Photo courtesy of Schmidt’s Naturals
Between logging my meditation minutes, getting in a workout, sipping on my a.m. smoothie, and catching up on personal emails (sorry mom, I wasn’t ignoring you last night, promise!), my mornings can feel more packed than a rush-hour subway car.
And that’s before I even step foot into the bathroom. Add in brushing my teeth, washing my hair, cleansing my face, soaping my body with body wash…basically, every second counts before I get out the door.
So I’ve had little choice but to really hone my shower routine and turn it into a master class in multitasking. My philosophy: Why do one thing when I can do many at once? Not only does it allow me to check off all my self-care faves — oil pulling, exfoliating, singing at the top of my lungs — but it also ensures that my shower doesn’t become a half-hour enterprise.
Looking to maximize your water routine? Here are my three favorite in-shower hacks.
Go (coco)nuts
Oil pulling has been found to help reduce everything from bad breath to plaque build-up (Opens in a new window), but there are some limitations — like the fact that you can’t talk or eat food while doing it. And guess what? I’m never doing either when I’m in the shower, which makes it the perfect time to log my oil-pulling minutes. So before I step into the water, I always take a scoop of coconut oil and start my swishing while I’m sudsing. Best of all, I’m usually so focused on the other steps of my washing routine that the minutes fly by. (It’s a Jaime Schmidt-approved timesaver, too!)
Photo courtesy of @Lesia.Valentain/Twenty20
Do the mask
I love a face mask selfie as much as the next Instagram-obsessed person, but I find it hard to actually have the time to apply it, let it dry, and then wash it off during my daily routine. Enter: the shower. I leave my fave mask options on my shower shelves (rather than by my sink) so that I can apply it moments after stepping in. I let it work its magic while I’m working on my hair, and then wash it all off right before I’m done. Bonus: No risk of getting it all over my clothing.
Get felted
I’m Team Bar Soap all the way — but I’m also religious about exfoliating. (If I don’t do it regularly, I get weird bumps up and down my arms.) So my life has been changed ever since I learned about felted soap, because it allows me to do both at the same time. Felted soap is just a bar of soap that’s been wrapped in matted wool, and the process of DIY’ing it yourself is pretty simple. And, I say this as someone not so into craft projects — Google it if you want to try it yourself. The end result? A not-too-irritating exfoliating soap that I can really get a grip on — it basically eliminates slippery soap syndrome.
Articles from The Natural should not be considered medical advice. If you have any questions about your health, please consult a medical professional.