3 WAYS TO INCLUDE LEMONS IN OUR SELF-CARE ROUTINE

SELF-CARE

By Christina Jarrett

@christinajarrett

When you think of self-care where does your mind take you? My mind typically brings me to a "top shelf" bottle of facial serum in Sephora or a mani, pedi date with myself and my favorite salon. While these practices of self-care are amazing they also can add up quickly. I like to offset my more expensive practices with more budget friendly ones that are just as necessary. One of my favorite inexpensive self-care products include lemons.

1. DRINKING FOR THE GLOW:

Growing up my mother always instilled healthy practices into all aspects of my life, so naturally I took those with me into adulthood. One of the practices she passed along to me was lemon water. Drinking lemon water not only boosts you're hydration but also helps to detox and cleanse you from the inside out revealing healthy clear skin. I typically drink 6-8 glasses of lemon water a day beginning my morning and ending my night with a glass. Just cut up a fresh lemon into 6 slices and store in the fridge, adding a slice to each glass you drink.

2. LEMON HELP YOU RELAX:

Whether you had a long day at work or you're like me and enjoy Friday nights in the house, I recommend trying my favorite naturally calming bath recipe. Yes, you guessed it lemons are the first ingredient!

INGREDIENT LIST:

• 2 Lemons cut into rounds (about 4-5 rounds per lemon)

• 5 Fresh rosemary sprigs (cut each sprig in half)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fill your bathtub up with hot water. Place your lemon rounds and rosemary sprigs into the water to steep, allowing your ingredients to release their benefits into the water. When the water is a comfortable temperature to get into it, put on your favorite soothing playlist, light a few candles, lower your body into the water, and relax in the calming ambience.

3. LEMON-LIGHTS FROM THE SUN:

As an eleven year old with no job besides the occasional babysitting gig or getting paid $10 to organize my mothers closet, researching and finding affordable beauty trends was a must for my pre-teen self. In the summer of 2009 I took a family vacation to Lake Michigan, while my hair was already pretty light, I was determined to come back from those two weeks at the lake with an amazing tan and as many light blonde highlights as the sun would give me. So after researching natural ways (natural and inexpensive typically go hand in hand in my experience) to lighten my hair, I came across my holy grail, lemon juice and coconut oil. This discovery has followed me into every summer since then and is a nostalgic and effective practice of self care that I look forward to each summer.

LEMON-LIGHTS RECIPE:

• 2-3 Lemons (amount varies based on hair length)

• Spray bottle

• 2 TBSP Coconut Oil (organic extra virgin, cold pressed)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Roll your lemons on a counter top to loosen up the pulp inside. Cut you're lemons into wedges and squeeze out as much juice from each wedge into a glass bowl. Remove seeds from the bowl and pour the lemon juice into the spray bottle. Melt down your coconut oil and add this to your spray bottle. Shake up your bottle and spray all over hair or just on the sections you want lightened. Then all thats left is to grab your towel, some tanning oil, and hit the beach or the pool! This recipe is a beach vacation must, as it smells amazing and you will really see the results if you stay consistent about getting outside.

There are plenty of inexpensive highly beneficial self-care practices available to us and I hope the ones listed above will be as effective to you as they are for me. I would love to hear your thoughts and how you all enjoyed these self-care practices in the comments section below!