Self Care In Isolation
Isolation has been the perfect time for me to take a look at myself, and basically sort myself out. I am always so busy at university and hardly ever get time for myself, to take proper care of my skin and hair.
I got the hair mask ‘H’Suan Wen Hua’ from Lush at Christmas and it is quite a big pot. I used about half of it before I went back to uni and saved the other half, and I am so glad I did. My first step of proper self-care was to cover my hair in the mask and leave it for 20 minutes. I really recommend this mask; it made my hair feel less damaged especially because I can’t and won’t be going to the hairdressers for a while. It smoothened my hair out and nourished the ends making it well moisturised. After 20 minutes, I showered and rinsed the mask out, before washing my hair like a regular wash.
Usually, you would never see me out in public with my natural hair – I hate it. It doesn’t dry straight or curly, it dries naturally in a combination of both and it looks awful! This means I use hair dryer on it every time I wash it, which tended to be every couple of days. Plus, every day I would have to straighten it, as it would go wavy throughout the day and then overnight until the next morning. Whilst in isolation, I have decided to give my hair a break from being washed and wash it every 5 days, rather than two. I also am now letting my hair dry naturally without any heat, and not using any heat to style it either – much to my family’s distress as they see me looking awful every day. I think it’s good to just to give it a bit of a break whilst I am not going anywhere and no one other than my family will see me.
A year ago, I would have never have experimented on skin care products. I have always been that girl at school that was lucky with her skin and never really had problems, other than the odd spot or blemish that everyone gets. As I’ve entered my twenties (because obviously that’s really old), I decided to treat myself and experiment with caring for my skin. When I go to a spa, if I ever have a treatment I would always choose a facial because I love the feeling of having clear and refreshed skin. In the shower would be the time where I use my Botanics facial wash to cleanse my skin once a day, as if I do it more I tend to get dry skin afterwards.
I always love using a facemask, but never buy them for myself. I recently bought a couple before lockdown, and I am glad I saved one as I am using it half way through this first three weeks of quarantine. My skin is pretty normal, maybe a bit dry at times, so I usually go for the moisturising masks or the masks that open and clear your pores. After I have left this on for a good 15 minutes, I rinse it off and then apply my toner, a Botanics toner that I got for Christmas. I have never tried using a toner before I tried this one, but I have found that it really lightens my skin and removes any extra dirt and cleanses in closed pores. I also purchased an eye roll from Botanics, to add moisture and attempt to get rid of my dark circles.
Last year, I had a really tough time with my skin. Probably the first time in my life where I found it really tough to wear no makeup leaving the house because I felt so uncomfortable. My skin suddenly turned so dry, and had dry and flaky patches all around the top of my forehead, in my eyebrows and patches on my cheeks and around my mouth. It took me a while to find a moisturiser that worked, but then I found Aveena. Thank goodness! Ever since I used that, the dryness seemed to disappear, and I haven’t stopped using it since. It is a moisturiser designed for eczema, so that is probably why it did the trick.
When I knew I was going into lockdown, I decided that I would go and look at more skincare. I know that staying inside may not be great for your skin, so I invested in a Botanics night cream. By the way, yes I know I have a lot of Botanics but I love all their products. It is extremely affordable yet has had amazing results on my skin. The night cream has had amazing results; the next morning my skin feels so well moisturised, yet not too much to the point it is greasy or oily.
Another great way to self-care in isolation is to take a bath, which to be fair I am yet to do. I definitely will do though – I don’t want to have too many so that they don’t feel like I am taking some proper time out for a change. I am also trying to remember to moisturise my body every time I come out of the shower, as it is getting dry quite easily now I am staying in the house all day every day.
A plus that Mum is absolutely loving, is that I’m wearing pretty much the same clothes most days, so there is a lot less washing (this also benefits me because I would be the one doing the washing anyway whilst both my parents work). I don’t even remember the last time I wore a pair of jeans, but I am loving being comfy.
Yes, maybe I do look a bit of a mess. My eyebrows are extremely overgrown and I am leaving them that way to grow out properly and so when I get them done professionally I know they will look GREAT. My hair was due to be dyed next week (cry) but it will wait, and will hugely contribute to my glow up when I can get it done after lockdown. No hair removal cream has been in sight this lockdown for my upper lip, and neither has a razor for my legs but WHO CARES. I know how good my skin and hair will feel once this is all over and I can’t wait for the feeling.
I will link the products that I have been using below. Let me know if you’ve got any self-care tips and tricks this lockdown, or any products you recommend.
Keep smiling and have a great day! Liv xxx
Hair mask – https://uk.lush.com/products/hair-treatments/hsuan-wen-hua
Face wash – https://www.boots.com/botanics-all-bright-cleasing-foam-wash-150ml-10261414
Face mask – https://www.my7thheaven.com/products/category/face-masks/
Moisturiser – https://www.boots.com/beauty/skincare/skincare-all-skincare/aveeno-daily-moisturising-lotion-200ml-10020595
Night cream – https://www.boots.com/beauty/skincare/facial-skincare/moisturiser/botanics-all-bright-hydrating-night-cream-50-ml-10231427
