Self-care and well-being. Our top 5 self-care tips for hair and beauty professionals
9th Jan 2025
By Rebecca Hall, Digital Content Writer
It’s funny how we spend our days helping to improve our clients’ well-being through hair, spa and beauty treatments, but often forget that taking care of ourselves is just as important.
Here’s a thought…to help us bring our A-game to our clients, we need to remember to recharge and look after our own wellbeing too. So, we asked Louise Moore, Head of Academy and Online Learning at Ellisons to share her helpful tips on self-care for professionals, to leave you feeling more relaxed, refreshed, and ready to perform your best work ever.
Why is self-care so important?
Self-care is simply taking the time daily to improve our wellbeing, to maintain our health and manage illness through food choices, exercise, sleep and taking measures to reduce stress. Self-care takes effort and doesn’t always come naturally. Sometimes we have to take action to preserve and improve our own health, to prevent it from deteriorating.
Self-care sounds great. How do I improve my well-being?
Let’s start by looking at the factors that will impact your wellbeing…
1. Emotional and mental self-care
Let’s be honest, working all hours has its price. Putting work first can be necessary to achieve short term goals, but over time, not pausing to catch up with friends and family will take a toll on your emotional well-being.
Down time with those we love and care about helps our emotional well-being. If the moment’s right, remember to share any worries you’re having - sometimes the act of simply saying it out loud can be all we need to offload any stress we’re feeling. However, for anyone suffering with mental health issues, doing so can be daunting.
Journalling is also a healthy way to let out emotions and frustrations. The act of writing is cathartic in so many ways and getting it down on paper is a useful alternative to confiding in or sharing your frustrations with friends or your partner and may even get you to a point where you can speak to someone.
2. Exercise
Get moving. It’s an old cliché, but as they say, ‘healthy body, healthy mind’ and there are biological reasons as to why this really is true.
Exercise is a powerful form of self-care. It increases endorphin (the “happy” hormone) production in the body, improving mood and positivity. Exercise also helps strengthen the immune system and increases energy, which is so important to beauty and hair pros who are constantly interacting with others and spending hours on their feet. For maximum benefit, try to devote at least 30 minutes a day (150 minutes a week) to some type of physical activity that increases your heart rate.
Activities like running, jogging, walking the dog and even walking up and down stairs all count and are great for getting those endorphins going. Yoga or Pilates exercises are a great way to develop relaxing breathing techniques and will help boost your core strength. What’s more, you can easily practise in your own home, and many places have local classes too, making them a great way to incorporate movement into your daily schedule.
Basic changes like spending more time outdoors can help you to reconnect to your natural environment and feel more ‘human’ again.
3. Financial self-care
Getting your finances in order and having a savings plan will help create stability and reduce stress through reducing financial uncertainty in your life. Whatever your situation, there’s advice and help at hand. From debt advice to help with budgeting, getting in good shape financially could help you save and build for the future. Services like the Citizens Advice Bureau and apps like Snoop or Plum can help relieve the stress of managing monthly expenditure.
Tips from websites such as the Money Saving Expert are a godsend when trying to reduce monthly bills like broadband or car insurance and also let you know about the latest money saving deals on all sorts of products and services, helping you to stay ahead of the game.
Clearing underlying money worries will also have a huge impact on your mental and physical wellbeing, not to mention improving your performance at work.
4. Practise mindfulness
Meditation practice doesn't need to be a long, drawn-out activity that requires loads of concentration or effort. Try spending 10 to 15 minutes a day just listening to the sounds of nature, or reciting positive mantras. Do this anytime of the day, in the morning, or at night before bed, but make sure it’s something you can incorporate into your daily schedule.
The point is to have 10 to 15 minutes of calm, quiet break, without distractions. As you become more practised, you should notice an increase in calmness and control over your thoughts, helping you to feel more grounded, secure, and comfortable in your body. There are plenty of apps you can use to get in the zone, including Headspace and Calm.
Ellisons Thalia aroma diffuser is perfect for helping you to unwind and to relax the senses through aromatherapy.
5. Unplug
These days, we are constantly ‘available’ and connected by technology all day, so unplugging for periods of time has never been more important. Take a break from your phone (this includes from social media too!) for a set amount of time each day. This break will help to decrease feelings of ‘missing out’, stop the doom-scrolling and ultimately boost a sense of peace in your own mind. Studies show that constant scrolling and being plugged-in can harm relationships, foster feelings of jealousy and ruin interpersonal skills.
Most importantly, unplugging at least half an hour before bed is an essential self-care technique. The blue light emitted by our phones and computer screens can play havoc with our day-to-day circadian rhythms and can make it difficult to fall and stay asleep. Why not try Kaeso’s frankincense oil on your temples or pillow just before bed, or experiment creating a relaxation playlist on Spotify.
These 5 steps are just a starting point designed to help you recognise your own current state of mind and empower you to discover and adopt healthy habits. Start by putting yourself first a little more.
Pouring from an empty cup is almost impossible, so try to remember that self-care is not selfish. Being super busy can sometimes make it difficult, but we must all try to include self-care in our daily routine to stay happy, healthy and more productive at work.