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You’ve had a long day (or week) and you can’t wait to get off your feet and relax. I know that feeling. Plus, it’s a lot harder to unwind and destress when you have kids. Good news though — I’m going to show you how to relieve stress through these various ways to pamper yourself; even with kids.
Tidy your Home
I know, this doesn’t sound very relaxing and not a great way to overcome stress and pamper yourself, but I promise you, you’ll feel awesome once it’s done. Nothing makes it near impossible to relax more to me than have a messy home. And, by “cleaning your home”, I don’t mean scrubbing floors and the bathtub. I simply mean, go through each room and do a clean sweep.
Pick up clutter and trash, do a little dusting and maybe a quick vacuum. Don’t leave dishes in the sink, it’s a HUGE distraction. This process really shouldn’t take much more than 30 minutes.
If you do want to thoroughly clean your house first, I have a great post on how to clean your home in an hour.
Now that you have a tidy home, the relaxation can begin. So, let’s dive into ways to distress yourself.
Other Posts you May Be Interested In:
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How to Be Happy With Life – Changing to a Happy State of Mind
Create a Home Spa
One of the greatest ways on how to treat yourself is by creating your own home spa. It’s not hard at all either. What I like to do is light some of my favorite scented candles, turn the lights down and soak in a warm, bubbly bath.
Sometimes, I’ll pour myself a glass of wine and chill out with some music. I like softer music (or meditation type music) when I’m trying to de-stress and pamper myself. But, hey, if rock-n-roll or rap does it for you, go for it. 🙂
I also like to add some treats to my bath like bubble bath, bath bombs and/or essential oil.
This essential oil kit below comes with a diffuser too at a fairly cheap price.
You may also wish to deeply exfoliate your entire body during or after your bath. You’ll need:
- A loofah, body brush or exfoliating gloves
- Pumice stone
- Exfoliating cleanser
- Moisture-rich cream or lotion
1. You’ll first rub the loofah, body brush or exfoliating gloves across your entire body — start at your feet and work your way upward. You can also exfoliate your face with the exfoliating gloves or a facial brush.
This process helps you rub off dead skin and prepare your body for the next step.
2. Get your skin wet to wash away any creams, perfumes, makeup and wash away the loose dead skin you just created during your exfoliation.
Hint. It may be an extra step, but I prefer to do my exfoliation in the shower and rinse off, then draw myself a hot bath. Something about sitting in your own dead skin and debris just weirds me out. But, many people do their exfoliating in the bath.
3. Soften your feet and soles with the pumice stone to soften callouses and rough patches (this is fine in the bath so you don’t have to do it standing up).
4. Soak in your warm bath (if you decided to exfoliate first).
5. Apply your body moisturizer after your bath to replenish lost moisture. Some good ones are: (amazon lotions)
Aromatherapy
I’m an aromatherapy addict, I admit.
I love my scented candles and essential oils. I use them all the time, but they’re especially awesome when you’re searching for ways to pamper yourself.
Essential oils are highly pure, concentrated plant extracts. They usually come in small bottles because you don’t need more than a few drops for them to take their effect. Aside from their wonderful aroma, essential oils have therapeutic value to them.
Each has its own healing properties. For instance:
- Lemon essential oil: good for colds, athlete’s foot, warts, dull or oily skin and more
- Lavender essential oil: Good for anxiety, relaxation, stress, stretch marks, etc.
- Ginger essential oil: Good for aching muscles, poor circulation
Note….I am not a doctor and my content here shouldn’t be taken as medical advice. You should talk with your doctor before you begin any type of therapy with essential oils. Essential oils shouldn’t be taken internally as some could be toxic.
Here’s a good guide on essential oil safety. (Essential Oil Use & Safety Guide: Safe & Practical Use Information from an Experienced Clinical Aromatherapist
)
Here are some ways to pamper yourself with aromatherapy.
1. Freshen the Room
You can instantly boost your mood by lighting up a couple of your favorite scented candles. Two that I love the most are Jasmine and wooden wick candles
These are those candles that make a crackling sound when you light them. They sound almost like a campfire and they smell great. The sound is very relaxing and mesmerizing even.
You can also use essential oils to freshen up the air in your home. You would just use a diffuser like the one above. My favorite scents are lavender, jasmine and lemon, but there are countless essential oils and candles you can buy so you’re sure to find your favorite scent.
2. Body Scrub
You can use a homemade basic salt or sugar with coconut oil scrub paste and add in a couple drops of essential oils for fragrance to create your own aromatherapy body scrub (could be used for the exfoliation step above).
3. Facial Steams
Open up your airways, close your pores and clean your skin with a homemade facial steam.
- Boil some water enough to fill a large bowl.
- Add around five to seven drops of your favorite essential oil (a citrus or eucalyptus oil would work great here).
- Place your face over the bowl (not in the water though as you could get burned). Take a towel and cover your head and bowl.
- Take some deep breaths and allow the steam to penetrate your face and airways.
4. Aromatherapy Massage
When looking for how to relieve stress or ways to distress yourself, aromatherapy massage is it, especially if you’re enjoying it with your hubby, boyfriend or partner.
For years and years, massage therapy has been used for soothing the mind and physical ailments. It’s been used to tackle stress, treat ailments and help with overall health and well-being. It is also used along with other treatments as a complementary therapy.
Now, again you can either buy your aromatherapy massage oil — I always go through Amazon, or you can make it.
