Featured: 10 Ways to Treat Yourself: DIY Edition

Life is all about compromise. Work a little, play a little. Spend time with friends and spend time on your own. However, life is also about pampering yourself, because the most important person in your life is yourself! It may sound conceited, but when it comes to looking after people, you should be your number-one priority. So, for those days that you need to pamper yourself a little without the expensive price tag of a professional spa, try your hand at your own mini-spa day inside your own house!

Hair

Some of us spend our whole lives attempting to get better hair. Whether you’ve been colouring your hair, heat-damaged it or even if you just want to get it feeling a little smoother, there are a few things you can try at home to get your hair feeling and looking wonderful!

1. Hot Oil Treatments

These are especially good for those trying to add life back into dry or damaged hair. If you’re looking for an invigorating treatment to leave your hair soft and glossy, then hot oils are a simple way to achieve it! Hot oil kits can be purchased from most online beauty retailers and some drugstores for about £4.50 ($6.50) and normally come with everything you need to do-it-yourself at home!

Hot oils are easy to use—most kits simply require you to heat up the oil according to the boxed instructions, massage into hair and leave for a length of time before washing off and following your regular shampooing routine. Once they’ve washed off and your hair is dry, you’ll definitely feel the difference!

2. Intensive Conditioning Treatments

If you’ve got rather oily hair and are unsure about adding more oil into it all in the name of soft, glossy hair, the alternative to a hot oil treatment is an intensive conditioning treatment. These are equally as good at giving your hair shine and bounce, and can be bought for a range of different hair types. The best thing about these treatments is that they’re normally very available — most drugstores will carry different brands and types for you to try out.

Nails / Hands

Our hands go through a lot in a day. We type and wash and grab and generally use our hands for pretty much everything. It’s no surprise that, sometimes, your hands can just feel awful! A lot of us do attempt to try and keep our hands in a good condition, but sometimes it’s just nice to sit back and relax while pampering your hands.

3. Homemade Hand Soak

If you’re looking for something to soothe tired hands and leave them feeling soft, then try a hand soak! A simple recipe requires only a bowl, two cups of water, one cup of milk (plant-based milks can also be used in place of dairy-based milks) and a tablespoon of olive oil. Mix them all together and soak your hands for as long as you like (although not too long!), and then wash and dry them off gently afterwards. You’ll notice a difference instantly!

4. Manicure

Sometimes, we just want our nail to look pretty and that can be exceptionally easy to do! Even for naturally short nails, a manicure can leave you feeling fresher and more sophisticated! It’s incredibly easy to pick up manicure kits (particularly for French manicures) in the local drugstore, but you can also use any nail varnishes you have lying around at home. Spend some time just sitting working on your nails, and go with a design that you know you’ll love looking at!

Skin

Skin is very important. Our bodies are covered in it, and if we don’t take care of it then we run the risk of cracked skin, or spots on our faces. So, it’s no surprise that there are a few things that we can do to take care of our skin right at home!

5. Face Masks

The beauty of face masks is that you can buy or make one for almost any skin type. So, no matter if you’re oily, spot-prone, balanced or dry skinned, you can use a face mask as a relaxing way to keep your face looking fresh! If you’re feeling creative, you can search online for face mask recipes and create your own, or if you just want something quick and easy, you can pick up face masks for pennies that are ready to use straight out of the packet!

6. Steam Bowls

If you’re looking for something new to try on your face, then using a steam bowl may help out! These are simply bowls filled with boiling water that you hold your face over, opening pores and the suchlike. The beauty of these bowls is that you can add essential oils to the water — so, if you’re finding your face is rather acne-riddled, a steam bowl with added tea tree oil might help. Even if they don’t do a lot of good, they do make your face feel extremely refreshed and clean!

7. Aromatherapy Baths

It can sometimes be very difficult to treat your whole body at the one time, especially when so many creams and treatments nowadays focus on keeping your face looking youthful and fresh. If you’re looking to keep your whole body in good condition, then an aromatherapy bath is a perfect idea! Not only do certain aromatherapy oils or bath bombs contain vitamins and butters that will keep your skin feeling beautifully smooth, but the calming smells can put you into a state of pure bliss. Looking after your mental health and your skin is very important, so taking the time out as often as you can to just relax into an aromatherapy bath can do you a world of good!

Feet

And don’t forget about your feet! We spend almost all of our lives on our feet, and we abuse them by wearing heels and running barefoot along a multitude of surfaces. It’s absolutely no surprise that we do a lot of damage to our feet, but that shouldn’t mean that we abandon them!

8. Pumice Stones

A wonderful natural tool, a pumice stone is a godsend for tired, hardened feet. These stones can be bought from most drugstores, and also online. They require very little effort — simply take the stone and rub it over wet or dry feet in order to buff away excess dry skin. You may not notice a difference straightaway but when used regularly, these can leave your feet looking and feeling fabulous!

9. Foot Soaks

In a similar vein to hand soaks, foot soaks are perfect for if you’re looking to rejuvenate tired feet. You can buy baths specifically for feet (and some even have massage functions!) but if you want something quick and easy to whip together after a long day, simply take a washbasin and fill it with warm (and bearable!) water, milk and olive oil. You can also add some essential oils for scents if you wish, but it works without. This will de-stress the muscles and bones in your feet and leave you feeling blissfully happy!

10. Pedicure

Sometimes, we just want to show off our toes and when we do, a pedicure can make them look fabulous! Again, there are kits you can buy specifically for pedicures but the simplest and easiest way to do one is to grab a file, make sure your nails are tidy and then slap a coat of your favourite colour on your toes! During the summer, warmer colours such as yellow and orange are favoured when peeping out of your sandals, or blues and purples during the winter for those nights where you just have to wear peep-toed shoes out!

Special thanks to losing control. and lily hughes. for editing!