Improving Your Morning Grooming Routine

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If you’re anything like us, the morning grooming routine is a sacred thing. Not only is it time to yourself, it’s also time you can spend enjoying and feeling yourself. Getting dressed in clothes you have selected and are excited to wear, waking up slowly and enjoying a nice luxurious shower, getting ready for your professional or personal life and generally feeling the morning optimism that can often strike is a refreshing activity.

There’s no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy this, and if you dread it, then something needs to change. After all, getting ready in the morning is like anything else. It’s all in how you arrange it, how you prepare it, and how that momentum can carry with you into everything else. There’s a reason why ‘waking up on the wrong side of the bed’ is a metaphorical expression to denote someone’s morning routine harmed them.

So, why don’t we take the steps to better our morning routine? This way you can ensure your interest in fashion, beauty and hair maintenance is cared for in the best manner possible, and will yield no small amount of enjoyment.

Let’s explore together:

Your Pre-Routine

It’s going to be a real challenge to enjoy getting ready for the day ahead if you’re half-asleep, somewhat unhappy and uncomfortable in your surroundings. The winter is fast approaching, and the mornings are getting colder. This means that for many of us, even getting out from under our duvet each morning is a challenge that feels tantamount to climbing Mount Everest. And yet, the call of the day is still asking for us.

This means that considering our pre-routine is important. Waking up to the news and weather report from your mobile or personal voice assistant can be worthwhile, and somewhat get you in that morning headspace. Selecting the type of music you may wish to rise to can be a great idea, too. For some, it’s classical, for some, jazz. For others, jumping into the day with whatever is hot right now is also appropriate. There’s always going to be some radio show you can tune into to get what you need, or Spotify playlist you can curate ahead of time.

Then, when getting up, be sure to get a glass of water and take a few deep breaths. If it’s not too cold in your robe, head outside for a second and take a few minutes to breathe deeply, filling your lungs with fresh air. This has a proven and beneficial effect necessary when trying to wake yourself up.

From then, you might decide to switch on the heating, or simply head for the shower. Enjoy a luxurious shower with a little music playing, and then, at the end of the session, turn the shower temperature to the cold option. This can sound insane to someone who isn’t well-versed in this, but you’d be surprised how well it can work. When you feel completely refreshed and awake after doing this, you’ll see what we mean. It can also help you refresh which can be perfect for applying your skincare routine.

Skincare

There may be some scrubs and other products you enjoy using in the shower to wash your face. We would recommend those with a mineral and vitamin content, and ingredients such as aloe vera that have natural healing properties. For some, a little time spent allowing the steam to open their pores beforehand can allow this to scrub more deeply, but be sure to rub your skin gently when you decide to. 

Then, applying a moisturizer carefully while out of the shower can be your first port of call when starting to get ready. A light and healthy breakfast with healthy fats and complex carbs can be a great idea (such as avocado deviled eggs on toast, depending on your dietary preferences), and will also give you time to allow said moisturizer to do its work. Some have a pre-care and post-care moisturizer also, such as one with healing properties and one that will ‘set’ the skin for your makeup routine.

The Grooming Experience

You likely have your own preferences for your makeup schedule. Sometimes, you may not wear it at all. If working in a professional capacity, often a more understated approach is necessary. You likely have your own routine by now, and whatever helps you feel more comfortable is important. Perhaps you enjoy switching up your look from season to season, or perhaps you’ve treated yourself to a new palette recently and wish to use that on special work days.

However, it’s not always about the exacting nature of your makeup schedule, but how much fun you have while waking up for the day through it. We would recommend investing in a nice dressing table, one you can sit in comfortably without having to worry crouching next to a mirror or getting products on your bedsheets. Of course, you’ll likely not have the luxury of a few servants coming to cater to your every need like an English Victorian noblewoman, but you can make this experience more comfortable for yourself.

We would also recommend investing in more worthwhile products for your grooming experience. This is because using cheap items can not only be less effective, but in some cases, they can cause a safety hazard. Why use a cheap hair dyer when a Dyson hair dryer is a much higher-quality item, will last for a number of years, and has zero chance of overheating or (through proper use) causing burns or dead ends? Like anything, your experience is based on how well you research and invest in the products you utilize.

Organizing all the products you use from left to right can add some legibility to how you get prepared, and ensure you do everything step by step despite being tired from the night before. With a direct mirror carefully placed, you can also ensure you have the most accurate view of your grooming and makeup schedule. A ring light can also help you see more clearly when the natural light of the world outside isn’t quite there. As far as that is concerned:

Consider Light Therapy

The word ‘therapy’ can often denote that something is wrong, or that you have something you need to fix urgently. But light therapy does not follow that too-narrow definition. In fact, it’s something that many people could and should appreciate. When the mornings become dark and the nights draw in closer, it can be that many of us fail to get the amount of light exposure we need to live truly healthy and capable lives. This can often lead to something aptly named SAD, which stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. Basically, your lack of exposure to natural sunlight can lead your Vitamin D levels to drop, and not only that, but said lack of exposure is something we generally need to feel upbeat, interested and encouraged. It’s why when the Spring months start becoming warmer, you often feel that surge of optimism.

Improving your morning grooming routine can be helped tremendously by fixing this, because it can truly set up your mood for the rest of the day. Thankfully, purchasing a light therapy device (which often looks like a small, illuminated mirror) is a piece of cake. They often run less than $100, and about thirty to forty minutes of morning light therapy is enough. As part of your morning schedule, as well as supplemental Vitamin D tablets, this can be truly worthwhile to utilize. You’ll likely be shocked as to how effective this is, and that’s all for the better.

Meditation

Remember - beauty and grooming are hardly measures that only deal with your external looks and how attractive you feel that morning. If you always rely on events like this that can change from day to day, you will always find your morning mood to be unreliable. Meditation can help restore you to this end. Perhaps before or after you have completed all of your morning grooming routine, you may decide to segment thirty minutes for your meditation schedule.

It’s easy. Sit in a chair on on your bed with the pillows supporting your back. Then, focus on your breathing from your nostrils. If your attention slowly starts to filter away or you think of something else, don’t berate yourself. Just gently bring it back to your breath. Over time you will be able to go for longer and remain more concentrated. This is like a shower for your mind. You will feel much more awake, alert and also confident after doing this, because it helps you get past your neuroticism (that everyone has), and you can start focusing on the day in front of you, and most of all, the present moment. There’s nothing more beautiful and well-groomed than someone who has taken time for their mental state that morning.

You may add more to your grooming routine, or you may add less. There are no right answers here, just good advice and what works best for you. If you love to partake in yoga each morning, go for it! If you don’t mind getting that extra ten minutes in bed, then go for it! What matters if finding your best rhythm.

We hope this helps to that end.