There’s controversy in the term “self care” these days because it’s being used to cover a lot of sins. I am quite guilty of this when I try to justify the 5th pair of shoes I bought in a month, or a nice piece of jewelry. It’s a lot of stuff and a lot of times when I bring it home and realize I don’t have anyplace to wear them, buyer’s remorse takes over.

That is not the case for when I get manicures, pedicures, full leg waxes, brow shaping and the like. There are few things that make me feel like an adult that’s got their life together more than walking out the salon all cleaned up. I tend to admire the manicure I could never get right at home, usually in very opaque, light colors that would show every smudge or miss. I wear shorts or skirts more often. I wear mascara and eyeliner to complement my clean brow line. I appreciate it and also, for the brief week and a half after, also tend to make more of an effort to make it last.

It’s not cheap and it usually takes hours, and the self care dolling up is the first thing I drop when I’m trying to save for something, but I can’t advocate enough for it. Take time for yourself to breathe, calm down, get away from the worries of all those other things, and be there for yourself.

In this life, you can’t depend on others to take care of you, so you have to do it for yourself. Whether it’s a nice dolling up session or a 6 course dinner or a really long massage, or just a nice quiet cup of coffee where they’ll leave you alone, do it. Life’s too short and all the crap around us is bound to drive us insane if we forget about ourselves. Self care isn’t just a nice indulgence, these days it’s necessary.

What have you done for self care lately?