Caring for your largest organ is great for your physical health and wellness. Happy and hydrated skin provides a far better barrier between your inner world and the outside one than neglected skin can, and when you feel better in one aspect, you’re more likely to experience positive outcomes in other areas. But your skincare routine can also have a massive impact on your mental health. Today we’ll be exploring how skincare can also be self-care as well as some of the all-round benefits of having a regular routine.
Mental Benefits Of Having A Skincare Routine
The Routine
Although you may not think about it much while you’re cleansing or slathering your skin with treatments and moisturisers, when done regularly, a skincare routine provides a little extra structure to your day. It has been proven that routines help us feel in control of our lives and can greatly improve mental wellbeing.
Plus, once your skincare becomes one with your schedule, it’ll be one less thing you need to stress about getting organised with in the morning or evenings as it’ll end up being second nature. This makes it a great segway from the breakfast rush to doing your makeup and provides motivation to keep things moving along on the mornings where you just want to climb back into bed.
Time For Yourself
The “always on” culture that seems to have swept throughout society in previous years has further eaten away at any time we may have been able to put aside for ourselves. The problem with this is that it’s not good for us humans to always be “on” and surrounded by others. In fact, alone time is a great way to build many positive traits and can be greatly beneficial in helping us switch off.
As women we are expected to have it all, and be all. We need a career we love, (with a great salary of course), but all the housework still needs to be kept on top of and, if we’re being honest, nine times out of ten, if we’re not making sure the kids needs are met, who’s going to? We’re also supposed to constantly strive for self-improvement, keep our partner in a perpetual state of bliss and don’t you dare forget about that bake sale or try-outs for after school sports!
Amongst all that, there’s next to no time for ourselves. I mean, if we’re lucky we might get to shower or use the toilet in peace, but that’s about it most days.
If we carve out just ten minutes each morning and evening to pop on our skincare, however, and set clear boundaries that that’s our alone time to take care of ourselves, our mental wellbeing can increase significantly.
Relax & Unwind
Your nighttime skincare routine can also be particularly beneficial for de-stressing after a long day. Not only does it signal to your mind and body that the day is coming to end, therefore helping you prepare for a restful night’s sleep, it is also a calming act in and of itself. Many people view their nighttime skincare routine as a way to make peace, both with themselves, and the previous 24 hours, and that feeling of being able to let go should never be underestimated.
Improved Confidence
We all know that when you feel better, you look better. But the same also works in reverse. Skin that is well cared for will have a natural, healthy glow which can be a great confidence booster and knowing that you’re taking steps to improve your health, no matter how small they may seem, will help motivate you to continue taking good care of the body you’ve been given.
Don’t get us wrong, we’re not saying that perfect skin is necessary for confidence or beauty, we believe that everyone is gorgeous and shouldn’t have to change themselves to suit societal norms or the opinions of those around them. We’re simply saying that taking the time to do something that you know is good for you, and provides visible results, is a great way to feel more comfortable in what your mama gave you.
Physical Benefits Of Having A Skincare Routine
Healthier Skin
The main physical benefit of having a skincare routine is healthier skin. As with any organ in our body, our skin is at its best when we care for it properly, but unlike many of the other activities we need to carry out in order for our bodies to operate at their peak, your skincare routine can be quite simple and still produce great results. A basic three step program of cleansing, treating and moisturising can greatly boost your skin’s health.
Less Toxins & Pollutants
Although it functions as the barrier between our inner and outer worlds, our skin is also really great at absorbing the things we come into contact with. In other words, any toxins, pollutants or other nasties that end up on your skin, can easily find their way into your body.
Skincare, as long as it’s the right type and is used at the right time, can help lower this risk on two fronts.
The simplest way in which your skincare helps provide protection is by getting all that grossness off your skin. The act of cleansing is literally designed to pull everything that has sunk into your skin during the past twelve hours out so you’re washing away the toxins.
The second way in which your skincare can help protect you from toxins and pollutants is through creating an additional barrier between you and the world. Our day time skincare ranges are all designed with protective qualities and simply having something else on your skin that makes it harder for external nasties to work their way in is also beneficial.
