I love bedtime. I firmly believe that it’s the best part of the day. Most days, when I wake up in the morning, I’m already looking forward to going to bed. And yeah, I love sleeping (who doesn’t?), but I cherish bedtime not for the sleeping, but because it provides me with a consistent, almost ritualistic, time for self care.
This whole process starts between 10 and 11 (a girl loves an early bedtime), and once I start it, I’m in it for the long haul – meaning, I’m going to SLEEP at the end, not watching tons of Netflix.
Although I’m no authority on skin care, cleansing, or even sleep, I’ve got the steps to my bedtime routine practically perfected. Also, none of these products are sponsored or anything… just highly recommended by a bedtime fanatic. Here’s to a good night’s sleep!
Step 1:
Shower!
I’m a night showerer. In defense of night showers, I could talk about how I can clean the day off me, get warm and toasty, or have the satisfaction of crawling under the covers all fresh and clean. But really, my hair is so thick that it would never dry fully if I showered in the morning. Plus all those other reasons.
I take a shower every night, but only wash my hair every other day! It leaves my hair with more natural oils that keep it healthy against the harsh Indianapolis water. Honestly, this started freshman year when I was trying to limit my time in the communal showers, but I found that it works for me and my hair pretty well! I use Garnier Fructis “Sleek and Shine” which makes my hairdressers cringe, but hey – I like the way it smells and costs!
Step 2:
Hair care.
On nights that I wash my hair, I also spray in a leave-in conditioner all over the ends. I use one that comes from my hairdresser at home, and will probably be stocking up on it while I’m in Ohio for the holidays. As previously mentioned, my hair takes AGES to dry, so I sleep with it wet. To get the drips out, I wrap up my hair in an old t-shirt (I read somewhere that it doesn’t make your hair as frizzy as a towel would? I have no science to back this up.) and move on to skin care!
Step 3:
Girl, wash your face.
First, micellar water to take any makeup off my face. I use Garnier Micellar Cleansing water on a cotton round, and I am always impressed with whatever crap is on my face at the end of the day.
Then, I use Simple’s Moisturizing Facial Wash to really get in there. I don’t think my face ever truly recovered from all the scrubs and salicylic acid I hit it with in my acne-ridden days of high school, so I try to be extra gentle. After washing, I moisturize with Simple’s Replenishing Rich Moisturizer, usually with a bit of their Hydrating Booster too, because Indianapolis water.
Step 4:
Pearly whites.
I brush my teeth. I don’t do anything special about this, and usually use whatever whitening toothpaste is cheapest. I’m truly trying to be better about flossing, too. Key word here is trying.
Step 5:
Hydrate or die-drate.
The fact that I chug water before bed probably means that I’m dehydrated during the day? But I do try to drink lots of water right before I go to sleep. I also take all my medication at night, because I’m too zombie-like in the morning to remember.
Step 6:
Create a cozy spot – and make sure you only use it for sleeping.
My bedroom in my senior house is absolutely tiny, and my bed takes up most of the square footage. This works for me, though – my bedroom is mostly bed, and so I use it almost exclusively for sleeping. It’s so important to separate spaces to study, hang out, and watch Netflix from the spaces where you sleep so your brain doesn’t get confused. I’m also a big proponent of pillows, and love my soft little bed nook.
Step 7:
Get comfy.
Once I’m in bed, I slap on some hand cream – I got some tiny jars of Aveda Stress-Fix hand cream from a friend, and the name implies that I’m supposed to stress less with it on? Jury’s still out on that, but I do love the smell, and I now associate the lavender-ish scent with going to sleep.
I’m the worst at leaving my phone out of my bed, so I use it and my headphones to listen to some soothing sounds or white noise as I fall asleep. I’m a huge fan of ASMR, but rarely make it through more than 20 minutes of a video before conking out.
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Good night, sleep tight, and don’t let the finals bite!