Gentle January: Mindful Movement and Mindful Rest

As we move through Gentle January, we’ve looked at improving sleep hygiene, boosting exercise recovery with Well Aging Support Pillows and active meditation. 

Taking the time to practice mindful activities like breathwork, facial massage or yoga is essential in connecting to your body and your movements. All too often, we get lost in the business of everyday life and don’t take the time to appreciate our body. 

Selfcare tends to be portrayed as extravagant acts of indulgence, rather than a daily practice. Moving through Gentle January has been an opportunity to reward and congratulate our bodies on the work that they do. Taking the time each day to enjoy simple acts of self care helps us build a stronger connection to our body, increasing our awareness and our confidence. 

Activity as a form of meditation

When we think of meditation, we might think of monks from far off lands cloaked in orange and incense. Some meditation is rooted in silence and stillness, while mindful and active meditation doesn’t have to be. 

Taking the time to meditate doesn’t have to be a somber affair. Listening to music while journaling, reading or walking is a great way to feed your senses and get a much needed stress release. 

Starting your day with intentions either written, said aloud or simply thought is a simple way to connect with yourself, your needs and your priorities. Taking the time to focus on what you want and what you need is a key element of self care that often gets overlooked. 

Setting intentions is a bit like setting mini goals each day. These mini goals act as stepping stones on your way to the completion of bigger goals or tasks. 

Our tip: set a goal for each element of your lifestyle. Your body, your skin, your sleep, your health and your emotions. For example your daily goals could be: I will move my body, I will protect my skin, I will relax with yoga, I will enjoy nourishing food, I will catch up with my friend. 

Small, simple tasks that complete all parts of the whole: holistic health and wellness! 

Protecting your Skin

Protecting your skin is all relative. Your skin type, environment and lifestyle will determine what your skin needs and when. 

A general rule of thumb for all skin types is to ensure skin is clean and free of make up each night before sleep. Nourished with actives that protect from free radicals. Moisturized to maintain the skin barrier and protected from the sun with sunscreen each day.

Some skin types are happy with night and daily cleansing. Ensuring your skin is clear from makeup, dirt and excess oil is the best way to prevent clogged pores from developing. After cleansing in the morning, using an active serum like the Beauty Pillow Day Brightening Serum helps to nourish the skin. 

The Brightening Day Serum uses Liposomal Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid and Panthenol. 

Liposomal Vitamin C vs Vitamin C? Liposomal Vitamin C, like Ascorbic Acid is a strong antioxidant that works to offset the negative effects of free radicals. Vitamin C works to brighten the skin, fight hyperpigmentation and reduce the appearance of dark spots. 

Hyaluronic Acid works to plump and hydrate the skin, helping to stabilize the skin’s moisture barrier. Using a Hyaluronic Acid moisturizer is suitable for every skin type. 

Is Panthenol safe? Panthenol skincare seals the moisture barrier. Working to form a moisture locking layer that smooths the skin, creating an even base for makeup or other treatments. 

Hyaluronic Acid Vitamin C and Panthenol work together to actively brighten and plump the skin.

For nighttime, enjoying some downtime away from screens, will help to regulate your circadian rhythm and improve sleep quality. Journaling, taking a bath or enjoying a nightly skincare routine are all activities that focus on the practice and the action. 

Enjoying a warm bath can help to ease tension throughout the muscles and help set the mood for bedtime. Ensuring your skin is clean and clear with a cleanse or a face mask allows more time to rest and reset after a long day. 

For skin, consistency is key. Ensuring you regularly cleanse and moisturize will help your skin regulate, resulting in less breakouts and sebum build up. After cleansing, using a nightly serum to refresh and repair makes the most of your sleep time. 

Using a serum that gently exfoliates and repairs will help even skin tone and texture, for a softer smoother face at any age. The Beauty Pillow Night Rejuvenating Serum uses Bio Bifida, Hyaluronic Acid and Arnica Extract. 

Bifida skincare uses active ferments to gently exfoliate the skin. The Bifida serum complex is gentle enough for daily use and suitable for all skin types. 

Hyaluronic Acid delivers moisture, for plumper more hydrated skin. Arnica Extract skin benefits reduce inflammation. Arnica Extract benefits have been widely used for skin blemishes and bruises. This natural extract helps to soothe the skin, reducing redness and irritation. 

Maximize your Rest

Layering a thicker moisturizer over your Rejuvenating Night Serum before bed can help to lock in moisture. During the winter months when the air is dry, adding extra layers of moisture will help to smooth and soften your skin. In the heat and humidity of the summer, too much moisture will likely feel slick and heavy. 

In any season, ensuring your products work to their max will help your skin and your wallet! Using tools like the Anti Aging Beauty Pillow, the Skin+ Pillowcase and Mulberry Silks will help to boost your skincare routine every night. 

Throughout Gentle January, we’ve talked about how to improve your sleep hygiene, for a more active health and wellness routine and a glowing complexion. One of the key tools for better sleep hygiene is the Beauty Pillow. 

The Beauty Pillow is so much more than a wrinkle prevention pillow. The Beauty Pillow’s design does help to prevent the development of sleep wrinkles, but it also prevents the transference of products from your skin to your pillow and bedding. 

The head cradle works to position the head, preventing excessive movement in sleep. With traditional pillows we tend to toss and turn, pushing and pulling at our skin. The compression causes the development of sleep wrinkles, while the pulling can cause the formation of microtears in the skin that reduces skin elasticity and increases fine lines and wrinkles. 

The side cut out zones on either side of the head cradle prevent facial contact with the pillow. Reducing facial contact allows the skin to breathe and skincare products to penetrate deeper into the skin. 

Adding a Skin+ Pillowcase to your Beauty Pillow will allow your skin to experience round the clock antioxidant skin care support. The Day Brightening Serum uses Liposomal Vitamin C as the core active antioxidant ingredient that actively protects and repairs the skin. Adding a Skin+ Pillowcase to your bedtime will ensure antioxidant carotenoids revitalize the skin while you sleep.  

Better sleep hygiene is all about creating an environment that helps you sleep deeper for longer. Creating an attractive environment with Mulberry Silk Pillowcases, Sleep Masks and other Accessories. Mulberry Silk fibers are soft but strong enough for daily use. The silk is coated with a protein called sericin which boosts the hypoallergenic, antimicrobial and antifungal properties of the threads. 

Using a Silk Pillowcase will help to reduce skin irritation and breakouts. The fibers are naturally moisture repellent, reducing the transference of product, oil and sweat preventing the bacterial build up that cotton pillowcases absorb. 

Skincare starts in bed! Shop the Collection now!