Skin care meant 15 minutes of slathering products rich in vitamins on your face. Morning and night skincare routines were devoted to applying lotions and potions, with self care as a reason. Then the world changed its course, which made spending those minutes layering skincare products impossible.

Skincare routines, once flaunted as the holy grail of self-care, were abandoned by many in the initial few days and weeks of our recent lockdown. Faced with something that happened only in the movies, it felt fated to feel aimless and lost. Work-from-home schedules habituated some order in the chaos, but face cream and exfoliants seemed out of place.

A skincare routine does relate to an individual’s mental state. The more stressed and upset one is, the more likely they are to skip routines. Skincare routine is about self-care and love. Less love means less care. When you are in pain, it’s hard to think about your skin. A lot of people ignore or abandon their self-care routine. Many are going through anxiety, have odd sleeping hours and consume a lot of junk food. Sometimes whatever you’ve worked on, would seem to come back and overwhelm you. When you slowly restart their self-care or skincare routine, and start regulating your emotions, eventually you will come back to normalcy. Staying focused on the importance of self-care on the body as well as the positive physical benefits of a solid skincare routine can keep metal health in check.

WHY DO WE NEED SKINCARE ROUTINES?

Even the most passionate beauty admirer amongst us will find it hard to follow a dedicated skincare routine in these uncertain times. What’s the point of wearing lipstick if it is going to be covered with a mask?

Self-care gives us hope. Research has proven that an individual who takes good care of themselves is more grounded, and can regulate themselves more emotionally. They are capable of easily portraying compassion to everyone. They develop self love and are not extremely emotionally sensitive, do not melt down, and are not hyper aroused.

WHERE SHOULD I DRAW THE LINE?

There is a thin line separating 15 minutes of skincare as self-care and being obsessed with how you look. Here’s how you check if you’ve crossed over to the dark side or not.

Doing your hair or makeup as a routine of self-care is not harmful. But if you’re getting obsessive about it and spending hours doing it and not being satisfied—you are not grounded. Then this is a negative experience.
Self-care routines are not just about skincare and makeup. Different people have different ways of dealing with stress. Skincare routine can be done regularly with a few days of skin fasting, where only moisturiser and sunscreen is applied. In times of adversity, or when facing a challenge, experiment on other routines.
If you are constantly battling to maintain a routine which can be a struggle when you are self-employed working from home or a student coping with online classes. A few things that have helped create a sense of structure — like having a standard place of work, having a schedule and eating meals on time irrespective of your sleep schedule— can help you keep your routine in trach without stressing over them.

Skincare is very powerful because when you follow a routine, you have access to your emotions. You know what’s happening with your emotions, you are not numb. Make sure your skincare routine is nourished with vitamins. Even if you’ve been through trauma, if you’re getting triggered in these adverse times, skincare as self-care will help you heal. In these tough times, it is important to keep your metal health in check. It is equally important to have the right skincare products that help keep your skin feeling right, along with the environment by using organic skincare products.