Let 2025 be the year you and I amp up our beauty and hygiene routines. The 15 tips I share in this post are quite simple and easy to include in your current routine. Even though they are simple, they are quite effective and will improve your routines tremendously. Keep reading.
- Double cleansing the body
I recommend double-cleansing your body during your shower. Preferably, you should do this during your evening shower. It’s an effective way to wash the day away and will help you sleep better. I have gone in-depth on how this is done in my 8-step shower routine blog post. The first step is using a cotton washcloth and anti-bacterial soap bar, rinse yourself off, then wash yourself again with your shower gel and an African Net Cloth or Exfoliating Gloves. The first step removes the dirt, sweat and bacteria accumulated during the day. The next step cleanses again, moisturizes, and leaves your skin soft and fragrant.
2. Tongue scraping
In my 4 Hidden Hygiene Habits blog post, the tongue is the area I mentioned as one that we often forget to clean. A tool I recommend introducing to your oral hygiene routine is a tongue scraper. A tongue scraper is a tool made from metal or plastic that scrapes the whitish gunk off your tongue left from food residue. To use it, floss and brush your teeth as usual, then scrape your tongue with a downward motion until the white gunk is out. This freshens your breath and tremendously improves your oral hygiene.
3. Switching up to a menstrual cup
This is exclusively for my girlies. Instead of exclusively using pads or tampons when on your period, consider switching to a menstrual cup. A menstrual cup is a period tool made of silicon inserted in your birth canal and collects the menstrual blood. I have been using one for about five years now, and trust me when I say it changed my life! If you’d like to know more about what it is, how to use it, the pros and cons. I’m considering writing a blog post exclusively about it but for more info, please watch this video.
4. Use a cleanser down there, not just water
Still talking to my fellow girlies. When it comes to feminine hygiene, it is recommended to use plain water to wash the outside of your downstairs area. However, you could take it a notch higher and use your cleanser. Yes, the one that you use on your face. The logic behind it is, if it’s safe to use on your face, surely it’s safe for your downstairs area. Just ensure your cleanser is fragrance-free or has little fragrance. Highly perfumed products can throw off the delicate pH balance down there, leading to issues like yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis (BV) and we don’t want that, do we? Personally, I use the Garnier Cleansing Foam. It’s gentle and not as fragrant. I haven’t experienced any issues with it.
5. Waxing/Shaving/Trimming Body Hair
Let’s talk about body hair! At the end of the day, do you. However, if you prefer to have that hair off, I recommend waxing or shaving. Waxing can be pretty painful, but if you’re bold like me, you could get this at-home sugar waxing kit from Diyou_ke. You can reach out to them via WhatsApp at 0737859678.
There are also plenty of places that offer waxing services at affordable rates. Just ensure you’re comfortable and they’re hygienic! If you prefer to keep your hair, I recommend trimming it short for neatness. Also, hair tends to trap odor from sweat easily so if you want to feel and smell fresh, i recommend waxing or shaving it all off, or at least trimming.
6. Layering fragrances
A clever way to ensure your fragrance lasts longer through the day is by layering similar scents. For example, if I want to smell sweet on a given day, I will choose a sweet body wash like Imperial Leather Cherry Blossom, the Imperial Leather Cherry Blossom Body lotion, then a sweet scent such as the Yara Lattafa aka. Yara Pink. Similar scents will complement each other and project more when layered together, instead of trying to put totally different scents together all at once.
7. Using African net cloth
I appreciate the African net Cloth because it’s more coarse than a cotton washcloth but gentle enough to use daily. Also, it reaches hard to reach areas like the back. I got mine from Nimo Naturals and it’s truly a game changer for your daily shower routine.
8. Cleaning hidden areas
In my four hidden hygiene habits post, I mention four areas that you probably forget to clean but it’s about time that you started remembering. These are behind your ears, inside your belly button, your tongue and your bum. In the post, I elaborate further on how to clean these areas, so please head on there for more info. Remember to clean these areas in your next shower to amp up your hygiene.
9. Keeping nails short – no tips/acrylics. just short natural nails and gel polish
I love me a fresh nail set, with acrylic or tips but inasmuch as they may be aesthetically pleasing, long nails can be a hub of germs accumulated on a day to day basis. Think about all the surfaces you touch, when you eat with your hands or when you make human contact. These days, I prefer to keep my nails short because they are much easier to keep clean. If you prefer long nails, I recommend you get yourself a small nail brush and brush under your nails with soap every other day to keep them clean.
10. Wearing clean clothing
This may be an obvious one, but that T-shirt you wore the other day when the sun was scorching and you sweated profusely, isn’t clean enough to wear again. Ensure that you wear clean clothes and as you wash them, focus on areas like the neckline and armpits, as they get dirty and sweaty easily. In the final rinse, add a fabric softener like downy to leave your clothes smelling amazing. This will further enhance your fragrance/scent.
11. Panty liners on a daily
I am talking to my girlies again. You know there are those days when the discharge is a lot for no reason, and it can feel very uncomfortable. To help, you could wear panty liners everyday. They are similar to pads, but thinner. You could also wear them on the last days of your cycle when the bleeding isn’t as heavy.
12. Spray perfume on moisturized skin and pulse points
To help your perfume last longer, ensure two things. Your skin is moisturized and you spray on your pulse points. In my 8-step shower routine, I elaborate the steps to deeply moisturize your skin. Moisturized skin carries perfume better than dry skin. Also, since perfume has alcohol, the moisture acts as a protective barrier to prevent the perfume from drying out your skin. Also, ensure you spray on your pulse points, as shown in the diagram below. Pulse points are the warm areas of your body and they can help ensure the fragrance last longer.
13. Spray perfume on your hair brush and brush your hair
While still on the fragrance train, another way to ensure your perfume lasts long is to spray a few spritzes on your hairbrush/comb and run it through your hair strands. Hair is an effective carrier of fragrance. There are times I have used this technique and the fragrance I sprayed lasts for days on end. If you want your perfume scent to linger, you can try this.
14. Keep your scalp clean – washing every two weeks and using a scalp massager
A healthy scalp leads to healthy hair growth. Keeping your scalp healthy involves keeping it clean, moisturized and stimulated. As I am on my healthy relaxed hair journey, in my last post I shared my current hair routine that I follow every two weeks. I recommend washing your hair at least every two weeks, especially if your hair is open. As you wash make sure you thoroughly massage your scalp, with your fingers (not nails!) or better yet, a scalp massager. This not only cleanses your scalp but also stimulates blood flow leading to better scalp health and hair growth. Also, having clean hair is an essential part of maintaining proper hygiene.
15. Spraying perfume on tissue/serviettes and putting the pieces in your closet
Lastly, a life-changing hygiene habit you and I can try is spraying our favorite perfume on pieces of tissue, and placing them in our closets, so that our clothes can smell amazing. I am yet to try this. I will try and let you guys know how it turns out.
That’s all for me for today’s post.
Till next time,
Miss Kambe.
Leave a Reply