Recently, I indulged in a total body care for my landmark birthday celebration. It felt so good! I had a nice indulgent bath, pampering salon treatments, slathered my skin with my own carefully formulated handmade organic skincare range with deeply rich moisturising African sheabutter, coconut oil, cocoa butter infused with the beauty oils of Africa: Yangu, Argan, Marula and the luxurious Rose-hip and Frankincense oils.
Sheabutter is a natural emollient, anti-inflammatory and soothing to the skin while beauty oils like Yangu, Marula and Argan have been used in Africa for centuries and are intensely nourishing with vitamins A and E for tired dry skin giving it an immediate boost especially in dry conditions. Rose hip oil is an amazing regenerative oil which has been used to treat acne, reduce fine lines if you so wish and improve moisture.
However, self-care and self-love need not be about our physical bodies alone but also about caring for and loving your mind and inner soul. Yes eat well, build a great organic skincare regime into your life (another blog post of mine to come), treat your tired body, and hide away in a spa if you can, but remember to consider self-evaluation and cultivate a habit of self awareness periodically as part of how to self-care.
Some of our top 10 considerations of self-care are:
- Accept the stage of life you are in and be kind to yourself, then relax in it. It’s your life. No one knows it better than you do. Don’t compare yourself to others as they may be in different stages of life. They may well have faced the same things and you can undoubtedly admire and draw inspiration- but never compare. Live your own best life.
- Prioritise from the center of your being. Know your limitations, your strengths, and your capacity. If you need to rest- do (I’m probably talking to myself big time here!).
- Say NO to the small meaningless things so you can say YES to the really big and important things.
- Detox from social media if you have to. Take some time off- the world will not stop.
- Read a great book. I am currently absorbing a book on the quotes of Maya Angelou. "A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretence and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and only herself’’ Maya Angelou.
- More importantly, STEAL precious moments in the day to appreciate the beauty around you. Energise yourself in the day away from the daily hustle and bustle and grind of life.
- Sit on a park bench, close your eyes, and listen to the birds chirping with the tall grasses swooshing on a gorgeous windy sunny day or smell the roses you walk past every day. Try it!
- Find your voice and sing! It doesn’t matter if you have an amazing voice or not. Singing and dancing to a tune can make you feel great with yourself!
- Finally, focus on and care for others- you will be amazed by how much better you feel about yourself.
- Self-care is not only about the indulgent spas, it could be horse riding, playing outdoors with the kids, going to a farm, hiking, and other ‘outdoorsy’ activity or even shopping! Retail therapy is a real thing I promise. Why not indulge in a bit of therapy on our website it's 10% off all collections and you are just a click away.
