General self care as a woman??

[happydontjudgeme]

Ok, hear me out.. this may sound silly but after seeing all the influencers post about self care tips on insta/tiktok.. like double cleansing skin in the shower, all the products they use etc.. I’m starting to wonder if my self care is a bit…. Simple?

my mum wasn’t overly present growing up, so now I’m wondering if I do.. enough? Little things like cutting cuticles (I get my nails done once a month so just leave them until then) or waxing toe hair 😂 are we regularly whole body moisturising? I guess I should be I’m in my 30’s!

I am SO intrigued to know people’s self care tips they swear by that are genuine, no matter how simple!!

thanks ❤️

Influencers are paid to sell stuff. Ignore it, it’s advertising

Trying to think what I do! I’m pretty low maintenance

standard shower would be - bar soap under arms, some form of shower oil/gel all over
probably twice a week I shave my legs and under arms and moisturise all over maybe 2-3 times a week
when it needs doing I paint my toenails and do my feet with a microplane foot file. Never touch my cuticles

every night I apply foot cream and hand cream just before I sleep, the foot cream has urea in and my feet are really soft

daily skincare - cleanse, spf, moisturise, tret at night
weekly I do a face mask and dermaplane my face

hair - I use a growth serum but not religiously, and a treatment before I wash it but I only wash it twice a week

The influencers only use all the products and do all the things only as it results in £££

Not many people in real life have the budget or the time.

My advice would be to use SPF 50 on your face and neck everyday, cleanse well at night, get exercise, and stay hydrated.

The point of self care is something that’s enjoyable to you, not what’s enjoyable to others. I’ve done a whole body moisturise every day from 14 - because I like it. But nobody, not even my nail lady, is cutting my cuticles! That feels barbaric! 🤣
So do what makes you feel good and ignore what’s online. ☺️

I shower daily.
Face washed am and pm
Day or night moisturiser
Shave once a week
I apply body moisturiser daily
Hair wash every 3 days with dry shampoo inbetween.
Teeth brushed

None of this is 'self care' to me, it is being clean and hygienic.

They’re pushing content and need to talk about something. “Self care” implies that it’s careless and problematic if you don’t do the things suggested. I find it troublingly sexist.

I shower daily, and use moisturiser on my face and body because I have insanely dry skin and it hurts if I don’t. I use anti perspirant. I brush my teeth twice a day. Sometimes I shave my legs and armpits if I can be bothered, but I wish that I could not care about it. Oh, and an SPF in the summer. That’s it.

I definitely don’t do influencer level, but I do whole body moisturise after a shower! I think it’s probably just about routine for most people, and you kind of get into the habit of doing it without thinking.

Stuff I consider “self care” rather than just the daily:

Weekly pedicure at home
At least one big bubble bath a week, exfoliate, shave, gradual tan
Dermaplane face
Face mask in the bath
Nails I usually do myself but am stuck in a BIAB “journey” after getting them wrecked with gel removal after an event, so daily cuticle oil
Hair cut once a month, brows threaded/waxed every three weeks
Tint lashes and brows myself fortnightly
Weekly reformer Pilates class

I don’t do any of that stuff. Best things you can do in my opinion is to wear sunscreen (and/or stay out of direct sun) and not smoke. Drink plenty of water. That’s about it @happydontjudgeme 😀

Big glass of water, ice bath, collagen drink, multivitamin every morning.

Daily shower, hair wash and condition. Shave legs and armpits and file feet. Once or twice a week I use sesame seed oil as body lotion.

Swimming outdoors and yoga practice 3 or 4 times a week each.

Simple face cleansing gel and aldi serum. Stay in the shade or wear spf50 if its sunny.

Thats it.

A bitlg part of self-care is putting some boundaries in place. I’d recommend stepping away from influencers on social media and find some small things that work for you. For sure, self-care isn’t about feeling bad or inadequate about yourself!

Aren't influencers in this sphere basically marketing?

