All Her Favorite Things!
Alright y’all I’m going to be sharing some of my favorite self-care go to’s with you! These are from all aspects of self-care: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, etc. and you‘re welcome to try them out yourself!
Let’s start with physical self-care and this goes from how I take care of my hair all the way to my body. My hair is coarse, curly, & super thick. Like my hair snaps if I were to break off a strand (I’ve tried it LOL). I love it but then sometimes I wonder what a pixie cut would look like LOL! For frizz control, natural hair oils (anything but coconut oil for me) are my best friends to keep my scalp moisturized and I do this about once a week or every 3-4 days. Also, my hair loves water, so I always use a spray bottle that has warm water in it, and I get it wet, so the products absorb better. For moisture, leave in conditioners are my best friend too, along with moisturizers that come in a spray. Some good leave in conditioners that I’ve found that I love were the “Cantu Curl Activator”, the Blueberry leave in conditioner from “Curls”, the “Mielle Organics Pomegranate & Honey” leave in that comes in a pump. Parabens, Sulfates are not my best friends at all, as they dry out my hair. When I stopped having these ingredients in my hair products, I saw a difference immediately, so I branched that out to my skin.
And for my skin, I’m a body wash person! I do experiment with body bar soaps, but it’s not common. Again, parabens and sulfates are not my best friends at all so naturally- made soaps are my go-to's. I love Native as their body washes smell great and I can pronounce the ingredients! I also love a company called Nourish as they have a lot more than just body washes (shower steamers, hand washing soaps, exfoliating items, all the goodies!) Bath and Body Works I only go to the lotions, hand sanitizers, and their household items. I’ve outgrown them as a customer in some ways. Face care: I do use a wash & toner ( I experiment to see what’s best), I do exfoliate, I use face masks every now and then (5Below being my main store for these). I also have a small business that I support: Beauty by Christa and the products are amazing! No negative reviews here! The name brand that I re-started using recently is Mary-Kay. Their Age-Wise collection is so nice, and it helps calm any redness on my face. I have combination skin so finding products that don’t dry me out too much on my cheeks but also don’t give me a oily T-zone is sometimes a struggle. As far as cosmetically, I do love the FitMe collection for my blush and foundation though! I haven’t had any issues with this brand!
Shein, Express, Old Navy, & ThredUp, are my go to’s for clothing. I do have some small businesses that I support and one of the main ones is Earth in Echo on Instagram. I love the Bohemian vibes that Ms Natalie brings to life! It aligns with me as I feel like more myself in more Bohemian clothing. I also have various street styles that I enjoy, some beachy styles that I love around certain times of the year, and these go to companies help me bring those different visions to life also!
Onto my mental, emotional, and spiritual self-care. Mentally: I love to read so murder mysteries, some smut books, romantic comedic and psychological/healing/self-development books are my favorites. Mary Higgins Clark, Colleen Hoover, Lindsay Gibson are just a few favorite authors of mine. I like biographies and Memoirs too! I love when someone has a story to tell, seeing the world from their perspective, priceless! Journaling, I’m in and out of but I enjoy it when I do make time for it. I don’t have a preferred journal that I use so if I like the cover, I buy it! But I prefer writing these blogs that I share with you all as it feels like I’m having a conversation with you that’s both reflective and connection-building. It also helps getting the thoughts and feelings out. Allowing time to decompress and write down things I need helps me de-clutter my mind so I strive to continue those habits.
Music, Dancing, are my emotion self-care go to’s. Music and Freestyle Dance speak in ways that help me release emotions without having to verbally express it. But expressing it is important too so I try to process the best I can and make sense of the feelings I have, figuring out what’s really on my mind. RnB, Soul, Alternative Rock, Hip Hop music that have meaning in the lyrics are my favorites. I love Pop at times and Country I can live without! I’m exploring more and more music genres, so these are just generic.
Spiritually: learning astrology, sage cleansing, doing good deeds publicly, exploring and learning various religions are things that I enjoy. As I get older, the more I expand and broaden my knowledge and interests so that my soul is fed. I don’t mind praying with others, as long as there’s some doing in it, to make those prayers answered. A prayer with no action to me, doesn’t feel full-filling. I also love meditating, doing yoga and Pilates, as I’m reconnecting myself in bodily ways. One thing about spirituality for me is, I still believe in God, but I believe in having a soulful relationship with him directly, not a relationship that a religion makes up for me. It feels so inauthentic to me so for those who are in this same boat, you’re definitely not alone.
But these are just some of my go-to’s! I’m always trying out new things to see what brings me joys and what aligns with me the most.
Take care of yourself!
Nessa <3
