Self-Care - What I Am Using

by - Monday, May 04, 2020

*This post features PR samples

Self-care comes in lots of shapes and forms, and right now self-care is more important than ever. I know my day to day routine has been flipped on its head and if it wasn't for some new self-care routines I don't know how I would survive. So with that, I bring you a few self-care items that I have been loving lately.

Baths:
Baths have become a daily must for me. When we first went into lockdown, I honestly was not having a good day, they were all terrible. Baths helped me relax and lower my heart rate. Now that things have settled in a bit I've started to work out and I am taking baths to soothe my muscles as well as relax.

Dr. Teal's has been my go-to for baths for years (you can check out past Dr. Teal's reviews here), but I am relying on their products now more than ever.
Dr. Teal's Foaming Bath With Pure Epsom Salt* is a great combo of bubble bath and Epsom salt, you get both in one go. The bubbles are plentiful and last a long time (a must for any good bubble bath I must say). The Shea Butter & Almond Oil version offers the added benefit of nourishing oils and butters so my skin doesn't dry out and a light pleasant scent. This is my go-to right now for a nice relaxing bath with bubbles.
When I feel my muscles need extra love because I worked out or I am feeling just really worn out I reach for a salt to put into my tub. Dr. Teal's Pure Epsom Salt Soaking Solution in Shea Butter & Almond Oil*. Epsom Salt is well known for helping sore muscles so it plus a hot bath always makes me feel a lot better. The shea butter and almond oil add a pleasant nutty scent and hydration for my skin.
Post bath I need to add lotion to my skin or else it gets too dry really fast. Dr. Teal's Body Lotion* in Shea Butter is perfect after having a bath using either the salt or the bubbles, it matches the scent had is super hydrating. With Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter and Vitamine E it is just what my skin needs as the weather starts getting warmer and my baths are getting longer.
 Hand and Foot Care:
Now that I have extra time I figure dedicating a bit of time daily to my hands and feet. With all the extra hand washing going on I think we all could use a bit more hand love too.
Flexitol Heel Balm has been a favourite of mine for a while. Just like their hand creams that I love, this heel balm has Urea in it to help heal your skin quickly. This balm helps even the most painful cracked feet heal. It is thick and rich, so you don't need much to help repair your feet, I usually just spot apply it to my heels and where I am really dry.
Mary Kay's Mint Bliss Energizing Lotion for Feet & Legs* has been my go-to lotion for slathering all over my feet right before bed. I slather it on and put on a pair of my nighttime socks (yes, I have specific socks I wear to bed). I love the fresh mint scent and tingle it gives my feet, but most of all I love how soft my feet are when I wake up in the morning.
When it comes to my hands, I have tons of hand lotions, and well I use them a lot, but sometimes you need something more. That is when I reach for Purple Tree's Miracle Balm*. It comes in lots of flavours/scents but I have the Pomegranate. It is a multi-purpose balm that can be used for just about anything. I love it on my lips but I often use it on my knuckles and anywhere else I have cracks on my hands before applying lotion.
I am trying very hard to give my nails some extra love right now too. So I have broken out my CND Nail Rescue Kit*. It has served me well in the past. I am applying the Cuticle Eraser, Solar Oil and RescueRx nightly and noticing my nails are getting stronger and longer every day. It is a nice treat before heading to bed and I really think it is helping in the health of my nails.
Face Masks:
My face has taken a beating lately, which seems strange since I am not going out, but who knows it probably mainly all stress-related. Treating my skin to a little extra love goes a long way to helping my mental state and my skin healthy.

Freeman is a brand I only recently rediscovered. I used to use them in the 90s as a teen and now I see that they have lots of neat products I am love as an adult.
Moisturizing Hydrogel Mask* has Coconut Milk + Hyaluronic Acid in it to help restore lost moisture to your skin and leave it radiant looking. It is a two-piece sheet mask that is easy to apply and wear.
The Cleansing Sheet Mask* has Charcoal + Probiotics in it to clear out pores. It is a one-piece bamboo sheet mask.
The Brightening Sheet Mask* has Hibiscus + Vitamin C in it to help boost luminosity and heal discolouration. It cotton single-piece sheet mask.
If sheet masks aren't your thing or you're looking for something more classic, Freeman still makes their original masks in both full-size tubes and single portion sized. While I definitely have loved the full-sized in the past, they are huge and an incredibly good value, the single-use are great because they stay fresh in their pouch and you can try out a bunch of them without much investment or shelf space.

Here I have their classic Revitalizing Pomegranate Peel-Off Mask*. I remember using these at sleepovers in middle school and loving the peeling action. As an adult, I love how amazing my skin feels after using it. AS well as their Cleansing Apple Cider Vinegar Clay Mask + Scrub* which is a multi-tasker as being both a scrub and mask.
Hair Masks:
Finally, my last self-care category is hair masks. My hair is fried, it needed a trim when everything got shut down and hasn't gotten better since. My way of coping has been hair masks. I toss some on while I am in the bath and let it sit for about 10 minutes or sometimes overnight in my hair.
I am personally really adoring The Body Shops Banana Truly Nourishing Hair Mask. I go it as a gift for my birthday and have been using it quite a bit ever since. It is a very thick mask so little is needed.  It smells just like bananas which is actually quite delicious. I am also loving L'oreal Hair Expertise Extraordinary Oil 1001 Uses Mask. It is a Coconut Oil-based mask that can be used before washing hair as a pretreatment, as a mask after shampooing or leave-in treatment. I like using it as an all-day mask. It is thinner in consistency so you can really apply quite a bit into your hair.
So those are some things I have been using to aid in my mental and physical health lately. I think taking some time for self-care has become a major part of preserving my mental wellbeing. I hope some of them can help you on your journey to self-care.

What Self-Care steps have you been taking lately?


* marks denote products sent for review purposes. All views and opinions are my own.

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