I’m not gonna sugarcoat—life as a single mother is not easy. It’s a constant tug-of-war between the want to be a good parent and the need to be a completely separate person, doing the things other singles are doing.

I’m pretty sure that it’s only a matter of time when the pressure takes a toll on my appearance if leave it unchecked. But goodness, I don’t want to see a drawn, saggy face in the mirror too soon.

The problem was that I’d feel too lazy (or tired) to do all of this “expert-advised” beauty stuff most of the time. I’ve been putting off using a foot spa set for the last five years. I know, ridiculous!

Yet this was my problem—I kept on buying creams, serums, masks, lotions, foams, and scrubs, which I ended up wasting my money on because they either did not giving me glorious results or they were left sitting in my cabinet.

I cared about my appearance so much that in the process, I got lost. The more beauty items I bought, the more insecure I felt deep inside. It made me more anxious, more conscious, and more envious. All those things that would surely make us ugly and age too soon!

Little by little, I got rid of the not-so-important items in my drawer. I stopped using multiple face creams at once. I stopped using BB cream on top of my moisturizer. I don’t bother using SPF lotion either. My beauty kit has been pared down to only four quick items: moisturizer, vitamin C, water, and virgin coconut oil.

And this is how my simplified routine looks now:

1. For external moisturization, I use a multipurpose moisturizer.

I apply this every morning and night after cleansing. This cream is a mixture of organic olive oil and virgin coconut oil. It also contains other essential oils including tea tree and witch hazel. It is multipurpose because it acts as a moisturizer and sunscreen for both my body and face. Both olive and coconut oils are herbal sunscreen oils.

2. For internal hydration I drink lemon water everyday.

I decided to upgrade my water because I learned the enormous amount of health and beauty benefits this drink can offer. It is easy to prepare, inexpensive, and refreshing.

I couldn’t stress this enough. Lemon water is quite helpful for mothers and women in general because it helps balance our hormones, enhance our mood, as well as improve our skin and hair. Plus it is highly alkalizing, which means it helps balance the acidity and alkalinity of our body for cancer prevention.

3. Twice a week, I apply a milk and lemon mask as an anti-ageing regime.

This isn’t as complex or time-consuming as it sounds. I simply mix together a tablespoon of evaporated milk with a teaspoon of lemon juice. I do this during my off days before taking a shower. I apply it on my face and neck, then let it sit for about 30 minutes before rinsing off. This allows my skin to drink all the nourishing vitamins in lemon and milk.

Milk is a natural source of alpha hydroxy acid which is known to prevent skin ageing. It naturally and gently exfoliates the dead skin cells on the surface of our skin, making it smoother and younger. Lemon, on the other hand, is a rich source of vitamin C.

4. I apply virgin coconut oil on my hair before shampooing.

I would like to do this daily because coconut oil is absolutely healthy to use every day. It is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and highly moisturizing due to its fatty acid content. This step may consume about 30 minutes of our pre-shower time so we need to either wake up early or do this during non-working days. Coconut oil helps prevent hair loss as we get older, especially for stress-prone women.

There are still “lazy days” but at least my beauty routine makes a lot more sense now and I’m happier. My skin looks fine and I feel good about myself.

External beauty is fleeting no matter what. It’s good to enhance it and maintain it while we can in our youth. And as long as our methods and goals are not taking away the inner shine, which no makeup can ever replace, it should be alright.

~

Author: Lovella Sitoy

Editor: Katarina Tavčar

Photo: Amanda Amborisini/Unsplash