while one discusses alcohol. I would not consider it a shortcoming of the book, since many others may be able to relate to these topics, especially those who are older. In addition, the book is not directly targeted for teenagers and more for grown women. However, most of its lessons apply for people of all ages since motivation to set goals and start working on them as soon as possible resonates with everyone. 

As a whole, Girl, Wash Your Face was very helpful, motivational, and helped me change a few of my habits for the better. Hollis backs up each chapter with her personal experiences in order to motivate others and stays completely honest in hopes that others will realize they also have it in them to work towards success and happiness. She provides tangible advice and lays out small first steps on the path to achieving a larger goal. While some of the chapters may not relate to you, the ones that do are definitely worth reading.