Skin-care. Hair-care. Self-care. It’s all interchangeable terminology when it comes to taking care of ourselves. From mental health to physical health, and everything in between, there’s so many ways to fully feel like we’re practicing ‘self-care’.

And whatever your thing is, keep on rocking it! Unless you don’t have a ‘thing’ that is. Because taking care of ourselves in ways that makes us feel good or happy is probably the best types of things we can be doing for ourselves!

So, if you don’t have a ‘thing’, here’s my 22-step ‘happy vibes’ self-care regimen that I do every single day. (Well, okay, sometimes I have a little too much going on.) It takes about 30-45 min to complete, but read on to find out why it really takes so long and why it doesn’t actually feel that way!

*Absolutely no product mentioned in this blog is sponsored in any way, shape, or form. I just really love them and want to share.

Step 1.

I usually do my self-care routine at night and it typically starts after dinner is finished and cleaned up. Showering is involved in my routine, which takes up 20 or so of the minutes of the actual routine. Hopefully that makes you more inclined to keep reading and create a regimen of your own! First things first – Brush out my hair. (Shampooing normally causes tangles so I try to get any out before showering to not build on existing ones.)

Step 2.

After I get my hair fully wet in the shower, my next step is shampoo. I never dyed my hair throughout my whole life until the last 2 years. So ironically, I have to buy special shampoo now that I do. Since I dye my hair blonde, I need to use a purple-toned shampoo to even out the brassy tones that can build up. Small palm-sixed amount, wash, and rinse out.

Step 3.

If you’ve ever dyed your hair, odds are you understand full and well how easy it is for hair to damage and cause tangles and many other things that aren’t healthy for hair. So these next few steps may seem confusing to you, but it’s pretty much essential or else I feel like I’m ripping chunks of hair out the next time I go to brush. Conditioner comes next for me. I use a special purple shampoo to help the effects of the neutralizing to last even longer since I only wash my hair every other day. Small palm-sized amount, smooth in, and rinse out. No waiting on this step.

Step 4.

Since my hair tends to be prone to more damage being dyed blonde, I also use an extra hair mask after the purple conditioner. I’ll switch between the products I use every other time though. (That means that I use one type of hair mask one day, skip washing altogether the next day, and then use a different hair mask the following day.) If it’s my conditioner/mask in one, that’s all I’ll use. If it’s an actual mask, I’ll use a combination of two to achieve different purposes. The amount I use depends on the mask but never more than a medium palm-sized amount and I leave it in for almost the remainder of my shower.

Step 5.

Wash my body. Yup, that’s a step in my self-care routine. Why? Because I feel great when I wash away the day’s dirt, sweat, and grime, and I love going to bed clean. It really does make me feel better. I use this little soap-on-a-rope tool where I put a bar of soap in a loofa and exfoliate my body. The only two places I don’t use this is my feet (because I don’t want to get what’s all over my dirty feet, especially if I’ve been wearing sandals, on my body) and my ‘downstairs’ (because I don’t want to get what’s all over my body down there.) I also don’t wash my back just yet. I do use the soap-on-a-rope to do it, but hold on and you’ll see why.

Step 6.

Rinse off. After I’ve washed the majority of my body, I’ll rinse everything off, including my hair mask/treatment I used.

Step 7.

Once everything feels rinsed off nice and thorough, then I’ll wash my back with my soap-on-a-rope. I only do this so my hair mask doesn’t end up soaking in to my freshly exfoliated back pores and I actually scrub out any hair mask that got left behind in my back pores.

Step 8.

To wash my feet, I’ll use a regular old washcloth and scrub my feet with a handmade lavender sugar-scrub that my friend made me to get all the dead skin off and ‘deep-scrub’ if you will.

Step 9.

Last, but not least, in my shower is my downstairs area. I save this for last because women have a very sensitive pH in that area that a lot of soaps and gels can mess with it. I use Summer’s Eve because it helps balance a woman’s pH to where it’s supposed to be and is formulated without any icky stuff.

