Before you spend too much time worrying about what to get your babe for Valentines Day, make sure you have a plan for how you’re going to treat yourself this year. As the cliche goes, “You can’t love anyone until you fully love yourself.” To us at Gordon Salon, this means that you owe yourself the love that you so freely give to other people.
Here we break down five different ways to practice self love this Valentine’s day.
1. Lighting Candle
There is truly nothing better than sitting in a freshly cleaned room and lighting a candle. Lighting a candle has been proven to reduce stress and increase one’s self awareness. Aveda sell candles in several aromas, but they best part about them is that they are completely vegan, 100% naturally derived and soy based. Soy based wax candles not only burn cleaner, but they also last about 30-50% longer than non soy candles.
2. Essential Oils
Essential oils have understandably become increasingly popular as a method of self care considering they have an endless amount of uses. One of my personal favorite ways to use Aveda Essential Oils is to put them in an oil diffuser. You can mix oils to create your perfect relaxing aroma, or you can use them by themselves. Each oil has different benefits, for example, lavender is recommended to help with falling asleep while orange and other citrus scents can be used to help with cold and flu prevention. If you don’t have a diffuser, there are a million other ways you can use your oils. A popular thing to do is to use them topically on the skin, or by putting them in a bath. To get started, I would recommend researching which oils would provide the best benefits for you specifically because the possibilities are endless.
3. Masking
No matter what kind of mask - hair, skin, eye or even a foot mask, taking a break to treat yourself to a mask is always a great way to wind down. My favorite thing about the Aveda hair masques is that they work quickly, so it’s never a struggle to fit this self care step into my routine. Deep conditioners like the Aveda Damage Remedy Treatment can transform the quality of your hair in just five minutes. I use this in place of my conditioner once a week as a ritual for self care. If I have extra time in the morning, I will give my skin a drink with the Botanical Kinetics Intense Hydrating Masque. This mask works in a speedy ten minutes and is also super easy to wash off, so it’s perfect for doing right before your makeup routine.
4. Tea Time - Put Your Phone Down!
I know you’ve heard this one before, but have you actually tried it yet? Probably one of the most effective self care tips: turn your phone off. In today’s world, we spent so much time absorbing information. Whether it’s through other people’s social media posts, never ending “Breaking News” or our own work that constantly distracts you… it’s important to remember to log off. Turn off your phone, turn on the kettle and simmer down with a relaxing cup of tea. The Aveda Comforting tea is 100% organic, made from a relaxing blend of licorice and peppermint. Not to mention, the tea is decaffeinated so it’s perfect for unwinding at night.
5. Creating Rituals
For each self care tip we listed, the benefits become much greater when they are done consistently. The final and more important self care tip is to create routines out of your best habits. When self care habits become our rituals, we have to think less about feeling better, because it just comes to us naturally. Whether it’s any of the tips we mentioned today, or you have a different method of self love, make sure you find a way to implement it into your daily routine for a better, happier life.