Bills due, busy at work, kids driving you crazy, fighting with your spouse, exams all week, deadlines to meet…the list is endless when it comes to stress, we all have some form it. What we fail to realize is how it takes a toll on our mind & bodies, especially our skin, hair, & nails. There are so many different things that can happen to your hair, skin, & nails due to stress, things such as acne, eczema, hives, rosacea, psoriasis, alopecia (hair loss), vitiligo, (depigmented white spots on the skin), & dry, brittle nails & hair.
We all need to make time for ourselves, to relax our minds, rejuvenate our bodies, & get away from the everyday craziness, so that we can avoid all those nasty possibilities. Take time to treat your hair, skin, & nails, pamper yourself, if you don’t do it for you, who will. You can always make that appointment at your favorite salon or spa, but if your on a budget, try taking advantage of some alone time & pamper yourself at home.
Let’s start with skin. Wear makeup everyday? Well even if you don’t, try to give yourself a weekly facial. Pull out all those products that you’ve bought, collected & put in your drawer that you never use. I’m sure you have a whole regimen & didn’t even realize it. Give yourself a good cleanse, exfoliate, tone, & moisturize. You can even purchase an at home facial steamer, they are very reasonably priced, & much safer than the old pot off the stove steam method. If you’re having some dryness or breakouts, apply a mask for about 5-10 minutes to condition or clarify your skin. Leave your skin bare all day to let all products you have used settle in. It’s also good to let your pores breathe & take a break from wearing makeup.
On a computer all day or wash your hands hundreds of times a day? Address those dry hands & cuticle with a mini-hydrating treatment. Cleanse your hands & massage some olive oil into your cuticle area. The olive oil will not only hydrate your cuticle area but will also bond your nail layers together enhancing nail strength. If you’re having trouble with dry, flaky hands, try coating them with body butter or thick hand crème & mask them for a few minutes, you would be surprised at how much your skin will drink up all that moisturizer!
Nothing is more relaxing than a nice, warm bubble bath. Too many warm baths can dry out the skin, even more so if you use a foam bath. Try using bath oil instead, you can still enjoy the warm water in your bath, meanwhile the bath oil coats your skin, leaving it moisturized & soft. Give your hair a treat at the same time you soak in your bath, leave your conditioner on & wrap your hair in a warm towel or use a shower cap. Need an intense conditioning treatment? Apply olive oil to the ends of your hair for a few minutes, your hair will soak up what it needs, & you just give your hair a quick wash to remove the excess oil.
Now that you’ve had your mini spa day at home, pour yourself a glass of wine, and relax before bedtime…I guarantee, you will sleep peacefully, like a newborn baby.
