Self love Experiment

Self love: regard for one's own well-being and happiness.

We feel this is such an important topic that needs to be lived in your daily life. It’s a topic so close to our heart and not only because it includes the word love. Something we feel strongly about and definitely hope to inspire you to feel strongly about too. Not only in the month of love but living your life with mindful intention every single day. We found that sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves or even that we are not worthy of taking some time out for ourselves especially with our daily demands. We went on our own pursuit of happiness and literally scoured the internet to see what we can do to make sure we take time out of our day to live our best life….daily! We put together a guide to help you in the event you are on the journey of self love too. 

Spoiler alert, self love does not only mean buying the most expensive handbags, luxury clothes and entire full day at the spa, unless of course that’s what makes you the most happy and feel the most alive. You do YOU! Thing is, you design it for you with the habits that make you most happy and makes you feel most alive and exclude the things that doesn’t form part of the vibration you’re on.

Habits are routine behaviours done on a regular basis. They are recurrent and often unconscious patterns of behaviour and are acquired through frequent repetition and consistency. It takes 21 days to form a habit

If it takes only 21 days to form a habit, imagine making it the habit of living the life you want daily, starting from within you.

1. Go from WANTING to change your life to DECIDING to change your life
2. Download a Habit tracking app. We're using this 1 but you can use whatever you prefer.
3. Take time to think DEEPLY within you of all the things that makes you most happy, most alive and allows you self love and to live mindfully on a daily basis. Got it? Great! Now add it to your habit tracker (If you focus on what makes you feel happy and most alive you will attract more of it into your daily life-heard about the Law of attraction?).
4. Check in with it daily, weekly and monthly...Make sure 1 of your habits is to check in with yourself and ask “Did I live my life loving myself completely and lived my best life today?”
5. And now the work starts with YOU!

Some ideas of self love habits

1. Wake up earlier to get in an extra hour, 2 or 3 before you start your day or before your day is started for you ;)
2. Take a mindful hot or cold shower
3. Do your morning or evening skin love routine (Cleanse, Tone, Moisturize and most importantly SPF, Heliocare spf are amazing)
4. Body brush
5. Apply a good quality body lotion or oil lovingly to your body
6. Hot lemon water to start the digestive system
7. Treat yourself to a healthy breakfast or take yourself out for lunch
8. Be at work, university, meetings or commitments on time
9. Set out to give your very best at everything you do, every time. Gives a great feeling of inner satisfaction. 
10. Feed your temple aka that amazing body of yours with healthier alternatives ( Sleekgeek health revolution and Macros inc are both really great resources if you need help getting started)
11. Log your food or macro count to help get you in the best shape (https://www.myfitnesspal.com/)
12. Meal prep all your meals for the week. This frees up more time for you in the week ahead, PROMISE you will find yourself being surprised at how much more time you actually have!
13. Exercise, be it an early morning ice cold swim (Have you heard about the Wim Hof method?, bodyweight, lifting, powerlifting, yoga (Jenna Carmen, Sweat, our faves)
14. Take time to meditate at least 10 minutes every day (Free 2 week trial on Headspace, Positivity Magazine on Youtube =Amazing, amazing Free resource)
15. Make sure to stretch your body, foam rolling is quite helpful as well
16. Do a mini facial on yourself once a week by adding in an exfoliator and mask to your daily skin love routines. Add in a full body exfoliation in the steam or sauna while your mask is on and you listen to some calming, relaxing meditation or music.
17. Learn a new language
18. Write down 1 affirmation daily, even better if you paste a big board on the wall as a daily reminder, say your affirmation to yourself 10 times. Prepare affirmations for difficult situations you may face to assist you through the situation.
19. Start a 365 days gratitude journal. The world that opens from doing this on its own brings an entire universe of self love. (Gratitude app, 1 of our faves)
20. Read personal development books (This app helps amazingly to get through more books, by turning your mindless time into proactive time
21. Take time out to spend with your loved ones, Significant other, kids, Dad, Mom, sisters, nieces/nephews, friends. 
22. Join a dancing club and learn a new dance like Kizomba, Bachata, Salsa 
23. Deep clean and declutter your happy place or home regularly and be sure to design it in the way that makes you feel happy.
24. Treat yourself to a “me-day” at least once a month by cleaning up on those things that makes you feel nice and clean...Hair and Spa days seem to do the trick. Get that crown that you never take off looking good, polish up those nails and toes.
25. Make Self-love/Self care Sundays or even Me-time Mondays your thing! Do your full body scrub, Wash your hair, and do a hair mask, your hair will thank you for it. While you at it add in your skin care routine and read a book. 
26. Be out in nature, go hiking, cycling, running, beaching or even just for the walk. The outdoor air does wonders.
27. Walk 10000 steps a day
28. Change your pillowcases and sheets weekly, while you’re at your next salon visit check out our luxurious Satin Pillowcases. Once you slept on it you wouldn’t want to sleep on anything else again. 
29. Egyptian cotton sheets are a great treat for your sleeping time too.
30. Take your probiotics, multivitamins to help get your extra nutrients in.
31. Keep your cuticle oil and hand cream on your bedside table as the last thing to do before bed
32. Reach out and do something for someone else that makes them happy
33. Support a charity that means a lot to you.
34. Live in love and gratitude, always.
35. Love yourself like you are the only you and the only one there will ever be!
36. Ask yourself “Did I live my life loving myself completely and lived my best life today? 

While these are just a few ideas, this journey is entirely up to YOU. You design it the way you want. If all else fails we are always here to welcome you with a warm smile, tight hug, serve you with endless cups of coffees or keep your wine glass topped up, send you off to a little piece of heaven with our soothing hair and scalp massages on our relaxing, elevated chairs, do your hair with all the love and passion to make sure you feel valued, important, special, most importantly loved and pride ourselves on giving homely, friendly service excellence while doing so. 

We wish you well on your Self love experiment journey. 

Please email us saf@excentric-hair.co.za to update our list with more ideas of self love habits you have available to share. You never know if someone would find the smallest thing could make a happy world of difference in someone else’s life. 

*Ps, we are in no way affiliated or paid for any of the links mentioned above. Just really nice, free resources that we find helpful that may be helpful for you too.