Grab a friend and treat yourselves to DIY self care! If no one is available - no problem! Do it just for YOU!
Why? Because YOU matter.
We have to be our own advocates, no one else will care for us the way we care for ourselves.
How you care for your body shows how much you respect yourself and, in turn, will show others that you deserve their respect as well.
Beauty is not skin deep.
It starts deep within you.
With your thoughts, your words and your self care.
Why am I advocating for you to have a spa day if beauty is not skin deep?
Because self care is not about applying makeup and putting on fancy clothes. That's all well and good. But it has to start from within. It has to do with taking care of the one body you have. Learning to love your body and treat it well.
In other posts I will talk about your thoughts and why it's important to think good thoughts about yourself and others. I will also address your speech and nutrition. They all play a part in your mental health.
But today, I'd like to focus on your skin and the calming, as well as uplifting effect a spa day can have on you.
Here are 3 ideas for a DIY spa day:
1. Set the Mood with Aromatherapy.
Scent is so important in setting the mood for many things, but especially for a spa day. Not only are certain scents relaxing and calming, some even claim to be healing when used consistently.
My favorite way to introduce scents into my environment is to use an essential oils diffuser. This eliminates the smoke by-product of candles, and is much safer because I tend to get overly calm and fall asleep!
Two of my favorite scents are Lavender and Lemongrass.
According to this article from Medical News Today, "new research is suggesting that one fragrant compound present in lavender can lessen anxiety by stimulating the nose to pass signals to the brain. Investigators at Kagoshima University in Japan studied the effect of linalool, a sweet-smelling alcohol that is present in essential oils of lavender and other scented plants, in mice. They showed that exposure to linalool vapor affects the brain through smell and not by being absorbed into the bloodstream via the lungs. Another key finding was that unlike anxiolytic, or anti-anxiety, drugs (such as benzodiazepines), linalool works without impairing movement."
Lemongrass, on the other hand, has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties as well as anti-inflammatory benefits. Who can't use any of those!
If you don't have a diffuser, no worries! Light your favorite scented candle instead or have a vase of fragrant flowers in the room.
Whichever scent you choose and whichever method you use, scent is vital to set a calming mood as you begin your spa day.
2. Deep Condition Your Hair.
Here's a little pro secret: Even if you feel your hair isn't damaged, deep conditioning is a great preventative tool to maintain your healthy looking hair. After deep conditioning, hair looks shinier and healthier, feels softer and silkier, and is more manageable.
Here's an interesting fact from Healthline: "Your hair’s moisture levels depend on how much sebum is produced by the sebaceous glands located in your hair follicles. Sebum is an oil that lubricates the skin, scalp, and hair. The amount of sebum the scalp produces varies from person to person and fluctuates throughout life. It’s impacted by your age, hormones, stress, and environmental triggers, Mraz Robinson explains."
There you have it, stress and environmental triggers affect your hair and rob it of the emollients that make it supple and shiny. When your hair is soft and conditioned, it's easier to brush and style therefore reducing stress levels even more.
Here's a great DIY hair mask from the Healthline article:
Ingredients
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 an avocado
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. honey
Directions
Blend all the ingredients together.
Apply to hair, and rinse out after 20 to 30 minutes with cool water.
3. Relax With a Face Mask.
Per this article from WPR Beauty, when you set aside time to do a face mask "you get the time to relax, while your face mask is working. This will help you to de-stress and that alone can make you look and feel better! Whether you use a cream or a sheet mask, you’ll feel great during the process."
Applying and waiting for the face mask to do its magic will take no more than 15-20 minutes. That's a great time to close your eyes, take some deep breaths, think some good thoughts and clear your mind.
While you've got your face mask on, how about applying cucumber slices to your eyes? This article from Medical News Today says that "cucumbers on the eyes soothe puffiness and reduce dark circles on the skin, which can give an impression of tiredness. When eyes become dry, cucumbers can offer a hydrating effect, reducing dryness and redness."
Who can't use some of that? Magic! Pure relaxing magic.
Here's a face mask recipe to soothe and calm your skin:
Ingredients
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. coconut oil
1/4 ripe avocado
2 drops lavender oil
Directions
Mix it up and paint it on with a face mask brush for the ultimate at-home spa experience.
Rinse off with warm water after 15 minutes and apply moisturizer.
Whether you choose to do all three DIYs or just one for now, I know you will soon feel relaxed and refreshed!
To your good health!