Happy New month family, I hope October has been good to you and your mental health as much as it was dramatic and chaotic my side (story for another day), not forgetting way too hot for my liking. Well I am fully African and my melanin shows with its beautiful forever glow, no doubt about that, and its no secret I live in the Southern Hemisphere that is generally warm most of the time if not all the time, but this October was brutal people. I at one point thought my village people were about to send their goblins my way ( not to be superstitious but I mean any Zimbabwean person can confirm this, it was way too hot for my liking). Now imagine how one's body will hate its owner in such a predicament, obviously and most probably, and this manifests through unpleasant body odors, unfortunately for everybody else's noses except for yours.
Hold that thought, I didn't say I smell or stink or such, before you even start imagining me having these unpleasant smells.Everybody has a natural human scent, but some get to be stronger than others due to many reasons including neglect, which is my point of entrance here. I got myself some favorites that made sure my confidence stayed A1, all well ,all the time. Self-confidence is a major thing, especially when you are a young woman still in the dating game you know, you don't want to smell otherwise lest you attract the things that are associated with bad smells, need I name them one by one? I guess we don't want to go down that lane do we? I digress, let me talk about this once and for all, " Please take care of yourself especially be conscious about how you smell around other people or else, you will make other people extremely uncomfortable. There is no difficult thing as telling the person next to you that they smell like a rotten egg, a dead cat or rotten fish, it is hard guys, it is really hard.
Also there is no uncomfortable feelings such as being around people that are constantly talking about showering better, bad odors and stuff, if you are not complaining about these smells or such, it is probably you who is the source of these bad odors, be warned, don't say I didn't tell you. So please pay attention to your body, because there is no thing that is crippling as not being able to move around or talk around other people simply because you are not confident if you are smelling good or otherwise. This breaks down your confidence, this diminishes your value around other people and is deadly to your mental health. So take care of yourself in that regard hey. You should, You MUST !!!
I am a very conscious being, sensitive and very emotional, I feed off other people's energies and I am a social being, in simple words I am somewhat a social vampire, so I love being around people, talking to them, listening to them as they share their views, share my own, shout and be loud and all that, so I know I in order for me to thrive I should always look and feel and smell my best. I also thrive within my own solitude and to be happy personally I always have to look and smell good a hundred. And by smelling good I don't mean smelling like Gucci or Jadore all the time cause obviously I can't afford, well just not yet. By smelling good I mean Lemon fresh Scent, Pink Diamond Avon Roll on fresh, Nivea deodorant fresh and the likes and definitely no fishy odor allowed.
So to make sure of this, I have myself a stash of self care products that I always gravitate towards so that I am always smelling and looking fresh and keep my confidence at 100% and I would like to share with you. They say if you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you relate better with the rest of the world, and I want to also add that this looking good should start inside of you, in your mind, reflecting through your body scent and then going outward to your garments, and then you sorted for the day.
This piece like most of them is dedicated to my fellow young women and also a reminder to the older women as well. If you a man reading this, it is equally important because I am confident you have sisters, girlfriends, wives and the likes and you also want to be a clean woman, you can always play a part in this whole cycle. So thank you, for also playing a part in gifting women in your lives with the items mentioned in this kit, Christmas is coming in a month and for some of us December babies our birthdays, 😜😉😜.
The most important thing most life changing item for me is the menstrual cup that I started using last year (2018), after working for an organization that championed Sexual Reproductive Health for women, my period experience has never been the same again. The menstrual cup I use is from the Butterfly Cup Company and is a device made up of Silicone Grade Material that has no side effects to your precious vaginal area plus can be used for years before purchasing another. It collects blood instead of the regular absorbing that most other sanitary-ware does, helps with no odor whatsoever becomes it is inserted inside of you and keeps your blood away from oxygen, because its the oxygen that reacts with your blood that causes bad fishy odor, and this is my favorite part, since it collects blood, it reduces the number of days of your flow.
I mean how amazing is that. No odor, less days, reusable, economic and the most comfortable device ever, you will forget you are on your menses (if you use it well). I was just as skeptic and reserved as you are with so many questions before I tried it, but trust me I am not paid to advertise it, it is life changing to your hygiene as well as mental welfare, not forgetting very friendly to your pocket dollar wise. ( Don't hesitate to hit my DM if you want to know more about this, or rather request for a full post on its own, you are welcome).
Next is my antiperspirant deodorant spray and roll on. I never go a day without this, even the night too which is when it is most useful. If you didn't know, your antiperspirant spray or roll on, is most effective when applied after the night shower before bed, so that it prevents sweat to come attacking you in full force the next day, plus it helps with one sleeping smelling nice you know. You should not go a day without your roll on, and make sure it is an antiperspirant type, these are easily accessible in most if not all shops nearest to you. If you can't afford one, no problem you can apply bicarbonate of soda or just a regular lemon, on shaved armpits of course. Please get rid of the disgusting yellow bush under there, it is disgusting and smells bad. My favorite go to roll on is Nivea Black and White, and i recently got a brand new favorite" Pink Diamond Roll On" from Avroy Shlain South Africa. It doesn't only regulates the sweat production but also smells nice whilst at it.
The following other three have nothing to do with odor but are my self care favorites ( skin care products) currently that make me stay confident and just generally happy which is key to maintaining and keeping in check my mental health. Firstly my Safeway Body Exfoliating Brush cannot go without being mentioned. This electric Brush has really helped me with my facial skin exfoliating more than anything else and has helped with my skin care routine tremendously. I generally have very sensitive skin and I thought maybe it was going to be harsh but me just being me tried it anyway, and boy was it worth it. I don't have the fairest smoothest skin in the room but my flacky skin has improved noticeably because I use it just once in a week to get rid of the dead skin before applying my Neutrogena Oil Free Gentle Scrub, to gently further do away with the dead disgusting skin. I don't wear make up specifically foundation so I mean the skin has to glow in all its glory and these help me achieve it easily.
And lastly to moisturize my skin I am currently using my Inuka Tissue Oil which is slightly fragranced and then my regular Aqueous Cream . I don't exactly like the fact that this Tissue Oil has a fragrance because like I mentioned I have very sensitive skin so I barely use it on my face unless if I am removing lipstick from my lips. I mostly use this for my feet, that are generally not so smooth from all the roadside ball-playing (called Raka-Raka and Hwishu for those that know these testify to all the evil we used to do to our poor feet) when I was young. My heels have not loved me at all for doing this to them, but the tissue oil has really helped with softening the skin there.
After all being said, these are just my October favorites and a few I had to mention and you can try them sometime. It is important to note that when you are taking care of your body, you are having a me-time that is well deserved and also getting to know more of what works and what doesn't for you , what more would you want? Take care of yourself, get to know what works for you and do lots of it (also keeping in mind that too much of anything is not good). Self Love is more than just telling yourself that you are beautiful and all that stuff without actually investing in and spoiling yourself. Self-Love is a whole lifestyle, a whole mood that you shouldn't take lightly, a whole mood I live for.
N.B I didn't mention mouthwashes, toothpaste, body washes and all the little bits because I feel these are obvious, I will end up writing a book.
Keep loving and once in a while spoiling yourself, you deserve it. Gather the things you love slowly but surely and treat yourself like a queen that you are. Before anyone else comes to treat you like one, own the title and guard your heart and life jealously. And please, stay fresh and chase away the bad odors, Its hot we want to live in peace and freshness.
Feel free to share what works better for you and we all can learn a thing or two. Let's keep growing together!!!
#selfcare #selflove #growth
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