Pilates, Face Yoga and Other Self-Care Secrets

As part of the Green Parent Natural Beauty Awards 2024, we asked 4 beauty brands to share their top wellbeing secrets

Kate Powlesland lives in mid-Wales with her partner, Ben and their 2 sons. The family live in 9 acres of woodland in a little off-grid cabin which they built themselves a few years ago. She is the founder of Kutis Skincare

“Kutis came about pretty organically. For a long time I’d had an interest in plants and their healing properties and had made lots of salves and foraged for food and medicinal herbs in the wild. I became more and more aware of the chemicals I had been using in my skincare products and decided to play around with making my own. 

When I started dabbling with making a natural deodorant I was so happy to find that I could make a deodorant which was kind to my skin, which didn’t have any potentially harmful ingredients and it actually worked so much better than anything I had used before. I started to share it with friends and the feedback was so great I decided to get it certified and sell at local markets. I built a website and began to sell online. Word spread and small businesses regularly got in touch to stock our products. Our products are now stocked in hundreds of independent shops in the UK and Europe.

I love the Vegan Bergamot and Sage deodorant. Its fresh herbal scent is my ‘go to’ and I always have one or 2 rolling around in the bottom of my bag! 

An ideal day

I love river days in the sunshine. We are very lucky in mid-Wales to have many beautiful river swimming spots and when the sun is out we often spend long days at the river, swimming & exploring the rock pools, cooking food on the fire and then sleeping under the stars. 

3 self-care secrets

1. Prioritising myself. It’s so easy to get carried away with the busyness of life and raising children that sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves. Here are a few things which I do for me…
2. I love to sing! I sing with a local community choir each week and I find that singing in a group is a really great way to relax and resettle the nervous system.
3. Taking 10 minutes, with a cup of tea in the garden, listening to the birds and paying attention to the small things is great way for me to start the day calmly and from a place of gratitude.

Ruby Sagu lives in West Yorkshire with her husband and two children. She is the founder of Devaiya Oils

Devaiya Oils was born in 2015 after I had a car accident and suffered from a serious whiplash injury. I learnt about the power of essential oils and their amazing properties and created an oil blend to heal my painful symptoms naturally. I was amazed by the difference that the oil made and further, positive results from other people led to the launch of this first product, Aches Away is now a best seller. My passion for the power of oils and desire to help others with natural healing led to the launch of my brand. The word Devaiya (pronounced DEV-EYE-AA) means medicine in panjabi and is a combination of my children's names 

I love our Nourish cream for its beautiful aroma and skin loving properties, the Aches Away is a great product for the whole family and is a must have at home and Stress Away is a beautiful calming oil and great for those busy day's reminding you to pause and breathe. 

An ideal day

I love nature and being outdoors and my ideal day would consist of a long scenic walk in nature with family, followed by a nutritious lunch, teaching a relaxing face yoga class and indulging in a soak or hair pamper before bed! 

3 self-care secrets

1. Face yoga and massage As well as my aromatherapy range I am also a face yoga teacher and practice face yoga and massage everyday
2. Breathwork and meditation This is not always an easy thing to do in this fast paced world so making time to pause and check in with ourselves is so importance for balance and avoiding feelings of overwhelm.
3. Exercise and movement! In my mid 40's I make an effort to stay fit and physically active with cardio and strength exercises to keep my bones and muscles strong. 

Steve Anyiwo is the founder of Datsit. He lives in south west London with his partner and children

“In 2019, motivated by the skin irritations and allergic reactions my twin daughters were experiencing from commercial moisturisers, I embarked on a journey to create a safer, natural alternative. I began researching into the harmful ingredients commonly found in skincare products and after a year of experimenting with natural formulations I managed to produce my own product for family use.

During the 2021 lockdown, amidst a year of unemployment from my regular job, I decided to invest my resources into launching a skincare business. This journey was not without its challenges, including navigating uncharted territory such as legalities, compliance issues, and trademarking, without any help or guidance. Despite these hurdles, and with an initial personal investment of £10,000, the business officially began trading in January 2022.

My favourite product in our range is the Datsit Nut Free body butter. This formulation addressed directly specific concerns some customers had, those that spoke with me at various pop-ups and events. Following those conversations and subsequent online research, I was able to develop and test a product, gather feedback, and finally produce something for the marketplace. I love the smell, and how I was able to ensure the texture was very similar to the other body butters in the range, without a trace of nut oil.