I switched to a sensitive oat bar soap (for cleansing) and jojoba oil (for moisturising) for both face and body during pregnancy and have kept it up ever since as they were so brilliant, better for my combination skin than the bigger range of more expensive products I used to use. I use a flannel with the soap (or just water) when cleansing my face. As well as freeing up loads of space in my bathroom cabinets, it has saved me so much money and time in the last few years, which I can use on other kinds of self-care I find more important, like spending time outside or reading a book.

I use a facial suncream on my face from spring, use suncream more generally when the UV warrants it, and wear a hat in the sun, which I hope will help skin health and protect against signs of ageing too.

Self care :
Full moisturiser, when I remember.
Leg shave: every 2 weeks. I'm lucky.
Fake tan weekly.
Dye brows and lashes every 6 weeks
Hairdresser every 8-10 weeks.
Gym. Run.
Make the fam do chores.
Make sure i get time to myself.
Buy the clothes I like.
Wear the clothes I like.

Ice bath every morning?! 🥶 😮

Push boat out weekly:

Rip tache off with leg epilator
Debride feet, hack out ingrowing toenails, varnish toes*
Josh Wood semi gloss hair tint
Eyebrows dye and prune
Exfoliate body with scrub n glove, shave as required

*Secretly rip toe fur off with epilator when no one looking

Every other day:

Shower, hair wash, gradual tan or almond oil. Feet smothered in Flexitol.

I never blow dry hair or wear foundation. I do use builders’ sandpaper on feet. Medium grit gives lovely smooth finish.

I shower, use a face moisturiser and a body one. I shave every once in a while. Dye my hair from a box as I’m almost totally grey. Cut my toe and fingernails regularly. That’s it. I wash my hair every two or three days - I don’t even blow dry it. I don’t wear nail polish (I might get a pedi if going on a beach holiday). Most of my friends do the same - a few go for waxing or get their hair coloured professionally. Influencers make money from brand collabs.

The expression "Self care" sets my teeth on edge. It's so twee.

I wash face with Clinique liquid soap. Apply Nivea blue tub moisturiser at night. Clinique yellow moisturiser for day. Shower daily with bar soap. Never use body moisturiser. Wash hair 3 times per week. Remove armpit hair whenever necessary and leg hair when out of opaque tights.

Never had a mani or a pedicure, don't wear nail varnish.

Roots are done professionally every 5 weeks to hide grey. Hairdresser cuts off the amount it has grown since the last trim. My hairdresser is under strict instructions never to "blow dry" my hair. She can blast hot air at it to dry it but not straighten it, tame it or make it look "blow dryed"

Apart from the routine daily hygiene of washing in the shower daily (hair every 3 days or so)

• weekly full body exfoliating with Italy cloth in bath

• weekly foot exfoliating in bath with pumice (I swear I shower after all this)

• weekly full body moisturise after a bath

• 2 x daily skin care routine (face, neck, chest) as I'm trying to combat hyperpigmentation and hormonal acne

• daily spf50, even in winter as my desk is by the window!

• home eyebrow tint every 4/6 weeks

• semiperm hair dye every 4/6 weeks

• shave legs every 3/4 weeks (see next point!)

• IPL legs maybe every 10 days to keep those follicles dead 😅

• daily (not the best at actually sticking to this but do most days) collagen and creatine

• own gel nails every 2/3 weeks (toes I get away with every 3rd time)

• get my hair cut no more than twice per year

• I style my hair after washing and then don't even brush it until I'm going to wash it again.

I didn't realise I did so much until I wrote it all down, but I still think I'm fairly low maintenance. Skin is good (face getting there!), hair is good, always look put together.

I think having hair styled, nails done and hydrated skin makes all the difference. Takes me 10 minutes to get ready in the morning by doing those wee extra self care things for an hour each week/6 weeks etc. And I enjoy them. Stick a podcast on and enjoy an hour or so peace while doing them.

I wash my hair and body. Moisturise my face. Use SPF.

I get my eyebrows threaded and tinted every 3 weeks because I have gingery-blond eyebrows that without intervention are only visible as a kind of furry halo over my eyes. I like my eyebrows better with a bit of definition.

