Not long ago, I entered Life 2.0 after discovering my lack of self-love and realizing I didn’t have clear confidence of where my life was headed. It’s true that once you sincerely realize that you only have one life to live, you switch things up. My life had a couple different uncertainties: I had found myself about to receive my bachelor’s degree but no longer could see myself obtaining the success I was after in my field of study, and even worse, I found myself putting my needs after others’ consistently. I had a full-time job that was mentally draining, unfulfilling, and had me constantly stressed about making sure I kept up to my employer’s standards, when truth be told, nothing was ever enough. However, I kept showing up. I guess I wanted to prove myself. One thing about me is that I hate being defeated but compromising my mental peace was not worth proving myself.
The most eye-opening thing to happen to me was that I was faced with the idea that I liked a guy more than I liked myself. Yikes. That was hard to admit at the time, but the evidence was loud and clear. One day I paid attention to myself and noticed that I would willingly moisturize my body before I went to visit this person but, on any other day, it felt like a chore. This was the beginning of me starting to understand that my self-love was not where I thought it was.
After confronting myself and deciding to do better, I leaned into one of my favorite interests which was skincare and began my journey. Skincare is the perfect gateway to self-care. That’s because we’re in the bathroom, in the mirror, and alone while we’re doing it—causing us to be faced with an image that we either love or don’t, and that determines the intentionality behind that time. So, I got intentional, made that “me-time”, and didn’t stop there. I began dedicating uninterrupted time to myself to help me 1. get to know myself better and 2. love the parts of me that I was getting to know better. I needed to know why moisturizing was a chore to do for myself but not for someone else. I needed to like myself enough so that the liking from elsewhere didn’t complete me. I needed to love all parts of myself to show up confident in the world. If you are struggling in this area, consider grabbing my Because I Love Me eBook that is a solo date guide that gives you several ways to spend time getting to know you.
You are the only person you have to spend the rest of your life with so wouldn’t it be miserable if you didn’t even like that person? My skincare practices easily transformed my self-care journey into a self-love journey. Don’t get me wrong, I incorporated more things such as journaling, isolation, and gratitude that really guided me through. Skincare was just so easy because I always paid attention to my skin, I was rebranding and testing my samples for Blossom Skinn, and it was one thing I always did alone so it would be easy to make that me-time.
As I tested my products, two of them grabbed my attention more than the others. I had never experienced what these products provided for me. The vitamin c serum smelled so amazing and I had never used a vitamin c serum before now, so I had no idea what to expect. Its citrus smell reminded me of those Florida fresh picked oranges commercials and inspired its name, which is Fresh Squeezed. Besides the delightful aroma, I was excited to find that the serum left me with a subtle glow! If you don’t know, serums are thinner products and are meant to be applied before thicker products such as moisturizers. They are absorbed better into the skin due to its consistency making it a perfect underlying layer of radiant skin.
The second product was unlike any face scrub I had ever used, it had exfoliating beads but was not abrasive and so gentle on my sensitive skin. All of the fruit extracts in the ingredients impressed me, and my oh my did it leave my face feeling like a baby’s bottom! It blew me away and created its own name. New Skinn was extremely fitting as it leaves your face feeling like you just got some new skin! As you know (or may not), the job of a face scrub is to remove the layer of dead skin on your face’s surface. So essentially, it does reveal new skin.
I paired these two to create The Journey product set because they were huge components in my new journey that consisted of self-love, self-care, and self-evolution. I aspire to help hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people to get their journey started in whichever way fits best.
* Understand that our journeys are not limited to skincare. However, self-care is being mindful of what you're doing for the internal of your body and the external. You may simply insert the interest of your choice as your main focus.
A lot of people don’t separate their face and body products which could be a bad thing. A lot of people don’t even know where to begin with practicing self-care. Even more disturbing, a lot of people don’t even realize how they can improve their mental health by prioritizing time to take care of themselves.
Incorporating some type of self care is beneficial to your mental health. Daily cleansing, a midnight mask, or even a dab of tinted moisturizer can help your skin look better while also improving your emotional well-being. The truth is that our skin is a “check engine light” for our interior health in many ways. We feel better about ourselves when our skin looks and feels wonderful.
Doing Something Nice For Yourself Can Help You Stop Worrying
You may discover that certain times of the day cause intrusive thoughts, but with self-care, you can interrupt the cycle. Patients with anxiety and sadness frequently report that their symptoms worsen 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime. You can get out of your thoughts and focus on what you're doing when you’re doing something like washing, toning, and moisturizing your face. (This applies to any activity that keeps you occupied, such as working on a new project, preparing dinner, or taking your dog for a stroll around the neighborhood.)
Taking care of your skin also provides an opportunity to practice mindfulness. When you focus on the sensations, you're having in the present now without passing judgment, you're practicing mindfulness (the soothing feel of warm water, for instance). Stopping concern and contemplating has been demonstrated to help with depression and anxiety. You can help your brain disconnect from less healthy, swirling thinking processes by doing this practice for a few minutes.
Taking Care of Your Skin on a Regular Basis Boosts Your Mood by Triggering a Cascade of Chemicals in Your Brain
Make a routine that makes you feel good and contains goods you enjoy using. For example, don't underestimate the power of gently massaging the skin with a warm towel to cleanse, or of taking additional time to apply a silky moisturizer or a mask. You could even make it an evening event.
The comfort of a facial or treatment is undeniable, but the anticipation of it provides plenty of satisfaction.
Feel-good neurotransmitters are released in the brain when happy events are anticipated. Expecting positive outcomes has also been proven to activate a specific section of the prefrontal cortex, which is linked to feelings of happiness. For something so easy, it's a natural little high.
This is one of the reasons why baths are so relaxing. First, you can expect to feel comfortable as you sink into one, and second, warm water relaxes muscles naturally. Physical relaxation signals to your brain that it's time to relax and unwind, lowering the fight-or-flight stress response.
Taking Care of Your Skin is a Thoughtful Gesture That Sends a Powerful Message
The world is a tough place right now. So, it's tempting to stay up late watching TV and then collapse into bed without even wiping the outside off your face - you're simply too exhausted. But what if you concentrated on taking care of yourself in this modest way instead? You're sending a message to your skin by taking five extra minutes to treat it. This is similar to the feeling you get when you apply mascara in the morning, color to your cheeks to make them pop, or apply tinted moisturizer to your face to make it glow.
WHY IS SELF-CARE, INCLUDING SKINCARE, SO IMPORTANT FOR MENTAL HEALTH?
There are many methods to exercise self-care but concentrating on skin health will benefit your mental and emotional well-being. I've discovered that my skin-care routine and my mood are inseparably linked. Taking the time to nurture my skin affects my mind and body. It enhances my self-esteem and provides me a sense of control over the course of my day.
If you haven't realized by now, self-care and skincare goes hand in hand. Blossom Skinn promotes and encourages self care as a whole. For those who don't where to start or love skincare as much as I do, we offer cruelty-free, vegan products made with natural and organic ingredients to help you along the way. However, if you are stocked up on products and looking for new ways to exercise your self-care, I created my Choose You eBook for people just like you. Firstly, it's free because that's how much I care to see lives be transformed. Secondly, if offers a complete mindset shift that you may need and a 4 week self-care challenge if you're brave enough.
Please don't ever take your life for granted. You being here was a part of the plan so don't neglect your existence. Make it meaningful.