Of all the trends and cool things to do when it comes to beauty, the concept of ‘Selfcare Sunday’ has been one that I’ve had no issue with implementing in my life. Because when a community of people online come together every Sunday to share all the ways they will be taking care of themselves for the day, it’s easy to join in.
But as much as Selfcare Sundays have become synonymous with more skincare-related products (predominately face masks), I think we should optimise the day more and make the ‘selfcare’ the operative word. What do I mean? Well, let’s get into that.
Look After Your Body Too
I remember the Sunday I took the images above and I knew that I didn’t want to do another post that would highlight a face mask that I was using or a day cream that’s been doing wonders for my face.
Don’t get me wrong – those topics are amazing and important (because there is always someone out there who could use your advice on a particular skincare product), but how often do we talk about the products we use for our bodies? Why haven’t we shone a little more light on adding body care to ‘Selfcare Sunday’?
Now hey, I could be wrong here and living under a rock – perhaps these conversations are happening and I’m on the wrong side of Twitter – but I would love to talk about the ways in which we show our bodies love for Selfcare Sunday.
One of the toughest relationships I have ever had is the one with my body. I don’t consider myself ‘thick’ or ‘slim’ even though there are others who could easily put a label on the body type I have. But I’m more interested in showing my body love beyond what society deems my shape to be, and part of that bodily love is taking care of it.
Not just in what I eat and drink and the very minimal exercise I do. I’m also talking about the actual products I use for my body. I can get pretty dry and ashy skin during the winter months and I often find myself lathering body lotion and tissue oil to help with keeping my body extra moisturised. Two of my current favourite body lotions that I love to infuse with the Justine Tissue Oil are the Nivea Firming Body Lotion Q10 + Vitamin C and the Naturals Beauty Body Creme with Ylang Ylang, Bergamot and Neroli. Both of these body lotions are so nourishing to my body and I feel well moisturised without an oily layer being left behind on my skin. Because “You glow girl!” should include your body too.
Show Your Mind Some Love
I think Selfcare Sundays should extend to your mind and mental health as well. Face masks and cleansers are amazing (and I’m sure you’ve noticed an increase in how skincare brands are marketing their products under the ‘selfcare’ craze) but let’s talk about selfcare for the mind.
Real question: when was the last time you actually read a book? Not an ebook. Not an academic book. Not a cookbook. An actual, hard copy, fiction/drama/autobiography book that you bought from some kind of store?
Social media, and the age of digital, has seen us stay a little too glued on our screens, mindlessly scrolling through the Twitter timeline before it refreshes and you’re back to scrolling for another hour. Maybe that might be an exaggeration but seriously – when last did you read?
I remember on my trip to Bali in Indonesia, I was adamant that I packed a book in my luggage bag. Not just to get this photograph in my suite, but because, in my time away from what was normal for me, I wanted to make sure that I was still stimulating my mind while immersing myself in a whole new experience. Also, having a book with me felt like the one thing I’m used to in the midst of solo travelling for the first time in my life.
I digress, but the point is – read a book, or a magazine or a newspaper. Get yourself clued up from a source other than your online newsfeed. Immerse yourself in a world you create in your own mind from reading a book you’ve been meaning to.
If you aren’t a reader, let me suggest downloading one of those mind boggling apps to keep you entertained. At one point, Candy Crush was this for me, but then I couldn’t make it past level 300-and-something. So now, my brain loves puzzle games like 2048 and Two Dots. The value in having apps like this for me is to draw myself away from social media and to exercise my mental muscles in a fun, not so text heavy way. In this regard, I’m grateful that technology can do this for us.
Selfcare For Your Soul As Well
We’ve touched on the body and the mind, so let’s round up this holistic approach to ‘Selfcare Sunday’ by talking about the soul.
In the middle of all the masks and bubble baths that you may enjoy on Sundays, do include your inner being into the equation. We don’t talk a lot about the things we do to care and nurture our souls and I can only hope that this post will open up a conversation around this.
Whether it’s meditation, yoga, prayer, soul searching exercises or other activities that help you get in touch with your inner self, I encourage you to do that during your ‘Selfcare Sunday’ routine. I think we can sometimes forget how much of a holistic being we really are as humans. You are not just a body that needs a firming mask for your face. You are not just your mind that could use a break every now and then.
There is also some deep part that exists within you that needs a little nurturing too. For me, prayer and meditation have been important aspects of my life that help me get in tune with the spiritual part of who I am. I won’t dive into details but what I can say is that I’m grateful for the time I take to nurture my soul and give myself a sense of inner peace.
Peace and Love are actually the the things in life that I value the most, the two things that I want in my life, and in order for me to achieve having these two things in my life, I need to keep nurturing my soul so that it feels fed with all the Peace and Love that I can afford it. Understanding these two values of mine was part of a soul searching exercise I did way back in my late teen years but it’s given my a wonderful perspective on life in terms of how I go about living and impacting those around me.
And no matter how many failures or successes I encounter, no matter how long it takes me to get to a certain point in my life, if my soul has Peace and Love in it, I’m good, and I keep nurturing this on Sundays through prayer and meditation.
This may have been a slightly longer post, but one that was really necessary to write because ‘Selfcare Sundays pass me by and there’s a whole other conversation I want to have around it – this conversation. So, I hope you enjoyed this post! Feel free to leave your thoughts on ‘Selfcare Sundays’, what it means to you and how you think you can do more on it.
Khalipha Ntloko 
Lovely, thank you. Be well. I just caught that you have a BA in industrial sociology. Curious about that, as a fellow sociologist. 🙂
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Hey Jeff! Thanks so much for reading this post – I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it. Sending well wishes to you too! As for my qualification, indeed, I have a BA Honours degree in Industrial Sociology (basically studied the social behaviours of people in the workplace). Admittedly, it was the best thing I could have studied because it’s opened myself up a lot to the working world and the dynamics that take place at work. My goal is actually to become a Social Media Sociologist. As a fellow sociologist yourself, any tips on how I could go about this? 😅
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Hi Kalipha! Ah, I love the idea of the sociology of the workplace, fantastic. I’ve never taken a course on, or seen a specialization in social media, however, that would also be pretty fantastic. Of course, I have a large bias seeing as I too am a sociologist! 🙂 Funny thing about group behavior and sociological theory is that it would all apply to social media too. I would find a graduate program that had an open studies degree and create the social media concentration. 🙂 Have a great evening! Jeff
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