My New Year's resolution is to stay juicy.
Deep, huh?! After a recent trip to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, returning to my homeland of New Mexico felt especially desiccating. My allergies returned, my skin visibly deflated, and my juiciness dissolved into the thin mountain air of Northern NM. And thus, I resolved to stay juicy. Here is my plan:
What goes in my body
- Drink a glass of water every morning, first thing.
- Consume 32 oz of honeyed tea before lunch (honey is a humectant; I'm not sure if that counts when you're eating it but I'm pretending it does). I am currently in love with the Blue Hawai'i tea from Sol Remedies.
- Consume 32 oz of water after lunch (facilitated by my newly bestickered Thermoflask)
- Consume at least another glass of water or tea during nighttime rituals.
- Minimize dehydrating comestibles, such as coffee. I take 1/2 of a guarana capsule every morning instead. I adore coffee, but unfortunately the feeling is not mutual. Coffee is a diuretic, plus it turns me into a sugar-craving demon mid-afternoon. More on that here.
- Curtail the eating of protein bars and other barcoded foods, and commit to eating more fruits and veggies every day. Fiber, my friends! Plus, now my food has retained its original water content. And yes I do have a bar every now and then, but my lunchbox is getting a lot more action these days than it used to.
What goes on my body
- Practice my white-girl version of abhyanga (Ayurvedic self-massage) daily. I use lotion in the winter instead of oil, as I find water-based products penetrate my skin more deeply than oil-based ones. If I want to be extra indulgent, I'll layer oil on top afterwards. If you want to learn more about Ayurveda, I love love love the Simple Ayurveda podcast.
- Switch to an oil-based cleanser for face and body. I made the switch on a whim, to give this new (ok, not so new) phenomenon a try. I have really loved Maya Chia's Supercritical Cleansing Oil. It leaves my face clean but not stripped, and even my husband notices a difference in my face, neck and decolletage.
- I reverse-engineered the Maya Chia recipe to use as a body cleanser in the shower, skipping the Di-PPG-2 Myreth-10 Adipate which is simply an emulsifier that helps the oil wash off. I do like this for the face cleanser so I don't stay too oily, but for my body it is unnecessary as I like the extra moisture boost. Here's my recipe for my body cleanser:
- Chia seed oil (8oz)
- Sunflower oil (2 oz = 1/4 cup)
- Apricot kernel oil (2 oz = 1/4 cup)
- Safflower seed oil (1 oz = 2 tbsp)
- Lavender essential oil (45 drops)
- Roman chamomile essential oil in jojoba oil (40 drops)
- Neroli essential oil in jojoba oil (25 drops)
- Clary sage essential oil (10 drops)
- I will most likely try to replicate some other recipes (for example, I am dying to give Monastery's Rose Cleansing Oil a shot). If you've tried it, would love to hear what you think!
- Hydrate my face with my new 3-step routine. It does take a while to layer these and let each layer sink in properly but I listen to my book on Audible and putz around the bathroom doing my abhyanga in between layers.
- First, a hyaluronic (loving Agent Nature's Holi Water these days; it penetrates quickly and is not tacky like some other hyaluronics).
- Second, a cream (I finally tried Ursa Major's Golden Hour Recovery Cream and I tell you it's worth it)
- Third, at night I'll layer facial oil on top (daytime, I'll layer on my SPF). For oil, I haven't settled on an oil I can't live without. And, I'm playing with a few different SPFs now although I always come back to the tried-and-true EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46.
What I do with my body
- After starting a new job as a middle and high teacher this year, I began teaching a free Monday yoga class for fellow teachers. Teaching begat a stronger and more frequent personal practice, and I now practice or teach yoga 5 times a week. Yoga is known to increase lymphatic flow, and the massage of connective tissues and fascia that comes with the various asanas supports tissue hydration.
Image: Final frame of Lizzo's music video for her song "Water Me", which is about my moisturizing journey. Thank you, Lizzo!