An ideal day

This is a tough one, as an ideal day could be in my business, with family, or some personal time. I guess I have ideal moments. Some alone time by a river or sea with my partner (very rare). Seeing my family and friends enjoy a meal I’ve lovingly prepared. Seeing my children’s personalities develop in the safe space my partner and I have created is a joy. But for me an ideal day would always involve good food, loving company, outside in great weather, stress free. 

Self-care secrets

I can share some of my thoughts on self-care, but I can’t claim to have been able to implement them all successfully!

1. Stress Free: Trying to remain stress free is key to a healthy life. It’s an almost impossible task as it involves having a particular mindset, and the opportunities available. But how we receive or interpret events is within our control. So I try to work on having a positive mindset, and strip the power of negativity on my life. That often involves reframing what is being presented to me into something more positive.
2. Pilates: I’m a big guy. My weight’s been up and down since my teens, but I’ve always been heavy set. I have had issues with my back since 2010, and although I am used to weight training in the gym, the introduction to Pilates has been the most significant self-care moment of my life. At the time I was the only man attending the class in my local gym, so you can imagine this huge heavy set guy amongst slim gracious women, trying to keep up with all the stretches and contortions they all found so easy. But I persevered, and now there is hardly a week in my calendar that I don’t attend a class. I love how it makes me feel afterwards. I love how you are told to breathe and park any other thoughts to focus on the movements. For an hour you can really administer self-care on both body and mind. It’s great!

Krusha Patel is the founder of Chantic Home, a small family run business, in north west London.  

When I lost my job in the pandemic I needed something to focus on. I have 2 dogs, one of which is sensitive. My older dog, Remus was affected by allergies. It triggered his skin allergies and his sense of smell. 

So I started with a range of essential oil sprays and pet balms and developed my product range to include natural skincare and home fragrance. With our home fragrance I started to experiment with the idea of creating 100% vegan candles with soya wax, which is naturally biodegradable.

We developed our pet balms and lip balm to be safe enough to be eaten! Our lip balm is versatile, and can be used on your lips, hand or body. The ingredients are sustainably sourced by UK suppliers, natural, hand-made and free from preservatives and parabens. As someone who has suffered with eczema since birth I can't get enough of its calming effects on my skin, especially with seasonal eczema flare ups. 

My current favourite product in skincare is the passionfruit lip balm. I love how smoothly and easily it goes onto my lips, how I can take it almost everywhere I am never without it and how I love the taste of sweet passionfruit on my lips, all packaged in eco friendly and sustainable aluminium tin, which can be reused again and again. 

An ideal day

My ideal day begins with a leisurely morning stroll with my corgi, Tilly, as we venture out to meet her friends in the park. Following our walk, we indulge in a wholesome breakfast together, laying the foundation for the day ahead. I carefully plan the day ahead and prioritise tasks, allowing breaks for creative exploration, this helps for me to refine ideas and developing products tailored for both my customers and stockists. Each task is approached with intention and purpose throughout the day. 

After a rewarding day of productivity, I love a hearty evening meal before transitioning into a tranquil atmosphere by lighting one of our scented candles. This ritual for me starts the process of me unwinding and relaxing. 

3 self-care secrets

1. Learning to say no: As a small business owner, I have to learn how to say no this may be to opportunities, seeing friends or taking advice from someone. To be able to focus my mind and preserve my energy I have to sometimes take a step back and assess is this something that will cause me to take on too much. Saying no helps to recognise your limits and honour them, and also helps you to prioritise things and people that value and contribute to your wellbeing. 
2. Staying mindful: It's sometimes so hard to take a moment for yourself. When I have conversations with people I try to be present without being distracted. I meditate in the evening to help evaluate my energy levels. Mindfulness activities could include breathing exercises, mindfully eating or just observing your surroundings.
3. Being consistent: With anything it's important to stay consistent, to carve time out for yourself daily or weekly. Things to nourish your body, mind and soul from journaling or meditation to a massage. You need to also consistently prioritise your self-care, so that you can keep going. If you take care you, you can take care of more people and things. 

MORE INSPIRATION

READ About all the winners of this year's Green Parent Natural Beauty Awards in the Beauty Bible, available with issue 120 of The Green Parent, which is published this week. Click here to get your copy before everyone else.

DISCOVER For our next self-care instalment from beauty brand founders, check back on Monday 22nd to read about why you need to challenge yourself!