Discussion Do you have any tips for hygiene / self-care + ranting

[Yuja]

I have recently started trying to take care of myself more (started early last year) and here are some stuff I've done that I would say have improved my overall hygiene:

- I always used to brush my teeth and shower once or twice a day but that was about it.

- Starting last year I make sure to shower twice whenever I had the energy to. Once before I go to bed so that my bed can stay as clean as possible and once when I wake up because I wake up groggy and oily.

- Usually shower with BHA body was everyday and i use shampoo / lotion twice a week with a couple of days of distance. I didn't know using shampoo frequently was bad for your hair (yes I am dumb) which probably explained my horrible hair condition but it's since gotten better. I make sure to shave everyday in the morning so that I don't have the gross little mustache thing lol. Ah, and of course, I use cleanser for my face (foaming cleanser for acne). I use a body towel for my... body (duh) and I have a smaller towel for my face. I used to rotate towels after using them for 3-4 days (which, ideally, means I used towels 6-8 times which I know is more than recommended but I live in dorms and I am poor lol) but recently I lost a body towel so I guess I gotta buy a new one

- As for skincare routine, I have acne so I make sure that all my products are for acne prone skin. I start with toner, then serum, and then lotion. Sunscreen sometimes but I should use it everyday lowkey. Face mask once a week and pimple patches when needed. (If you have acne and you can't afford pricey skin care products like mine I would recommend just switching out your diet. If my diet were better my skin would be clear asf rn and I wouldn't have to waste all this money). Also my skin type is mixed but oily later on in case anyone is curious.

- I had an electric toothbrush from my parents so luckily I don't need to buy one so I use that along with some whatever toothpaste. I rinse my mouth with alcohol-free mouthwash and then I use a tongue scraper (which I would highly recommend for better breath).

- I do laundry once a week and wash my bed sheets once every two to three weeks.

- I recently (like this month) started taking vitamins since I don't really eat often (although i have been making sure to eat more lately). I take a general multivitamin, magnesium, and omega-3. Those three are basically your starter pack for taking vitamins. I've noticed a much needed boost in energy throughout the day as well as better focus and overall better cognitive skills. I zone out less now which has helped when it comes to paying attention to class or when reading through case briefs an whatnot.

- As for clothes, I'm not really a fashionable guy so here is most of the clothes I use: 2 grey, 1 black, 1 navy blue, 2 beige, and 2 white t-shirts. One pair of wide grey sweatpants and one pair of black wide sweatpants. One pair of black wide straight jeans and one brown one. Also one black long-sleeved thicker sort of sweater or like shirt or something in between but it looks fashionable as well as one grey one. I have some other stuff in my closet (like suit and tie for when I go out to moot courts) but everything I have stated is mostly what I wear. Pretty much just basic boring clothes in order to not stand out while also staying as comfortable as possible. One pair of normal white shoes and one pair of black running shoes. Also black shoes for the suit.

- Also, obviously only one pair of boxers per day (sometimes two lowkey) as well as socks.

- Less of self-care and more of self indulgence but I bought a water filter / water pitcher thing since I've been paranoid about the water here (even if it's out of a filter) and I also bought an electric kettle to boil water in so I can have some barley tea (really yummy).

- I've been considering going to the gym / running but I'm way too self-conscious of others to do any of that in public. If I did start doing some form of exercise it would probably be calisthenics though (I can do push-ups with proper form and other basic calisthenic stuff from back when I picked up calisthenics during highschool for a bit).

- As for diet, I just eat whatever is in the cafeteria or convenience store food (I also order fast food every once in a while)

- Been considering gargling salt water after brushing teeth for tonsils but I lowkey don't think I have tonsils... but then again who knows....

Let me know if you have any other tips for hygiene / self-care or you want to comment on how weird I am for hyper focusing on this....

 

[apollon]

I think you've been doing this pretty well! Congrats honestly, maybe if you want you could try getting into men's cologne? I'm a girl sorry idk what would be next but just a tip.

 

[Forveleth]

How is tiyr sleep routine? Sleep is a very big component in overall health. Also hydration. Being hydrates ua the easiest way to improve mo

For skincare the absolute best thing you can do is wear spf every day. All the other stuff is secondary to blocking UV.

Calisthenics are great for strength and balance and generally require little to no investment. They can also be done in a small room if you are aelf-consciousness about people seeing you. Yoga can do the same too. However, for optimum health, studies have shown getting your heart rate elevated for 20 minutes, 2-3 times per week does wonders for your heart and general health. In other words, do not forget cardio.

Sounds like you are doing pretty well to take care of yourself. Just also do not put undue pressure on yourself to be "perfect" with your health.

