Rethinking the way you take that everything-shower
Everything-showers are my favorite type of self-care day. Not only are they relaxing for the mind and body, but they overall increase happiness and can make you feel more put together. Everyone does their everything-shower differently and I’ve been currently experimenting with different products to give me the best results. Now, I am not a dermatologist or a doctor, but these are tips that I follow in order to get the best results from that everything-shower.
- Shower Steamers
This is not something that you need in your shower per-se, but I absolutely love the vibe of throwing one of these in the warm shower. They give off an incredible aroma that instantly makes you feel more relaxed. My favorite shower steamers are the ones by Joon x Moon. They have a variety of different shower steamers, but my favorite ones are the soothing ones. Now, these are a bit pricey so if you are looking for a cheaper alternative, Five Below has off-brand lavender shower steamers that are just as good! Usually when I am trying my absolute hardest to save money, I only use these when I’m taking an everything shower after a stressful day.
- Leave The Hot, Hot Water Alone
Girlies, I get it. Hot water is so relaxing to stand under. However, extremely hot water can be very damaging towards your body, especially your hair and skin. You can experience extremely dry skin and frizzy and damaged hair with prolonged use. For better results, using lukewarm to warm water is a better alternative. My suggestion is to run the water extremely hot to steam up your bathroom and then take a shower with warm water. That way, you aren’t cold. I’ve noticed better results with my hair and skin after continuously using warm water versus hot water.
- Understand Your Hair Type
Understanding your hair type is very important to ensure you are buying the right products for your hair. Two years ago, I started taking note of my hair type and comparing it to the brands of shampoo and conditioner I own. Because I have dyed hair that is thin and oily, I had to experiment with a variety of products. Ultimately, I found that the L’Oreal Elvive Color Vibrancy Shampoo was the best option for my hair. This shampoo has helped my hair color stay in my hair longer and make it more vibrant. Occasionally when my hair does get oily very easily, I switch to a clarifying shampoo to eliminate a majority of the oil on my scalp without making it dry. Then, for conditioner, I use the Eva NYC Mane Magic, which has helped with my split and broken ends. Perfecting your hair routine takes time, as a majority of the time, products may not work so well in your hair. This part of the process is all about experimenting what works for you.
- Shampoo on Roots, Conditioner on Ends
When doing your hair routine in the shower, make sure you remember these two important things. Shampoo ONLY the roots of your hair and condition ONLY the ends. A majority of oil produced in your hair is from your scalp, therefore shampooing the roots of your hair will get rid of all that oil.. After you are finished shampooing your hair, rinse it out and then apply conditioner. Only put this on the ends of your hair, as many conditioners contain many ingredients that can cause an oily scalp.
- Use a Scalp Brush!
One thing that has been so life changing for me in the shower was using a scalp brush. You can find silicon scalp brushes in pretty much every retail store and they are relatively cheap in price. After you’ve put shampoo in your hair, all you have to do is use the scalp brush in circular motions on your scalp. This helps stimulate blood flow to the scalp and promote new hair growth. This also helps make your scalp feel more clean.
- Cleanse Your Face
Don’t forget to wash your face in the shower, but make sure to do it after washing your hair. There are so many facial cleansers out there, but my favorite one is the Aveeno Positively Radiant Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser. This face wash contains salicylic acid, which is great for fighting off acne causing bacteria. Even better, it is perfect for someone who has combination skin, but more on the oily side. It helps even out your skin without drying your skin completely out. Better yet, it’s great at removing remaining makeup residue, especially mascara. Remember: don’t forget to wash your neck as well with a facial cleanser (you’ll thank me later).
