It's been a minute....

I've been stuck in a small rut over the last few weeks. I've been out of my routine caused by the move, stress, & situations that are out of my control. 
Today is Wednesday July 30th. Today is the first day in a while where I've woken up as my normal happy self. Its because I've slowly started bringing my routine back into play, which has a HUGE affect on us as humans. 

If you don't know, I was diagnosed with severe OCD when I was 16. 
With this, and what we knew before my diagnosis, we know that I need routine to survive. I can't handle change as well as others, & if my routine or steps get thrown off, I tend to dig myself a deep hole of depression and can't get out of it. It RARELY happens...I can probably count on one hand how many times my routine has been thrown off, because I simply DONT let it happen. 

This has definitely been the case these past few weeks. 
I've lost my routine and what I do to feel most like myself. 
It got me thinking.

I have come to the realization that I, Jolie Scalfano, am HIGH maintenance. 

What do I do for myself every week that makes me feel better and reset for the following week? I decided to put a list together of my steps & routine that I do to feel better. I would love to know your self care rituals! What do you do to make you feel the most you? Are you a hair care junkie? Skin care junkie? Let's discuss! 

Showing up and committing to yourself is CRUCIAL. You know yourself better than anyone. Nobody is going to force you to take care of yourself. Thats why having that mindset of "I need to be here for myself" makes all the difference. You feel better, your body and mind will thank you, and your heart stays happy.

So first and foremost, I set the scene. I can't start self care until my space and home are cleaned to a T.
 I will do a huge deep clean the day before my self care day.
It puts my mind in a better space and allows me to not be overwhelmed by things in my home. Like dishes, or my toddlers toys laying everywhere.

- I ALWAYS will make a cup of coffee or tea before I start self care. Having a hot drink brings another sense of calm to the self care. Green tea has been a FAV lately.

- I always put on a feel good playlist too! For me that's usually jazz or a jazzy lo-fi situation.

- I ALWAYS light a candle or two. Something about the flame gives the same vibe as if you were standing in front of a fire place.

For self care, I start EARLY in the morning. I typically will communicate this to my husband the day before, or usually he just knows that Sundays are my big self care days, so he will take Aubrey and spend some time with him out to let me have some peace and tranquility. We call it "Mom Time".

I go in this order

1. Hair dye FIRST (My roots grow in fast, so I have to dye my hair once a week or so) 

2. Take an everything shower (Have you tried the Glazed Pumpkin line from Bath & Body Works? It's AMAZING) + I prep my skin with sugar and pure olive oil - Trust me...throw your fancy shaving creams away. Olive Oil is the way to go.

3. Hair Mask in wet hair after my everything shower. I LOVE the Amika hair mask. I've never used anything better.

4. While my hair mask sits, I will typically take this time to do my weekly manicure & Pedicure. I ALWAYS have to have a fresh set and cleanly painted nails. I feel naked if I don't have healthy shiny nails. I've been loving a simple french lately.

5. After nails, I'll hop back in the shower to rinse the hair mask out

6. I go straight into skin care. Face wash, lotions, deodorant, etc. 

7. I finish with a Guasha + Ice Bath Facial 

8. I prep my hair with some heat protectant & leave-in conditioner. 

9. I blow out my hair with my round brush and thermal hair dyer wand 

10. I straighten my bangs with my mini straightener, and will run it through the rest of my hair. 

11. I spritz my boar bristle hair brush with a perfume and brush my hair for a bit. 

12. I also go in with a little dry shampoo sometimes! I think super clean hair is really hard to style that first day because she's so shiny and has nothing to cling to. 

13. I move on to brushing my teeth, flossing, PURE listerine, and I'll pull out my whitening routine.

14. I will also use a collagen mask! These are amazing! It preps your skin SO well and is very calming. I'll usually scroll on Pinterest or watch an episode of my show while the face mask does its thing.

15. I usually will have a bathbomb on hand from Lush, so I take a "Mommy Bath" and what I mean by that is, nobody can bother me for an hour while I take a nice bath lol! I love lighting candles and dimming the bathroom lights. It just makes you feel calmer and more tranquil. 

15. I end the self care day at night by popping my heatless curlers in my hair and sleeping with them in overnight. It's easy and less damaging to your hair than heat. 

16. The next morning, I take out my heatless curlers, brush my hair out, and continue my normal everyday care. 

16 steps to make Jolie feel more Jolie. I LOVE self care reset days. I look forward to them every week!

Whether your self care routine is similar or NOTHING like this, whatever it is, I hope you enjoy it and I love that you've found something that keeps you going. Taking care of mental and physical health is BEYOND important. It can help with your sleep, your anxiety/depression, and it helps cure or prevent diseases. 

I'd love to know your self care routine and what helps reset you after a long week. Love y'all,

Talk soon! 

- J.S