Years out from its onset, the pandemic affected my regular beauty appointments in ways that I don’t think I’ll ever fully get back to. I have a loose hair trimming schedule, and am even less-regimented with color. I often find myself painting my nails at home over heading to a salon. And forget about brow appointments!
However, I do miss facials, and how they make me feel. As I’ve been interviewing folks for our series As Of Late over the past several months, the most common response to “what’s your favorite beauty pleasure?” is getting facials.
As Deborah Hanekamp, commonly known as Mama Medicine, told me: “Receiving facials is one of my favorite ways to treat myself. I feel it is super important to be able to receive healing, and facials are my favorite way to do so,” she says. “As a mother and with how much I work, it’s really hard to find time to care for myself. And even the very simple fact that in a facial, you’re just going into a room and you are being taken care of rather than taking care of everyone else. That’s just so healing for me—and whatever other magic happens after that is a bonus.”
And honestly, allowing yourself to be taken care of is something profound. While I’m choosing facials as my modality, it doesn’t have to be facials if that’s not available to you. Whatever small ways you can embrace being cared for, I encourage you to enjoy those moments this year.