I put on a bit of slap in the morning. Mascara & eyeliner, some lip gloss. Face powder as I have very oily skin.

I shave when I remember to.

I have never exfoliated in my life.

All the Instagram noise about ‘everything showers’ and multi-step skin and hair routines is just trying to make you feel like you’re not doing enough, so that you spend money out of fear and shame.

Most of how you look is down to genetics, luck and general lifestyle. How much you want to do over and above keeping yourself clean is a matter of individual choice.

If you need any de-influencing I can tell you that I’ve tried the sea buckthorn face creams in a moment of weakness, and they’re just like any other moisturiser and don’t make all my wrinkles go away and my jowls retract.

Does the Italian cloth work? As in you get whole ropes of dead skin coming off? I keep looking at them then stop before I buy so if you've a recommendation for a good one?

Don’t cut your cuticles!!!!

They exist to protect your nails from infection. A little push back if needed, but that’s all.

I’d recommend reading the Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf, if you can get hold of a copy. More relevant now than ever.

Two things: they're trying to sell you stuff. If they witter on about whatever product they're 'obsessed' with, chance are they've been given it by the manufacturer on the proviso that they recommend it on their social media. It's an advert, no more, no less.

Secondly, this is their job and/or their hobby. If you're not interested in and don't feel better from spending hours primping and preening, and it doesn't make you any money, you don't have to do it. As long as you maintain basic hygiene and are appropriately dressed for whatever situation you find yourself in, everything else is optional.

Influencers as the first poster said are paid to sell shit. And make content.
in real life however I’m in my fifties, I do moisturise all over, every day and it makes a huge difference, to my skin, which has never had issues.it just supple and healthy looking.

i also have a good skin care regime, never sleep in my makeup, at your age id ensure a good moisturisers.

what i have learned is it starts from within, if you’re healthy on the inside it’s visible on the outside. So drink 3 litres of water a day, eat a clean and heakfhy diet most of the time,limit alcohol and work out.
you will see the difference in your body, your face and your skin.

I don't watch or follow any "influencers" (I hate that term)

I'm pretty low maintenance. At 67 I look well preserved for my age.

I have used moisturiser since about the age of 15 and wear SPF50 on my face. If I wear make up I cleanse with Nivea 2-in-1 cleanser & toner then a face wash, currently a l'Oreal one. I never wear eye make up as I have extremely dry eyes so I don't need industrial strength mascara remover.

I do my own manicures, which simply means keeping my nails a decent length and clean and tidy. Gel wrecks my nails, and I now have decent nails again. I occasionally paint them.

I have regular pedicures in summer, but don't bother in winter as my nails need to breathe and no-one sees my feet in winter anyway. I use a foot exfoliator regularly and always moisturise my feet after every shower. I have had cracked heels in the past and doing this has eliminated this issue completely.

I wear trousers or opaque tights with dresses in winter so don't shave my legs very often, but as soon as it get warm eough to get my legs out they get shaved regularly. Pits get done about once a week in winter as the hair is very sparse by now.

Moustache epilation happens on a regular basis - one of the joys of getting older 🙁
My hair is dry and gets washed twice a week usually, and cut and coloured every 5 weeks.

@PawMaw Is the Italy cloth the same as the Korean one?

I take my make up off every night with Clinique melt the day away and then wash my face with soap and water. Then I moisturise with HA followed by Byoma face oil.
In the morning I wash it again and use a clarins retinol capsule followed by moisturiser with SPF (L’Oreal).
That’s all I do for my face.
I use a regular body lotion on my legs.
Get my hair done (balayage) twice a year and nails for occasions (holidays etc).
Everything else is to do with health. So exercise regularly; gym, combat classes and strength training and one long run a week. I eat a healthy balanced diet, have occasional treats. Don’t drink alcohol during the week buy do have a drink on a weekend.

Yes rope of skin, especially the first few times. Trick is to soak fully in the bath for at least 20 minutes before firmly stroking in one direction without any soap.

I've been buying these for a few years