Helps To Reduce Acne
Way past puberty but still getting breakouts? Your environment could be the issue. Our skin adapts to the situations that we place it in and if you’re putting yours in particularly drying environment, unprotected skin has a tendency to create excess oil to compensate. This leads to pimples popping up like they own the joint!
Regular cleansing and keeping your skin moisturised can help fight these effects and train your skin to produce less oil as it is already getting what it needs from your skincare. Just be sure to use non-comedogenic products or you might make the problem worse.
Why Physical Benefits Are Relevant To Self-Care:
When you look and feel healthier, you also tend to feel more confident. This leads to a stronger sense of wellbeing which helps improve your overall mental health. In other words, anything that makes you look and feel fabulous can be considered self-care, so don’t be afraid to take that little bit of time for yourself.
How To Boost The Self-Care Benefits Of Your Skincare Routine
Burn A Calming Candle
Aromatherapy is a great way to give your self-care routine a bit of a boost. Scents have been proven to have a significant impact on our emotional wellbeing and can even assist with physical health under the right circumstances so the seemingly small addition of burning a favourite candle while you complete your skincare routine should not be underestimated.
This is why our partner for the first step of the Origani 12 Month Transformation is New Moon Scents. Based in Melbourne and ran by the wonderful Hannah, these locally made soy candles have this aspect of your self-care routine covered.
You can buy them as standalone products here if you’d simply like to add your scented intention for the year to your current skincare routine. Or, if you’re looking to share the journey with someone special (or get a little something extra special for yourself) check out our self-care packs.
Listen To Your Favourite Relaxing Music
As the famous rapper Eminem once put it, “music can alter moods and talk to you”. Studies support this with the evidence showing that not only can music boost our dopamine (happy brain chemical) levels, it can also help lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels and reduce the effects of depression and anxiety. Pair this with the host of physical benefits that music has also been shown to provide and it becomes the perfect self-care companion.
Try creating a playlist that’s just for your me-time and include all of your favourite songs. You probably won’t get through the whole playlist every time (unless you’re taking a nice relaxing soak in the tub) but even a song or two can have positive effects. Plus, if you need to wait a little bit between applying your skincare layers, a verse or chorus makes a great timer!
Play Guided Meditation
If music isn’t really your thing, playing guided meditation is another great way to zen out while completing your skincare routine.
Meditating offers a whole host of benefits for your mental health and wellbeing but we’re not all cut out for simply sitting in a comfortable place and letting our mind empty itself. That’s where guided meditation shines.
Listen To An Educational Podcast While You Mask
Looking for a way to level up while you relax? Why not try listening to an educational podcast while you wait for your Origani Mask to work its magic? Learning new things is great for keeping our brains in top shape and since you’re no longer in school - and can learn about whatever you want - it can actually be super fun.
Why Self-Care Is Vital
If you’re not taking care of yourself, you can’t properly take care of other aspects of your life. So often we put others before ourselves, and while this is a noble cause, it can actually be to everyone’s detriment.
Practicing self-care will help you feel better within yourself which leads to better performance in everything you do. This means that when you take care of yourself, everyone wins!
Still not convinced? During those dark days last year, our resident expert Leah did some digging of her own and came up with this list of the top five benefits of practising self-care:
- Rituals and routines ground you, calm you and stabilise you.
- Looking after yourself is mood boosting
- Your overall health and immune response is strengthened
- Self-care creates a better relationship with yourself which can enhance self-confidence
- Sleep is improved and the next day you feel fresher and more focused.
She also outlined the ten best ways to practice self-care so head over to that blog and scroll down if you’re chasing some more ideas or adventure over here if you’re like us and love indulging all of your senses!
This year our focus is on lighting the way to a better future. As part of that focus, we thought it would be nice to explore a different concept each month that can help you look and feel better. We’ll be partnering with local businesses to bring you new deals (like our self-care packs featuring New Moon Scents’ candles) and sharing fun ideas for how to level up on our social media. Plus, we’ll drop a new blog every month that digs deeper into the benefits of each theme.
We’d absolutely love it if you decided to join us on this transformative journey!
