As women, we spend a decent amount of quality time with our hair and our faces. ‘Quality time’ sounds like a strange term to use, but it’s true. Washing, combing, styling, and touching our hair throughout the day helps us develop a relationship with it, and a confidence in it. The same goes for our faces, as we apply moisturizer and makeup, do mirror touch-ups, or simply look in the mirror in general. In these moments, we’re becoming familiar with what we look like and forming an identity with it that drives how we carry ourselves and feel about ourselves. But what about our bodies? What moments throughout the day do we acknowledge and spend quality time with them? When do we have access to them in a way that deepens our relationships with them?
I was curious about this dynamic (us and our bodies) with our launch of body care. We’ve recently been sharing hair stories and how caring for hair can mean loving hair and therefore, loving and accepting ourselves a little more. How does that play in to body care? I decided to ask the insightful women of the New York function team this question, and thought I’d share the ideas that came out of those convos:
“Caring for my body makes me feel better about it that day”
I started most of my conversations by opening up this idea: showering and applying lotion is sometimes the most intimate moment we have with our bodies all day. Really though, when else are you paying attention to your elbow, or the area behind your knees? I asked the women of function if they agreed and if that moment with themselves made them feel anything more than just clean or refreshed. The answer was a unanimous ‘yes’. Most felt that within practicing body care, they experienced moments of gratitude and thankfulness, and felt better connected to their bodies. We spoke about the moment of acknowledging, “Hey, even though it’s imperfect, my body lets me do so many things and carries me through the world. I’m glad I’m caring for it right now.” A bunch of women mentioned feeling this way while simply moisturizing and taking a one-on-one moment with their bodies.
“Showering and self-care moments are some of my most present moments of the day”
Think about it. There are very few moments where we’re not connected to something. If you meditate, kudos (seriously). But sometimes we even use an app for that! The same goes for exercise. We’re plugged in to music, or a workout video, or a podcast on a walk. We connect to the people we love via technology (especially while social-distancing). We relax with books or electronics. When are we alone with our thoughts? It’s something that many of us make time for. But one place that we really do get to disconnect is in the shower and in ‘getting ready’ and going through our self-care rituals. One woman I spoke to thought of those moments as some of the most present of her day. The phrase “I do my best thinking in the shower” comes from this idea. And that feeling of being present and connected to your mind and body can really effect the way you feel about it.
“Body care is part of a larger self-care mindset”
Most all of my conversations landed on the same topic– that practicing body care in and out of the shower inspires self care outside of the beauty/product space. One person in particular said “after my body care routine and feeling so refreshed using my favorite products, I find that I make choices within that same ecosystem around activity and nourishment.” This isn’t to say that a good body care regimen = being an exercise or food guru, but it does mean that prioritizing our bodies can lead to prioritizing our bodies, cyclically, and in wide-reaching ways.
In launching custom body care, our intention was to help people feel more of a sense of connectedness to their shower/moisturizing rituals because we understand just how those moments set us up for the rest of our days, and how they effect our mindsets and identities. Feeling really good about how you treat your body can never be a bad thing for your sense of confidence, worth, and all around health. So next time you’re moisturizing, take a moment to thank yourself for those few extra minutes of body care, and enjoy the feelings of a little extra body love that hopefully come along with it.