Step 10.

After getting out of the shower and drying off, I’ll wrap my hair in my towel and get dressed in pajamas so I can truly feel comfy and happy vibes for the rest of the night.

Step 11.

With my hair still wrapped up, I’ll start focusing on my skin-care routine next. For me, this step is really important because I’ve always struggled with acne and oily skin if I skip or don’t do it. The first part is wiping off any leftover dirt, oil, and anything else the shower didn’t get. I’ll use a reusable cotton pad with some toning micellar water and throw the pad in a wash bag.

Step 12.

Next up, face wash. I do what my esthetician told me to do and apply it dry first, then add water to work it into my skin with my face scrubber. (She also personally recommended my skin-care regimen, which I know not everyone can do, but it’s turned my life around!)

Step 13.

Once I’ve used my hands to rub my face wash onto my skin, I’ll use my face scrubber while occasionally splashing it with water to work the face wash more into my pores. I use the first setting on my cheeks, the second on my nose, the third on my forehead, and the last setting on my chin. (The difference in settings is basically a speed and vibration pattern change.) And another key point is to use a silicone brush head on your face! It’s hypoallergenic and prevents your pores from being abrasively damaged.

Step 14.

Neutralize my face, aka rinse it off. (Another cool bit of info from my esthetician!) I also wipe down my face scrubber with a homemade castile-based soap to keep it extra clean between uses.

Step 15.

Next in my line of skin-care warriors is my serum. I do not skip this step – my skin loves it!

Step 16.

The hydrating facial mist is a crucial step in my self-care routine because it provides my skin with the extra nutrients it needs to hydrate and hold that hydration! Plus, it smells freaking amazing!

Step 17.

Next is my face cream, and it could literally go anywhere on your body where you are looking for a little more suppleness and softness! I apply it right after my mist so the wetness can help it spread farther.

Step 18.

Once my face has gotten all of its goodies, I’ll move on to my hair. I’ll finally take out the towel that’s been drying it, and the first thing I’ll apply to it while still damp is a hair vitamin.

Step 19.

After my hair vitamin, I’ll use my detangling crème. I’ll squirt about 4 pumps in my hands and lightly run my hands everywhere in my hair from the midshafts down without really focusing on one part in particular.

Step 20.

Last, but not least again, for my hair is my leave-in conditioner. I’ll squeeze about a quarter-sized amount in my palm, spread it in my hands and try to focus on the ends mainly.

Step 21.

Once all is said and done in the skin and hair departments, I’ll brush my teeth and floss for the night.

Step 22.

I use 4 different essential oil rollers before heading to bed. One to support my immunity made with Frankincense, Thieves, Lemon, and Oregano. Another to support my respiratory system made with Raven, Valor, and Peppermint. A third one to promote calming and relaxation made with Frankincense and Lavender. And the fourth one is a pre-made one called Deep Relief to help soothe tense muscles.

Step 23.

My very last step of the night, (which I don’t do until right before going to bed) is spray my pillow with a lavender spray to help get me to sleep and keep me to sleep!

There ya have it! My crazy 23-step ‘happy vibes’ self-care regimen that I do every day. It truly only takes about 30-45 minutes from start to finish to make myself feel loved, pampered, and cared for the I should be! If you don’t have a self-care routine yet, can I ask what is holding you back from helping yourself?

It doesn’t have to be 23 steps either! It can be as simple as winding down before bed, going on a walk with your dogs, whatever it is that gives you those ‘happy vibes’! And if you’re too stressed out to even try to think about a self-care routine right now, check out ETM’s blog here. Just take that first step!

As always, thank you so very much for being a part of ETM’s community! I encourage you to join discussions, interact with Mommas and others alike, and be unapologetically yourself! Until next time, I hope I’m able to help make your life as simple as could be. (:

With all my love, Brandolyn – Earth To Momma