Ciara Shares Her Pre-Performance Rituals and How She Sheds Her “Skinhibitions”

I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that Ciara is confident. That’s what happens when you’ve been a star since you were 19 years old, not to mention ultra-talented since birth. Her debut album, Goodies, came out in 2004, and she’s found her rightful spotlight ever since.

Thus, a collaboration between the artist and Dove—patron brand of self-esteem—just makes sense. For a new commercial celebrating the first anniversary of the launch of Dove’s Cream Serum line, the mom of four remixed the classic “Hokey Pokey” (you probably know it, though it certainly didn’t have as much star power as “1, 2 Step,” up until now). Her new lyrics are inspired by real women’s stories of shedding what the brand is calling their “skinhibitions” and “embracing their skin with pride.”

“It’s super exciting. And incredibly cute, to be honest. It was a fun twist on the “Hokey Pokey,” but also a real twist,” Ciara tells Byrdie. “We have to find a way to work on embracing the things that make us feel not so confident about our skin. I really do believe that when you add a little touch of lightness and lightheartedness to these parts of our lives when walking through them, it allows you to shift your perspective a little bit.”

Ciara’s ultimate goal for the campaign is to get women from all over to join in on the fun. This won’t be hard, as it is catchy. With that done, they’ll start to think about the parts of themselves they don’t feel super comfortable with—stretch marks, body acne, etc.—and (hopefully) change their tune.

“Let’s embrace those things and have fun while doing it,” she adds. “I had a really good time creating this song and playing around with it in a way where it relates to me and, I believe, in a way that will relate to many other women around the world.”

Ahead, the Grammy winner tells us everything there is to know about the campaign and her beauty philosophy—including her personal approach to embracing the not-so-perfect (but close, tbh, she’s Ciara!) parts of herself.

The One Lyric She Loves Most

“On the hook I say, ‘You have a dark spot here, a little stretch mark there, love marks, life marks, ask me if I care.’ You know I have four precious babies and they have blessed me with what I call ‘beauty marks.’ I like to refer to them as ‘love marks’ as well, and ‘life marks.’ These are parts of me that I can’t change, really. I can work on taking care of myself, but they’re a part of me. I think it’s important to embrace those things, right? Those are my love marks. Those are my life marks. Those are my beauty marks.”

The One Person Who Inspired Her On Set

“There’s something I do want to highlight in the video. There is a woman named Kim Hill, who I think many people have seen go viral online for just being a rock star. I hope that when I’m her age, my confidence is at her level. She is jamming and she is breaking it down with me and [choreographer] Jessica Castro. It’s just so sweet to see, and it was so empowering to be dancing with her and have her dancing with me. Man, us women, we can do it all. She’s a great example of that.”

Her One Definition Of “Skin Confidence”

“Skin confidence to me is when you may know that there are some parts of you that, if you had your way, you would say, ‘I would change this’ or ‘this wouldn’t be here.’ But then you also have the perspective of, ‘These are the things that make me who I am. These marks are actually special, and unique to me.’ When you have that perspective, it’s game-changing.”

The One Way She Embraces That Wisdom

“I know myself. I’ve had things that I’ve been insecure about. As I mentioned: my stretch marks from my babies—it’s a real thing. I never thought that I would have stretch marks the way that I did. I professionally tried to remove some of them at some point, and I did remove some, but you couldn’t remove all of them. That’s the truth of it. It’s like, okay… I’ll embrace those parts of me. Dark marks, uneven skin, those are all things that are real. I think it’s about being able to understand that these things are a part of me.”

Her One Piece of Advice For Leveling Up

“I think when you’re aspiring to level up as a woman and just continue to get better and grow, you do your best to take care of yourself. There’s a little bit of a motivation [to ask], ‘How do I work on myself? How can I love on myself?’ Whether it’s through products or through [the] mind, all those things combined are important. I think we always, as women, have to keep pushing ourselves so we can reach our full potential. It’s so important.”

The One Way She’s Personally Leveling Up

“I’m always seeking ways to grow and to evolve and to level up and keep tapping into my inner confidence, which is also connected to my outer confidence. My skin confidence. All of those things go hand in hand.”

The One Way She Embraces Her Skin

“I like to do self pep talks. Remind yourself who you are and remind yourself that everything that’s a part of you is unique to you. I think the moment that you start to uncover those things [like stretch marks] and you say ‘this is what it is,’ it just becomes normal to you, and you actually feel really empowered. Your confidence level just goes up ten times more, because you’re not thinking too much about the things that you shouldn’t be worried about. We should celebrate these things. It’s like… allowing myself to be uncomfortable sometimes to find my comfortable.”

The One Pre-Performance Ritual She Won’t Skip

“I always pray. I like my room calm. I don’t typically go for turn up energy music backstage before I’m about to do turn up music again [on stage]. I like to stretch, as well. I need the body to be loose.”

The One Beauty Tip She Thinks Everyone Should Know

“If you’re consistent with good habits, change will happen. I used to be one of those people that didn’t really believe in product performance. Like, ‘Oh, do products really work?’ Through my skincare line OAM Skin, I’ve learned that when you are consistent with your skin and your skin habits, change really does happen. Your glow up really is real.”

The One Red Carpet Look She Loved Recently

“I loved my jumper dress that I wore for the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. It was Dsquared2. I also loved my look that I did on the AMAs recently—my silver metal chain dress. It was a bit rock and roll. And then I also loved the look I did for the ESPYs as well. That was super chic and elegant, but also I felt a little touch of cool. I’m not really a girly girl, but that dress definitely had those elements to it. I love the way that it made me feel. Wearing it, I definitely was in my glamorous energy and zone.”

The One Skincare Step She’ll Never Forget

“I don’t skip moisturizing my skin. I think it’s really important to keep the skin moist. I would also say water is incredibly important for your body; it helps to transform your skin as well.”

The One Beauty Trend She’s Loving

“Minimal makeup! That’s always been my jam. I’m really into ‘less is more’ overall, and that kind of goes back to the whole concept of skinhibitions. I used to feel like I had to wear tons of makeup to feel like my most beautiful self. I felt so much more empowered when I challenged myself to not have to have a full beat for everything that I do. I think that’s really important for everyday living. It’s not realistic to have a full beat face every day. I’ve got to love me underneath it all.”

The One Beauty Trend She’d Rather Skip

 “I’m not really into the cheek blush really high by your eyes thing they’re doing. I can’t get into that.”