Grey hair, don’t care? Yeah right! After my alopecia diagnosis, my doctor and I decided it would be best to avoid hair color for awhile, giving my hair a chance to grow back without any potential irritants. Its been about four months since I last colored my hair and, as the greys increase, some days I look in the mirror and can’t believe what’s staring back. Between the salt and pepper hair, crow-footed eyes, pajama-heavy wardrobe and often grumpy attitude, sometimes its hard to find the real me. Now more than ever, taking care of myself makes such a difference in how I look and feel. None of this is rocket science, but I have found few simple tricks for feeling beautiful inside and out, and they’ve made all the difference. Here are my favorite tricks:
Give My Wardrobe Stitch Fix
I’ve found that one of the best ways to balance the insecurities about my hair it to wear clothes that make me feel great. But since I’m not much of a shopper, Stitch Fix has become my go-to source for confidence-building clothes. Even before my hair loss, Stitch Fix has been one of my favorite ways to shop. They do a great job of choosing unique, affordable pieces that are just my style. Almost every item in my wardrobe that earns a compliment is from Stitch Fix. At least once a season, and especially if I’m getting ready for an event, I schedule a fix and there’s always at least a one or two items in the box that I love. I also love giving their gift cards to friends and family — who doesn’t love getting a big box of clothes in the mail? I’m enough of a fan that I recently joined their affiliate program, so I may share deals from them on occasion.
Even with my hair growing back pretty nicely at this point, my doctor has noted that stress can trigger more fall out. So, I work really hard to manage my stress with yoga and meditation. It might sound a bit cliche but its the type of exercise that works for me and just about the only way I’m able to stretch my sore muscles, work myself out of a grumpy funk or just feel better in my body. Since I’m really terrible about getting out of the house for classes, I have a subscription to YogaGlo, a web-based yoga studio that has tons of classes. I’m not an affiliate or getting paid to talk about them. But I truly believe my YogaGlo practice has been on of the single best investments I’ve made in my overall well-being.
Give My Skin Some TLC
My hair may be going grey, but my skin is going to look good, by God! I am completely addicted to these Miss Spa sheet masks from Target. Apparently sheet masks are all the rage with the beauty bloggers (not that I know what I’m talking about) because they give your skin a boost of extra nourishment or something. If nothing else, they smell great and leave my skin feeling amazing. Plus they only cost a few dollars each and force me to sit still for 20 whole minutes. Its an easy indulgence. Every time I order something online from Target or visit the store, I throw a couple of them in my cart to use after the kids are in bed at night.
Eat Something Good and Good for Me
When I’m feeling my worst, chances are, I’m running on caffeine and not much else. Hangry is not pretty. Often, if I find myself feeling woozy and cranky I have to remind myself to slow down and eat something healthy and easy. A piece of avocado toast or my favorite spinach and broccoli pizza are some of my favorite ways to fuel up. The world (and the face in the mirror) always looks a whole lot better when I do.
Eventually, I hope to get to a point where I can color my hair again if I choose to. Even if I don’t color my grey roots…I think it might be fun for Lilly and me to dye the ends of our hair bright blue or pink this summer (since the dye won’t touch my scalp, I think it will be ok). In the meantime, I’m learning to love myself for who I am today. If you’re struggling with your own sense of self, I hope some of these simple tricks for feeling beautiful might help you too! And if you have other suggestions for feeling like your best self, please share them with me! I could use all the help I can get.
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