 

[lilb0wpeep]

Dare I say you're doing amazing! After seeing the title I was about to say "do anything you can, even if that only the bare minimum or part of what you're ideal goal is. Example being if u wanna shower but can't get yourself to, grab a wet cloth and wipe yourself down. Or keep what you can around you so that it feels easier to actually do the task. Example keeping a pack of floss picks in ur bedside table/in your bag." Then as I was reading I saw that you shower twice a day and I understood that I totally missed the mark… while I am both proud and happy for you, I also felt an even deeper sense of shame in myself lol. It's ok though.
It's always great to want to stay consistent and improve yourself and your life. While I can't exactly add anything to improve on, I'm definitely here to cheer you on(and take some notes lol).
I've also been looking in to calisthenics as I have little energy and fear the gym. It could absolutely be a good thing for you to get back into to if you'd like. Just remember not to push yourself too deep into "bettering yourself". Make sure to let yourself BE-'in the moment' and to show yourself kindness for what you do already do.

 

[Yuja]

I think you've been doing this pretty well! Congrats honestly, maybe if you want you could try getting into men's cologne? I'm a girl sorry idk what would be next but just a tip.

Thank you :D I have some general knowledge on cologne (something about day, night, and fresh) and I was considering getting into it but I feel like it would bring too much attention to myself. I guess maybe like a soft fresh cologne? Either ways, thank you for the tip I'll consider it :D

How is tiyr sleep routine? Sleep is a very big component in overall health. Also hydration. Being hydrates ua the easiest way to improve mo

For skincare the absolute best thing you can do is wear spf every day. All the other stuff is secondary to blocking UV.

Calisthenics are great for strength and balance and generally require little to no investment. They can also be done in a small room if you are aelf-consciousness about people seeing you. Yoga can do the same too. However, for optimum health, studies have shown getting your heart rate elevated for 20 minutes, 2-3 times per week does wonders for your heart and general health. In other words, do not forget cardio.

Sounds like you are doing pretty well to take care of yourself. Just also do not put undue pressure on yourself to be "perfect" with your health.

First of all, thank you for the wonderful advice!

For sleep, I used to have a horrendous sleep schedule (4 hours daily) but I have since then decided to prioritize sleep over studies. I actually got up at around 6AM today and I plan on sleeping at around 11:30PM-12:30AM if possible. I usually wake up at 7:30AM though.

About spf, I do have one of those but I haven't been using it as much as I should. I will apply it more frequently for sure.

As for water, I wasn't drinking as much as I wanted to which is why I bought a water filter (I am very paranoid about the public water filters) and an electric kettle to boil water in for barley tea! I've been drinking that more often now :D

Regarding calisthenics and cardio, you are right about me being very self-conscious. I also don't want to really bump into anyone I am acquainted with at the gym. I live with roommates so it would be difficult to do it in my room. I've been considering doing very early morning runs but I think that's still a pipe dream. I wasn't aware about the heart elevation for 20 minutes thing so I will definitely keep cardio in mind

Thank you for all the advice! I'm still not sure what it is I want to achieve by doing all of this and sometimes I feel as though I am subconsciously trying to do all of these things because I don't want people to know how pathetic and broken I am on the inside.

Again, thank you for the advice :)

 

[Lost Magic]

See those giant wet wipes, they can really help when you are not able to take a shower. And if you gargle mouthwash, it is better than nothing when you don't have the strength to brush your teeth. These are just little short term hacks, not for everday use ... but they help.

 

[Yuja]

Dare I say you're doing amazing! After seeing the title I was about to say "do anything you can, even if that only the bare minimum or part of what you're ideal goal is. Example being if u wanna shower but can't get yourself to, grab a wet cloth and wipe yourself down. Or keep what you can around you so that it feels easier to actually do the task. Example keeping a pack of floss picks in ur bedside table/in your bag." Then as I was reading I saw that you shower twice a day and I understood that I totally missed the mark… while I am both proud and happy for you, I also felt an even deeper sense of shame in myself lol. It's ok though.
It's always great to want to stay consistent and improve yourself and your life. While I can't exactly add anything to improve on, I'm definitely here to cheer you on(and take some notes lol).
I've also been looking in to calisthenics as I have little energy and fear the gym. It could absolutely be a good thing for you to get back into to if you'd like. Just remember not to push yourself too deep into "bettering yourself". Make sure to let yourself BE-'in the moment' and to show yourself kindness for what you do already do.

Thank you for the kinds words :)

The reason I initially posted all of this is because I am quite pedantic and I don't have friends to talk about this stuff with lol (I just don't have friends at all). To be honest with you though, I shower twice a day about 40-50% of the time (I used to more often last year) because I am too lazy but I hate how much oil my body produces. I hate the feeling of my face getting all grimy within a mere 8 or so hours and I know that natural oils are good but... yeah... Basically I am trying to say that not even I am consistent with everything I had stated but I know what it is I have to do to be healthy at least (and I hope that if there was anybody that didn't know where to start, I could tell them what I know).

Honestly, just sleeping minimum 6-7 hours, drinking at least 1L of water, eating, and doing some form of exercise / walking is more than good enough. I focus on skincare because my skin is in very poor condition (acne) and I still don't exercise.

I hope that you and I can both live healthier lifestyles (or at least healthier than before) so I will cheering you on as well :D

I have long since struggled with living in the moment because of my severe social anxiety / depression and sometimes I forget that so thank you for your kind words and I will definitely try to not push myself too much so you shouldn't as well... I'm glad that we're both still here you know?