- Perfect Shaving Formula
I have made a lot of mistakes when it comes to shaving my legs. I would always get strawberry legs or get this massive rash after shaving. If you chose to shave your legs, I have a couple of tips on how to shave properly to prevent these things from happening. First, you’d want to exfoliate. I usually like to use Tree Hut or Dove sugar scrubs. However, Tree Hut scrubs are known to be more abrasive to the skin, so when you use these, you would need to make sure you are not pushing down firmly when applying the scrub. I recently tried out Dove sugar scrubs, and liked them a lot more because they weren’t as abrasive no matter how much you pushed down. After exfoliating, you would want to wash the area that you are shaving. I don’t particularly have any preferences of body washes, but I love Dove’s shea butter body wash. I also enjoy using Philosophy body washes because there is a huge variety of them and they all smell so good. After exfoliating and washing, I then shave. When shaving, I would recommend using a shaving cream instead of a shave oil or lotion. I find that shaving cream provides more of a buffer between the area you are shaving and the razor. Make sure that when you are shaving, you are going in the opposite direction of the hair growth for more accuracy.
- Find your scent preferences
If you want to smell amazing when you step out of the shower, make sure everything you use smells similar. This is what I mean when I say that you have to figure out your scent preferences. For example, I really love sweet and gourmand scents, therefore most of my products in the shower (minus shampoo and conditioner) are going to smell sweet and gourmand. This is also important when applying lotion, body mist, and perfume. If you mix too many scents together, you will smell like a variety of different things, which can get overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to find your scent preferences.
- Toss Out That Faux Loofah
This is something that I always tell my friends and family, but in all seriousness, please toss out that faux loofah. Those plastic and cheap loofahs that you can buy for a dollar are able to house a lot of bacteria in them. This is because they aren’t able to dry up all the way, which can be a perfect hot spot for mold and bacteria growth. If you really like your faux loofah but want to switch to something else, I recommend getting a silicon body scrubber. The silicon prevents the product from trapping moisture and therefore creating bacteria. Even better, they are only around 10-15 dollars depending on where you get them from and they will last you a long time. I’ve had mine for three years and since using it, I haven’t looked back. These will make your skin so soft and you’ll end up feeling really fresh.
- Shower After-Care
Everything-shower aftercare is so important. The first thing I do when getting out of the shower is to put on a towel wrap for my body. These are very comfortable and ensure that your towel stays up while doing your body care. After that, I like to pick out what lotion and body mist I’ll be using. Because I like sweet and gourmand scents, I’ve been enjoying EOS’s Vanilla Cashmere lotion and Sol de Janeiro’s 62 Cream. My favorite body mists to pair with these two lotions are Snowflakes and Cashmere by Bath and Body Works and Fine’ry’s Pistachio Please. I love these products because not only do they smell good, but you can get them for an affordable price point as well. If I do end up shaving, I will put some body oil on, and my favorite one is Sol de Janerio’s 62 body oil, but if you are looking for something more affordable, I would recommend getting Vaseline’s Coco Radiant body oil. Lastly, I put on my favorite deodorant, the Dove Coconut and Pink Jasmine that is aluminum free.
- Post Shower Hair
Once my body care is out of the way, I like to focus on my hair. Even though brushing your hair while it’s wet can be damaging, I still do it anyway because I am prone to having matted hair. When brushing wet hair, I love to use any Wet brand brush or the Tangle Teaser brushes. These brushes have helped so much with ensuring that I don’t lose too much hair. After brushing my hair, I put my hair up in a towel scrunchie from Kitsch. I love these scrunchies because they act like a towel where they suck up all the water from your hair. While my hair is actively drying, I like to spray on some Color Wow Dream Coat spray to help protect my colored hair. When you are about to go to bed, do not sleep with wet hair. This will cause your hair to mold and smell bad. It will also damage your hair as well. If needed, blow dry your hair, but make sure to do it in a setting where the heat isn’t that high, as too much heat can dry out your hair and damage it. Lastly, when putting oil on your hair, make sure you aren’t applying it to the scalp if you have very oily hair, or else your hair will be greasy the next day. Try focusing the oil into the roots of your hair.
I hope these tips help you with your next everything-shower! Remember, this is supposed to be a relaxing time so make sure you are doing everything you can to unwind and breathe. I hope that after your shower, you feel like a whole new person. Showers are meant to be rewarding, so reward yourself with the best shower you have ever taken.