The Power of A Shower

 

Self-care is a big buzzword these days. And it's important! And good! But let's be honest: As a mom (and, really, as a human, working woman who has to #GSD), I don't always have time to carve out hours for a lengthy bath, a face-mask session, and a Netflix marathon. But a shower? Treating myself to a really, really good shower? That I can manage.

Good showers have become my self-care. And I make the most of them. Today I've partnered with BJ's Wholesale Club (which offers your favorite beauty brands at a great value and in bulk so you never run out) to show you how to make the most of your shower. Here's how I do it.

-Set the scene. I like to dim the lights in my bathroom, which somehow instantly makes any shower seem way more relaxing. You could even light a candle with a soothing scent and leave it burning on your counter.  I also love to listen to music or a favorite podcast through a shower speaker. (Now, obviously you're not going to do these things every single time you shower--sometimes you just need to get in and out quickly--but when you have an extra few minutes, these little things do make a difference!)

-Suds up with a great body wash. There are many amazing high-end ones, but really, your body wash doesn't need to be fancy. For instance, Dove is one of my all-time favorites. It smells clean and fresh, it leaves my skin soft, and it's cheap. Case in point: I picked up three ginormous bottles of Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash at BJ's for $15.49. (In other words, I'll be self-care showering with these for many, many months to come!)

-Turn your shampoo into a spa treatment. A good shampoo is nice; a good shampoo that smells spa-like is even better. I love Love Beauty and Planet Smooth Serene Shampoo and Conditioner. (Have you guys heard of this new line, BTW? I got a sneak peek at it last year and I'm really loving it!) Anyway, the shampoo and conditioner are moisturizing, frizz-smoothing, and they smell like lavender, which is always an instant stress-reliever for me. I leave the conditioner on as a mini mask for a few minutes, while I wash my body, shave my legs, etc., then rinse just before I get out. 

-Sneak in a scrub. Even though I've been a beauty editor for the last ten-plus years, I'm the worst when it comes to exfoliating. I can never remember to do it! (And when I do remember, it's pretty much the last thing I feel like doing.) That's why I've started storing my face scrubs in the shower. For some reason that makes the whole thing feel like much less of a chore. (It's also much less messy!) Right now I'm using a classic: Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Daily Scrub, which is gentle, dermatologist-recommended, and just about $15 for a three-pack at BJ's.

-Finish strong. I'm so guilty of skipping body lotion, but my skin is so much happier (and softer!) when I take the extra ten seconds to use it. One of my favorite dermatologist tips: Apply it literally right after you step out of the shower, when your skin is still damp. This way, you'll lock in all that moisture and your skin will be so much silkier and more hydrated. Two of my go-tos that come in value packs at BJ's: Vaseline Intensive Care Aloe and Jergens Ultra Healing.

Thank you to BJ's for partnering with me on this post. Are you a BJ's member? If not, here's a cool deal: You can get a $25 gift card just for signing up! Click here for more info.

5 Beauty-Editor-Approved Winter Skincare Tips

Photos, from top: Sadie Hertzig (2), Pau Loyo (1), Alyssa Hertzig (2)

As in much of the country, it's been about a billion degrees below zero here lately--so not just cold, but cold. Think bone-chilling, lip-chapping, skin-drying, California-is-looking-really-amazing-right-now cold. That means it's a good time to stay cooped up inside with a cup of coffee--and the perfect time to talk about upping your winter skin-care game. So, I've partnered with Dove to do just that. Read on for five things I do to keep my skin soft, hydrated, and protected throughout the season. It's stuff I've gathered from trial and error, and from years and years of interviewing dermatologists for my job. All are effective, and most importantly, super easy.

1. Go for creamy products. Gels, sprays, and really any ultra-light moisturizers, lotions, or body washes are great for the summer, but they're often not hydrating enough for wintertime. (Just ask my forever flake-prone legs!) This time of year, I shelve the whisper-light stuff, and switch them out for creamy body washes and rich creams, balms, and butters.

2. Bump up your P.M. routine. As many experts have told me over the years, bedtime is the absolute best time to hydrate your skin. And if you're also worried about anti-aging (*raises hand*), nighttime also happens to be the optimal time to tackle that stuff, too. Dermatologist Alicia Barba recommends three steps: washing your face, applying a retinol, and moisturizing. This is my own nightly routine, and I swear by it. I'll admit that it took me years to start wearing night cream, but now that I've started, it has made such a difference for me, especially during the colder months. When I wake up, my skin is so much softer. (And on the nights I skip it, I can totally tell in the morning!)

3. Sunscreen it up. I cringe when I hear people say they don't need sunscreen in the winter. People! Sunscreen is a year-round non-negotiable. (As Dr. Barba told me: "Harmful UV rays don't take a break for cold weather.") Now, do you need to lube up your arms and legs when you're bundled tight in sweaters and jeans all day? No, of course not. But you absolutely must wear an SPF 30 or higher sunscreen on your face, every day, no excuses.

4. Don't forget your underarms. They need TLC, too--especially now. "Textures and fabrics in sweaters, undergarments, and t-shirts can irritate sensitive underarm skin," says Dr. Barba. Underneath all those layers, you'll need a product that keeps you hydrated and protected." Dove Advanced Care Antiperspirant is formulated with moisturizers to relieve irritation and keep underarms soft, while also providing 48-hour protection against odor and wetness. I've used it for years, and have always loved how incredibly gentle it is on my sensitive skin. (Plus, sidenote: The scents are so good!)

