Self-care can be a struggle in the winter. If it’s dark and cold when you wake up, and the same picture when you get home, it can have an impact on your mood.
This is why it’s so important to make sure you’re looking after yourself inside and out at this time of year. Just a few small adjustments to your usual routine can leave you feeling so much better, helping you to get through the winter feeling like the very best version of yourself.
What is Self-Care?
Self-care is simply the act of looking after yourself – and it can take many forms. It could be making plans with friends, having an early night once a week or shaving every day to help you feel your best.
Here are five ways you can practise self-care in the winter months to keep your mind and body healthy:
1. Get Your Vitamin D Dose
Exposure to vitamin D helps your brain to produce serotonin, which can balance your mood, allowing you to feel more like yourself.
Natural sunlight is a good source of vitamin D, but it’s in limited supply in the winter, so make sure you’re getting outside as much as you can.
Make an effort to go for a walk during your lunch hour, join a sports team that trains outside at the weekends, or start to take public transport to work so you’re outside for a little longer while you travel from home to the station. The extra exercise could also help to improve your mood, and even just a brisk walk will keep you warm and work your whole body all at once.
If you work shifts, or can’t get outside as much as you’d like to in winter, look into other ways to boost your vitamin D intake. Foods including tuna, mackerel, cheese, mushrooms and egg yolks are all good sources.
2. Look After Your Skin
The colder weather can leave you with more dry skin than usual, so stepping up your skincare routine is a good, easy way to incorporate some extra self-care into your day.
After you’ve finished shaving in the morning, apply moisturiser to soothe and hydrate your skin, as shaving can also dry your skin out if you’re not doing it in the right way.
The Gillette Aftershave Moisturiser and Gillette Aftershave Balm are both good options that are quick and easy to apply, and will help to keep your skin in the best possible condition, so you can stay confident in your appearance.
3. Strike a Balance in Your Social Life
Winter can be a busy time for events and parties, but they can sometimes be the last thing you feel like doing when your mood is low.
Ultimately, looking after your health and avoiding burnout is so much more important than FOMO. However, at the same time, make sure you’re not completely isolating yourself from your family and friends. Make plans to look forward to - just don’t overload your diary.
4. Eat Healthily but Heartily
Eating well is another way to practise self-care. Spending time in the kitchen can be a great way to unwind and turn your mind to something other than work, and it allows you full control over exactly what’s going into your body.
Salads won’t cut it in the winter, but homemade soups or stews packed with veg and lean meat will allow you to eat healthily but heartily.
Cooking with garlic, ginger and foods that contain vitamin C like sweet potatoes and butternut squash could help you to keep winter colds at bay too, enhancing your self-care.
5. Don’t Neglect Your Grooming Routine
Even when it’s a struggle to leave the warm sanctuary of your duvet behind, you should still make time for yourself in the mornings. Don’t neglect your usual shaving or grooming routine, as it’s these little things that can have a big impact on your mood, helping you to look and feel smart.
With the GilletteLabs Heated Razor, you can enjoy soothing warmth while you shave, making it that bit easier to drag yourself out of bed, stopping you from getting cold as you style your facial hair.
Alternatively, our All Purpose Styler and Beard Trimmer lets you trim, shave and edge your facial hair with just one tool, and you can even use it in the shower if you’re pushed for time.
You can also make life easier for yourself through the winter by joining Gillette's shave club, which will send replacement razor blades direct to you, meaning you don’t need to worry about venturing out to the shops in the cold to stock up.
Choose to receive Heated Razor blade refills delivered to your door, and you'll save when you subscribe, and you'll get access to exclusive discounts in our members' area.
No matter how you define self-care, make sure you’re making time for it this winter.