To make your aromatherapy massage oil, you’ll want to mix a few drops of pure essential oil into a carrier oil such as jojoba, sweet almond or grapeseed. Mix well and that’s it.
Let your man do the massaging. You may want to add some ambiance to the room like candles, incense and/or music. Set the mood with a serene atmosphere.
Then, let him get to work on you. 🙂
At-Home Hair Treatment
If you’re like me, absolutely NOTHING beats walking out of a salon with soft, silky hair. But, you can’t do this every day and even every week would put a dent in your pocketbook. So, the next question here is how to pamper yourself with a head full of beautiful locks?
An at-home hair treatment!
There are a couple ways you can do this.
First, you can simply buy a hot oil treatment from a grocery store or you can get one here online. Here’s one I’ve used that works really well and I totally recommend.
Or, you can make your own at-home hair treatment. Here’s one I’ve found that you may be interested in. This one works pretty well too. I tried it with good results and I have long, dry hair because I color my hair. Here’s the recipe:
At-home Avocado Hair Treatment
1. Mix a ripe, mashed avocado into a bowl.
2. Add an egg.
3. Mix up both well.
4. You can also add in heated coconut oil (which is what I do).
5. Apply it to your hair and massage into your scalp ensuring all strands of hair are covered well.
6. Leave the mixture on your hair for a minimum of 25 minutes.
7. Rinse out very well (I give my hair a thorough rinse about three times).
Then just style your hair as normal. Your hair should be shiny and soft. You should give yourself an at-home hair treatment (either the store-bought hot oil treatment, the avocado treatment or a treatment of your choice) once a week to keep your hair moisturized and healthy.
DIY Pedicure
I love pedicures and if I can give myself one — even better. While I do like to splurge on the occasional salon pedicure, a DIY pedicure works just as well and is one of the best ways to treat yourself.
First, you’re going to want to soak your feet. Here’s a foot spa from Amazon I’ve invested in that works good. But, you can use your bathtub or a basin of some sort. In the foot spa, add in:
1. Hot water (as hot as you can get it without burning your feet)
2. Epson salt
3. Your favorite scented essential oil (a few drops should do)
Make a foot scrub. You can buy a foot scrub product at your grocery store or online at sites like Amazon. I like to make my own. I simply use a couple tablespoons of salt and sugar and add in some baby oil. I also like to add in a few drops of lavender essential oil (you can choose whatever scent you want or forget the essential oil altogether) — it’s up to you.
Soak your feet for around 20 to 25 minutes in the foot spa. This foot spa has massaging heat bubbles to give your feet a gentle massage while they soak.
Get yourself a pumice stone. Make sure your feet are thoroughly dry and then start buffing out any callouses or any dry, dead skin on your feet.
Apply the foot scrub you made by massaging it all over your feet and in between your toes.
Rinse off and dry your feet once you’ve thoroughly massaged in the scrub.
Trim, Moisturize and Massage
Use a set of nail clippers to trim your toenails and a nail file to round the edges of your toenails so you don’t get ingrown toenails.
Moisturize your feet. Using your favorite lotion, moisturize your feet, including the soles, tops and in between your toes. Massage your feet in a circular motion to help reduce swelling and increase circulation. Add some mayonnaise to your cuticles (or you can use a cuticle cream). Mayo works great at preventing hangnails and keeps your tootsies moisturized.
Paint your Nails
1. Using nail polish remover and a piece of gauze, wipe your toenails clean.
2. Add a pre-primer to your nails which helps your nail polish to stay on longer and removes excess moisture.
3. Stick your toes in a toe separator.
4. Starting as close to the cuticle as you can, apply a base coat (clear) to your nails with the tip of the brush, swiping downward towards the free edge of your nail and then spreading it to the sides.
5. Once the base coat dries, apply the paint in the same manner you did the base. Let the paint dry and apply a second coat the same way.
Have a Date Night (At Home)
Spending time with your man is also a great way to pamper yourself. We all need some affection and love in our lives. If you have children, make them an easy dinner like hot dogs or mac ‘n’ cheese with a side of apples or carrot sticks to fill their bellies and then start their nighttime routine an hour earlier than normal (whether that’s bath time, reading a book time, etc.).
Then, put them to bed an hour earlier too. (Hey, I’m not saying to do this every night of the week, but once a week to give you and your guy some alone time is just fine).
Once they’re in bed, let the fun begin.
Cook a Nice Dinner. You may want to cook something special for the two of you (or better yet, order out). Light some candles and maybe play some soft music while you eat. Really talk to each other, other than just everyday stuff like work or the kids’ baseball games. Have a real conversation here and listen to one another.
Play a Sexy Couples Game. These are so much fun and my man and I always make time for a night of naughty games here and there. It really spices things up and brings the passion back. Plus, it’s a great way to unwind at the end of a busy day with some romantic cuddling and loving time with your partner.
So, there you go, some simple ways to treat yourself when you’re trying to figure out how to relieve stress and pamper yourself a little. If you have any tips you’d like to share, please let us know in the comment section! Also, if you like what you read, please share. 🙂
Other Posts You May Be Interested In:
7 Mommy Time Out Tips – How I Manage to Get Time to Myself
How to Be More Self Confident – Take Two Simple Steps to Become the Person You Want to Be
How to Stop Procrastination and Take Action – 3 Steps to Making Motivation a Habit
How to Be Happy With Life – Changing to a Happy State of Mind
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