5. Hydrate all over. Confession: I'm super guilty of skipping this one, but I'm really trying to get better about it this year. I'm excellent about moisturizing my face every day, but less so about my legs and arms. It's just so hard when they're hidden for so many hours of the day, right? But then I'll inevitably catch a glimpse of my neglected legs and think "Yikes!" To avoid that moment, let's all promise to moisturize all over (legs, arms, hands, chest, all of it), okay? Bonus points if you do it right when you get out of the shower, when you're still a little damp, so your cream traps all that good moisture in your skin.

If you guys have any more winter skin-care tips, I would love to hear them! And to get more info on Dove Advanced Care, click here.

-Alyssa

Thank you to Dove Advanced Care Antiperspirant for sponsoring this post!

Teaching My Daughter To Love Her Hair

Photos by Raquel Langworthy, owner of Raquel Bianca Creative (She does lifestyle-focused family photography in New Jersey and she's amazing!)

As the mother of a six-year-old daughter, I worry about her self-esteem. She has a lot of it right now, which is a good thing. She loves her wavy/curly hair, she loves her full lips, she feels beautiful. She is beautiful. But because she is a girl--and because I'm one, too--I know there is likely a point coming down the road when she will look in the mirror and see herself differently. She may not see the beauty that I see now and that I will always see. 

And I know that I play an outsize role in making sure she continues to love her appearance. In fact, a recent Dove study found that positive role models can significantly affect a young girl's confidence, and that 82 percent of daughters learn to care about themselves from their mother. So, I'm on it!

And, like many other things, it starts with hair. This is a particularly fraught issue for me as I've had a true love-hate relationship with my own hair for as long as I can remember. Like my daughter, my hair is curly/wavy, but unlike my daughter--who has soft, perfectly-formed curls--my hair is also really frizzy. So if I'm being honest, I don't love--or even like--it in its natural state. I have long preferred my hair blown out, smooth and straight. 

But I am determined that my daughter will love her own hair. I tell her all the time how beautiful it is, and I always want her curls to look even curlier. When we get her hair cut, we ask the stylist to trim it with layers that encourage the curls, and when I blowdry her hair, I twist it in a way that coaxes those curls out. Sometimes she wears it straight, too, but in those moments, I'm very careful with the language I use to describe her hair. Her straight hair isn't better, it isn't more polished, it isn't prettier. Straight is an option, not the ideal. 

And I'm working on me, too. I may not be ready to wear my hair completely natural yet, but I've been experimenting with some curlier and wavier styles. (And I've been loving them!) And I never complain about my hair in front of her. I'm learning to love my hair, because I love my girl.

Because this issue is so close to my heart (and head!), I've partnered with Dove on their mission to help moms inspire hair confidence in their girls and teach them to love their hair. If you're a mom, you can start by creating an adorable custom #LoveYourHair animated message right here and then sharing it on social media. (That's mine above. They're cute, right?) Then, tell your daughter how beautiful her hair is. And keep on telling her. 

Because she's listening.

This post was sponsored by Dove.

Staying Cool at the Mom 2.0 Conference With Dove

This post was sponsored by Dove. 

Looking out over the Pacific Ocean from the Dove suite. (Insert heart-eyes emoji here.)

A few of my must-haves for the conference: sunglasses, business cards, my ID, and the skin-softening Dove Advanced Care Antiperspirant.

It was freezing when I took this photo...!

Sigh.

If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat, you know that last week, I was out in Laguna Beach, California, for the Mom 2.0 Summit. (It's a conference for mommy bloggers--although anyone at the conference will tell you that they hate that term!)  

This year, Dove asked me to try out their Advanced Care Anti-Perspirant while I was there. And since this was my second year attending Mom 2.0, I knew that if there was ever a good opportunity to put a deodorant to the test, this was it. The conference is three jam-packed days of running around, networking, and talking, talking, talking in the California sun. There's also a ton of nerves, because blog conferences are basically a neverending parade of walking into situations where you don't know anyone and having to just suck it up and introduce yourself.

So, yeah--having a good deodorant was pretty much a non-negotiable.

And the conference was awesome! I met lots of people, learned a ton, and spent way too much time staring out over the Pacific Ocean and wondering why I don't live in California. The only sort-of bummer was the weather, which was kind of cool (but still gloriously sunny!) during the day and positively frigid at night. 

And yes, the antiperspirant did its job--beautifully. So here's what I loved about it: First, it smells good! Not fake or overly perfume-y (I hate that--why do some brands think we want to smell like potpourri?), but just clean and fresh and subtle and nice. (There are actually 15 different scents, but my favorites were Soothing Chamomile and Original Clean). 

Second, it leaves your skin noticeably softer. (That's thanks to the brand's NutriumMoisture technology--same stuff that's in their body washes!) I know, it sounds sort of odd to say that your armpits feel smoother (I'd certainly never really given that area's softness much thought), but the difference was obvious almost immediately. 

All that said, smooth skin and pretty fragrances aren't worth a whole lot if your deodorant just doesn't work, am I right? Luckily for me (and for anyone who sat next to me during the conference...!), this one does. Big time. It's designed to provide 48 hours of odor and wetness protection, but all I know is: I was running around (literally!) from early in the morning until late at night--and did it all feeling totally dry...and not offending anyone!

Also appreciated: I had at least two outfit changes each day between the business-y meeting/presentation stuff during the day and the dinners/fancier events in the evenings, and I'm happy to say there were zero white marks left behind on any of my outfits.

Dove's calls their Advanced Care Antiperspirant an "essential upgrade to your daily beauty routine," and it definitely was for me at Mom 2.0. 

So, who out there is a fan of Dove deodorant? I asked this Q on my Facebook page last week and was blown away by the responses, so I'd love to hear some here, too. Talk to me, below! 

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Dove, but all opinions are my own. I am asked to partner with beauty companies virtually every day, but I only choose to align myself with the brands--and products--that I truly love and believe in.