I’m pretty low maintenance when it comes to beauty stuff. If anything takes too long I’m not really interested in doing it, but I also know that I’m in my 30s now so I need to pay a bit more attention to certain things than I used to. I’ve incorporated a few new things into my routine these past 5 months and I am really happy with my hair and skin right now (despite the melasma I can’t really treat until I wean Caroline) so I wanted to share them with you! (These photos were taken right after I woke up…no face washing or hair brushing or makeup. I’m so happy with how my skin and hair act these days that I didn’t feel like I needed to do anything!) So here are my new habits, in no particular order:
Hair
Collagen Peptides. I’ve been taking a scoop of this in my coffee every morning for over 2 months and my hair feels healthy, my skin looks bright and I haven’t been having as much pain in my right hip as I normally do. (Although I think my hip also feels better due to strengthening my glutes and hamstrings by using doing the Glow Body PT workouts that I mentioned on the blog here.) Collagen is a vital building block of our bodies and this supplement helps support your skin, hair, nails, bones and joints. The powder is flavorless and dissolves completely in hot liquids, although you can also put it in smoothies (I hear it’s gross in water though). I’ve seen this product mentioned by some of the bloggers I follow like Julia of Lemon Stripes and Leanne of Elle Apparel but finally bit the bullet and ordered it when I found out my friend Kady (my old marathon training buddy and mom of two) and my friend Kait of CommuniKait were both taking it. I’m definitely going to continue using it and actually just ordered some to my parents’ house for me to use this summer.
Less Hair Washing. I’ve never been one to go without washing my hair because I get sweaty when I work out, but decided to give it a shot after reading my friend Kait’s post all about her hair. I must say, I now really like how my typically flat hair looks after a day or two or three without washing it. (Dry shampoo is key!) I had read some great things about Kristen Ess dry shampoo so I bought it at Target and think it’ll be my go-to from now on. I’ve tried many different kinds and my hair seems to like this the best, although the smell of this toasted coconut dry shampoo is AMAZING and it is a good bit cheaper. When I use dry shampoo I spray the roots, concentrating on the area around my face, my part and the back of my head and then let it sit for a little bit. Then I’ll use my fingers to kind of massage it in, then finger-comb my hair. I now typically go about 3 days without washing. When I do wash my hair I have recently started washing it twice in a row, and my hair feels really clean afterwards. About once a week I will use Head and Shoulders Instant Oil Control shampoo and it seems to help control my oily scalp well. (This has been my secret for a few years now. It’s technically dandruff shampoo but the oil control aspect of it works wonders, especially when your postpartum hormones are crazy!)
Weekly Hair Mask. I have a greasy scalp by nature but because my hair is so long I decided to try a hair mask to see if it would make the ends feel less dry and tired. I’ve never done a hair mask before and randomly bought the Kristen Ess hair mask at Target and really like it. (Turns out I really love this brand, I currently use 4 of the products!) Once a week after I take a shower and wash my hair I will put a hair mask on, wrap it up with a Turbie Twist (I know the infomercials back in the day were silly but I’ve loved these things for years!) and put on a face mask at the same time. After 10 minutes I’ll get back in the shower and wash everything off.
Air Dry Hair Cream. Air drying isn’t a new thing for me (I’m lazy, so I rarely blow dry my hair), but the bottoms would always end up kind of fluffy and crazy looking, until I discovered this Air Dry Cream. I now put this on my damp hair and my hair turns out nice and soft and not very frizzy- even after letting it air dry.
Face
Lash Boost. I started using Rodan + Fields Lash Boost right around Valentine’s Day and I am obsessed! You put it on right before bed and you get thicker, fuller, longer lashes in 6-8 weeks. It’s amazing! I no longer curl my eyelashes because I don’t need to anymore. You have to have an Independent Consultant to purchase Rodan + Fields and mine is Brianna Hughes (a fellow momma, West Point grad and Army Captain), so if you want to try the product and don’t have a consultant you can click on the links above and it’ll take you to her page. And please let her know I referred you so I can get some store credit so I can buy another tube of this stuff 🙂 It’s pricy but I was able to make one tube last 4 months, and I really love waking up with long lashes. Most days I just put on some concealer and mascara and I’m good to go. Oh and my eyebrows have always been on the sparse side, but I’ve been putting Lash Boost on them too and they are darker and fuller now! It’s amazing! You do have to keep using it to keep the results, but I’ve found that once you’ve been using it nightly for 8 weeks you can start using it every two or three days to maintain the length.
Weekly Face Mask. As mentioned above, I now try to do a face mask once a week. I rotate between this purifying and mattifying clay mask (a free trial I got with my Sephora perks card and I plan on buying the big size once I run out), this rose mask (it smells so good and makes my skin feel really refreshed and toned), and this dual enzyme polish (Colleen Rothschild sent it to me to try out before Christmas and I’m still using it because I really like it. I think it has helped my melasma a bit and it also makes my skin look nice and bright). I can really see a difference in how bright, clear and supple my face is, and I think a weekly face mask has helped immensely.
Spinning Facial Brush. In the evenings I now wash my face twice if I wore makeup during the day. I saw Karla Reed talk about doing this on her Instagram Stories, and I realized it made so much sense. The first time I wash my face I use this cleansing oil and my hands to remove makeup (it even removes stubborn mascara), and then I wash my face a second time with a spinning facial brush and Cetaphil daily facial cleanser. (I don’t use the brush every day, but probably 4 days a week.) I know a lot of people love this spinning brush, but I bought mine at TJ Maxx for $14.99 and it works great. I think it makes my face look firm and smooth.
Tinkle Shavers. If you think you don’t have peach fuzz on your face then you haven’t looked close enough in the mirror. It’s not too noticeable for many people, but I have a good bit of light colored fuzz on my face so decided to try these shavers out after I saw Karla Reed talk about using them on her Stories (mentioned above as well, she’s fun to follow on Instagram!). I had also seen videos of dermaplaning (search the hashtag to see what I mean!) and this looked like a great at-home alternative. It removes dead skin cells as well as peach fuzz, and I’ve been doing it about once a month since I bought these 3 months ago. As I mentioned above, I am so happy with my skin right now despite being postpartum and nursing (which is often a crazy time for your hormones), and I think everything skin-related that I’ve here has truly worked wonders. Apparently there is a large counterfeit market for these face razors, so I scoured Amazon before buying them to make sure I bought a version that looked legitimate. I am using this exact listing and they work great! One of the reviews says that these aren’t the real deal, but even if they aren’t I still like them. If you order them yourself be sure to check reviews first! Amazon kind of stinks in some ways because you never know if someone is trying to sell you a knock-off, but overall it’s my go-to for most things. Also just an FYI, the blades are designed in a way so that you can’t cut yourself.
In addition to all of these new skincare habits I still do everything else I’ve always done. Sunscreen in the morning, Vitamin C treatment (helps with brightness and combats free radicals), eye cream at night and night cream at night too. I’ve also been trying out some Rosehip oil I bought at TJ Maxx in the evenings. I haven’t been super consistent with it though so I’m not sure if it’s helped at all. If you’re interested in seeing my current make up favorites here is a post I wrote back in March.
Have you implemented any new self care habits recently? I’d love to hear if you have anything you think I should try out!
Great post! I’m scared all the hormones are going to cause havoc on my hair & skin after my baby arrives so I’ll have to try out your tips. Love your blog!
Great post! I’m scared all the hormones are going to cause havoc on my hair & skin after my baby arrives so I’ll have to try out your tips. Love your blog!