Feeling frazzled? I can relate – just three months into the year and I’ve relinquished all but crumbs of the inner peace I harnessed during a slow and disconnected festive period.
Whilst the perfect antidote for my stresses would be a beach holiday or a spa trip, as the cost of living soars, regular restorative breaks are now hard to come by too.
It’s no wonder then that self-care rituals are on the rise, as more Brits turn to at-home therapy to carve out me time in their daily routines.
It’s a form of therapy I endorse – one of my favourite weekend activities is hanging out in my bathroom – sticking on a podcast, taking an extended steamy shower, indulging in a hair mask, and smoothing on a clay-based face mask, all followed by an extended run through of my skincare routine. Once complete, I step out of the bathroom feeling renewed.
Whilst there’s much more to the art of self-care than a superficial pampering session, there’s something undeniably self-soothing in the act of setting time aside for oneself in a world where our daily routines are often dedicated to the needs of others.
If you’re not sure where to begin when creating an at-home spa routine, look to the new beauty brand Dead Sea Dream. Inspired by the therapeutic and natural wonder of the Dead Sea in the Jordan Rift Valley (which boasts such a high salt and mineral content that all those who enter weightlessly float in the water), Dead Sea Dream’s collection of hair and body products are dedicated to the pursuit of self-care. Brand founder Louise looks to the tranquillity of the Dead Sea to remind her to slow down from the stresses and hectic pace of everyday life.
Did you know that natural minerals carry an array of benefits for your skin and hair? Calcium, magnesium, bromide, sodium chloride, zinc, pottasium and sulphur all carry individual benefits. These range from aiding skin barrier repair, moisture retention, soothing inflamed skin, natural anti-bacterial properties and shielding from UV damage, to name a few. This is why Dead Sea Dream’s products all include water from the sea that carries its name in their ingredient lists. It’s about bottling up all that natural mineral goodness for your self-care sessions.
Dead Sea Dream’s collection heroes some of the staples of self-care routine. There’s the Purifying Mineral Mud Mask to detox skin, the Glowing Hair Mask in a nourishing, creamy hair-loving formula, the Flotation Bath Crystals that will transport you to the mineral reach waters of the Dead Sea, a Refining Body Scrub to stimulate cell renewal and a Nourishing Hand and Foot Cream to smooth, hydrate and nourish.
Our first impressions: the packaging is super chic -elegant, streamlined, and feminine with hints of pink and sea greens. These products look and feel like they belong in a high-end spa. Not only is the packaging stylish, but it’s also recyclable and reusable – the labels can easily be removed to create multipurpose containers. Then there are the fragrances, which we love – opening a jar is to take an instant journey to the seaside. Personally, it reminds me of childhood trips to sandy beaches on the UK coast, with the satisfyingly salty fragrance of sea air mixed with the mineral scents of the coastline. It’s addictive, soothing and nostalgic, all at once.
The Glowing Hair Mask is a dream to use: the ingredients include dead sea water, shea butter and argan oil, all whipped into a creamy and rich mask. Studded with tiny golden pearls that melt into the follicles, the mask promises to stimulate the scalp and rejuvenate and strengthen hair growth from root to tip. Just leave it on for five minutes and enjoyed renewed hair, with that lovely sea-air fragrance all day.
We also loved the Defining Body Cream, which is formulated with dead sea water, caffeine, vitamin E & ginger extracts. This non-greasy body cream melted into the skin in seconds with a satisfying cooling feeling (we’ll be storing this in the fridge in summer for extra refreshment) that hydrated skin for hours on end.
If you’re a clay mask lover, you will love the Purifying Mineral Mask, which is rich in dead sea water, botanical oils and zinc. The invoice non-drying formulation helps skin maintain a healthy balance, clarifying pores, helping to alleviate congestion and minimising breakouts, inflammation, and skin stress. In short, if you’re dealing with breakouts – this is the mask for you.
With Dead Sea Dream, you can escape to the sea in your bathroom this weekend – and every weekend. Just add water.
