I’m Luci from www.lucibarker.co.uk which is a little bit of everything blog. I write about Beauty, Lifestyle, Travel, Fashion and Blogger Help posts too.
During the last few months I have been taking some time to practice self care because in my day to day life I don’t make enough time to do it. Some of the ways I practice self care is have a bit of a pamper. I have a warm bath with some ESPA Baths Oil, my favourite one is the fitness one. It relaxes the muscles and smells amazing too. Hair masks and face masks are so simple to do but make me feel a million dollars. I usually put my diffuser on with my lavender essential oil and put on of my audible books on to chill out.
Other ways I practice self care is doing a workout or some yoga, I usually have a massage at least once a month (I do work in a salon so this is very easy and also very tempting for me to have one when I’m giving them all day everyday.) I’m also trying to be a lot more positive and manifesting and I’ve noticed such a positive change in my way of thinking. Quotes are also a fab way to do this.
The Black Princess Diaries
Self care is so important! I believe that people need to learn to practice it more…including myself. I’m not the best at consistently practicing self care, but I try every so often to take some time out of my day to show myself some self love. It’s especially important now with all of the chaos in the world. Here are a few of my favorite ways that I love to practice self care!
Mini Spa. I love to almost have like a mini spa. I take a nice hot shower where I’ll wash my hair if need be, shave, etc. It feels so good to when I come out the shower all smooth and with clean hair. After the shower, I’ll put on a face mask. I love to use the Aztec clay mask. It works really well for me. I also put it on my hair sometimes. While my mask is setting, I’ll moisturize my body so my skin is nice and soft. Once my mask is done, I’ll moisturize my face and put on some lip balm. Lastly, I’ll do my nails and toes. Once done, I feel so refreshed and like a new woman!
Binging YouTube and TV. Another favorite way I like to practice self care is to step away from work for a bit and to just catch up on episodes I’ve missed or YouTube videos. Right now I haven’t been at my job since Covid, but typically I’m working there as well as working on my blog. My blog alone takes most of my days, so both really keep me exhausted and busy. Planning time to just relax and binge watch shows and video really help me to calm my brain and relax for a little bit.
Hanging with friends. For me, hanging with my friends is a form of self care because it gets me out of my house and because my friends always make me laugh so hard. We’re just so silly together and I forget anything I may be dealing with for that moment. Unfortunately, because of Corona, I have been unable to hang with my friends, which is why you have to supervise. Now, we talk in group chats to check up and maybe one day we’ll even do zoom calls or Skype calls.
About the Author:
Deandra is a blogger and podcaster. She is a lifestyle blogger with topics such as beauty, poetry, open discussion, and lifestyle in general. If you’d like to keep up with Deandra and read more of her work, check out her links below!
Music is such a huge part of my life and it’s something that I do every day. Usually I’ll listen to music as a background for whatever activity I’m doing, whether it’s writing a blog post, going for a run or while I’m cooking. But I think there’s something about actively listening to music (and not doing anything else at the same time) that’s so good for the soul. I love putting on a really chilled ambient playlist and listening through headphones in the evening. It’s so calming! Other times I’ll whack on an ‘old skool’ 00s hits playlist and have a dance. I just love how versatile music is, there’s something for every mood. It’s the ultimate form of self-care for me.
One of my favourite ways to practice self-care is to take breaks from the outside world and take time to myself. I love disconnecting from my phone and my blog every now and then and have time to myself to work on myself. This is the best way to work on your work-life balance. I take time away from work, from my blog and from social media means so that I can focus on myself. I normally do things like read my current book or go for a walk and get a bit of fresh air and just take a break from anything that would have been stressing me out. It gives me time to think things over and just breathe.
To some people putting on a face mask and having a bath is all the self-care they need but I believe we need to do more than this to truly take care of ourselves. Don’t get me wrong though, I do appreciate a good relaxing bath to melt away the stress of the week. Other external care that helps me feel better is my skin care routine. I have recently grown my skin care as it is something I am passionate about, and so love I researching it. Having some sort of routine in the morning and evening can be very calming whether like me it is skin care or for some working out or practising a hobby. However, more importantly, we need to take care of ourselves from the inside. Eating healthy and working out could be a start but we also need to have a positive mental attitude towards ourselves. Getting rid of any negativity in our lives is so important, including friends that drain you. I found reciting positive things about myself, to myself really helps. These little mantras, if said regularly, can really change your thought patterns. For more self-care tips that I have found helpful, look at my self-love blog.
Self-care is vital for each and every one of us as we often need reminding how important we are. There’s a variety of ways you can focus on loving yourself however, one of my favourite ways at the moment is waking up early. When I was at University I had a tendency of going to sleep around 7am and waking up at 5pm, constantly repeating the cycle all because them £1 a drink student nights reeled me in. Therefore, changing this bad habit will allow us to become much more productive, focused and motivated in our daily routines. Currently I wake around 6/6:30am, I lay in bed for a little while and DO NOT touch my phone until at least 7:30am. It’s said that jumping straight onto your phone interferes with your ability to prioritise tasks, thus you become easily distracted throughout your day and unable to attack certain tasks with the amount of productivity we would have if we didn’t go on our phone in the morning. Waking earlier actually improves your sense of concentration, memory abilities, provides you with more energy and reduces your stress levels. See how else I practice self care.
Alisha | Inside The Voyage
My favourite way to practice self-care, especially during lockdown, is to journal. I used to be terrible at keeping a diary, and never lasted more than doing it for probably four days in a row, but I absolutely fell in love with the concept of bullet journaling. I find that being creative is a great outlet for me, so when I’m feeling overwhelmed by things it’s great to pick up a journal and draw, scribble and get things off my chest in that little book.
Since leaving university, my head is always filled with ideas of what I want my career to be, how much money I should or shouldn’t be spending and so much more. It’s great to use a journal as a way of getting lots of thoughts out of your brain at once and onto a more manageable place; on paper. During the last few months, too, I’ve had so many plans for my blog and have still been working five days a week, so it’s fair to say my brain has been in overdrive!
For anyone that needs to have a little place to vent, plan, motivate – whatever – don’t be afraid to try journaling! You don’t have to be creative at all, just make it your own and enjoy having those pages to explore your mind and life. I’ve got more self-care tips over on my blog dedicated to graduates, students and young adults trying to navigate the world!
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