Once you’ve taken that fateful step into motherhood, it can be easy to simply forget about yourself and any beauty routine you might have fantasized about maintaining. Your reality is dirty diapers, screams and cries, a constantly hungry baby, and the responsibility of keeping everything else about your home and family relationships in good working order. That’s a very full schedule with little or no time to spend on yourself.
But here’s the important part: you’ll be better able to function as a mom when you give yourself the chance to re-charge once in a while. The world won’t come to an end if you sneak five or ten minutes a day to spend on yourself – you’ll even see an improvement in your mood, self-respect, and the way the world treats you. So what do you have to lose? Try these five beauty products to give yourself a few well-deserved perks throughout your day.
Facial Cleansing Cloths
No matter how little make-up you put on in the morning, it’s important to take good care of your skin so that you see a beautiful face in the mirror even before you apply anything to it. Radiant skin allows you to apply minimal make-up because you’ll be able to simply enhance your beauty rather than trying to fake it. One of the best and most efficient ways to keep your skin healthy is to use facial cleansing cloths – there’s no mess in the bathroom with wet washcloths and soap, no preparation, and no clean-up. If time in the bathroom is in the “yeah, right” category, keep your cleansing cloths on your nightstand and use them just before bed. Try Dove Essential Nutrients, Garnier Skin Naturals Fresh Complete, or Pond’s Clean Sweep.
Extra-Moisturizing Hand Lotion
When you’re changing diapers, washing your hands frequently, and giving your bundle of joy a bath, your hands can become severely chapped. Give thirsty hands a healthy drink and prevent cracking and bleeding with an effective lotion designed to help your skin lock in moisture. You can try a traditional lotion or a body butter such as Burt’s Bees Rich and Repairing or Thoroughly Therapeutic. Eucerin Intensive Repair is a great lotion to try, as is DML Moisturizing Lotion.
Roll-On Scents
Try carrying a small roll-on scent in your pocket all day – it will make itself useful while you’re changing diapers and you can feel human again even though you’re going through the motions of a toilet. Try Kiehl’s Essence Oils in a variety of fragrances, such as several different floral scents, grapefruit, vanilla, cucumber, and more. KleanSpa Perfume Oil Roll-Ons are also a lovely way to spoil yourself when you need it most – you can choose from 43 different scents, so make sure you grab more than one. Zen Tea, Thai Lemongrass, and Peppermint Dream should get you in the mood for a minor splurge on delicious fragrances to keep you feeling pampered and fresh no matter what.
Under-Eye Concealer
You know how much sleep you’re not getting, and it might start to show on your face – specifically in those tiny, barely-noticeable bags under your eyes. Right. So to keep those bags under control, you can try a heavy-duty concealer that will help you keep those all-nighters between you and the pillow. Try Sephora’s light-reflecting TEMPTU concealer in one of eight shades designed to match your skin tone.
Frizz-Taming Hairspray
If your hair is out of control and threatening to redefine your look, try retaliating while you blow-dry – this will save time and take advantage of potentially damaging heat to actually repair your hair. Yes, blow-drying your hair takes precious time, but you can steal five to seven minutes and emerge with luscious locks. Take TRESemmé’s Heat Tamer Spray for a test-drive and find out what the blow-dryer can do for your hair.
– Please meet the newest Savvy Sassy Mom, Heather Green! She will be contributing and sharing all her beauty secrets with us from time to time. I am so excited to have her and I hope you all welcome her to the Savvy Sassy Family!
Savvy Sassy Beauty
Heather Green is a professional model of 17 years and freelance writer for Weddings, Triangle Style Magazine and now SavvySassyMoms!
Comments
Hi Heather!
We loved all you savvy picks for new moms. We agree that it’s important for new moms to pamper themselves. We loved your post so much that we linked to it!
http://www.24savvy.com/?q=articles/01-12-2011/savvy-7-things-to-knowseedo-week-jan-12
Best,
Nicole
24SavvyTeam