Am I the only one who thinks “self-care” has become a bit of a scam?

[PetsNPaws]

Lately I keep seeing ads and influencers pushing “self-care” products — everything from silk pillowcases to £80 sleep masks and “wellness” candles. I totally get that taking care of yourself matters (especially when you’re juggling work, kids, and everything else), but I can’t help feeling like the whole self-care thing has turned into another marketing trick.
It used to mean getting an early night, going for a walk, or having a quiet cup of tea. Now it seems to mean buying expensive things that are supposed to make us feel better — but do they really?
I’ve got friends who swear by luxury sleep accessories and swear it’s changed their lives, but part of me wonders if it’s just the placebo effect. Are we really investing in our wellbeing, or just getting sold the idea of it?
Curious what others think — have you found any “self-care” products that genuinely make a difference, or do you think it’s all clever marketing?

It's marketing, of course - almost everything is marketed with some line or another.

I agree with you that self-care is really about getting the basics right - eating well, exercising, relaxing, all in balance.

'Treating yourself' to something luxurious can boost your spirits, but it's more the pleasure of giving yourself a gift than any benefit directly coming from a silk pillow or a scented candle. We feel happier when we are in an environment surrounded by what we see as nice things; we relax better if we are physically comfortable. It might be that silk pillows and candles offer those benefits to some people, but they're not essential for wellbeing.

Same for menopause products.

YANBU.

I’ve long thought the same. Entirely committed to long walks, perfume, gardening, reading, nice soap, etc, etc. I’ve enjoyed silent retreats, conversations with friends, expensive candles, etc, etc, etc, but yes, the explosion of people telling us what we must do in order to exist happily, and trying to sell us artificial fantasies at ridiculous prices is absolute, pure bollocks.

I avoid most of it by avoiding social media.

It’s yet another way of persuading us to buy things we neither need nor truly want

Of course it's marketing.

And people are falling for it, as life is a little bit more difficult now. So anything that claims to help you get through, will have many people thinking 'yes, I need that / I need to do that'

On the same vein, I see a dermatologist for my skin condition and we got talking about social media, and especially "showertok". This is apparently the right way to have a shower, and it includes various products to exfoliate, rub and scrub and more. Of course all of these products do not come cheap either, as apparently you can't just use any old sponge, it has to be special one (available on their shop of course). He is very anti this whole procedure, it is not necessary, and a waste of money and also there is a high risk of causing skin issues with all this stripping of the skin, and using harsh products.

I am all for a treat every now and then for a pick me up. But it is a regular thing, surely then it just becomes a habit in the end rather than a treat.

Yes to a degree.

For example sleep is crucial so if the products help you get more and better sleep I can see them having a benefit. For me it's This Works deep sleep spray and a nice comfy pillow and a fan - so some products there.

Everything is about buying stuff (and putting on insta so everyone knows you can afford it)

Agreed, though I do treat myself to a few nice cosmetics. Plus I've got a silk pillow case. It's brilliant - I no longer wake up with my hair all knotty and looking like a witch!

Oh and my sister makes luxury home made scented candles so I've got lots of those. Maybe I don't agree after all ...

It profits off our desperation.

I know what I need is a good night's sleep but I'm still BF my toddler, my 5yo rarely sleeps through, and it's hard to get an early night if I want to speak to my dh at all.

The only thing we feel we have control over is throwing money at the situation and hoping it helps.

Fwiw I do think that sleep teas and pillow sprays are totally useless but they smell nice and don't break the bank

I love self care, but it doesn't have to be expensive at all. A nice walk. A book. Guarding sleep and going to bed at a reasonable hour. Saying no to more than one biscuit because you want to fuel your body well.

Yes it's marketing, but these are profit-making companies, it's normal for them to jump on a trend and monetise it. It's up to you whether to actually buy the products.