Beauty rituals. These can be as routine as washing your face before going to bed or may need a reminder in your phone or planner. How much and how frequently you spend time on your self-care is always up to you, but here are a few things to consider for keeping your grooming in tip-top shape without spending all day at your dressing table.

Daily

If you can’t be bothered to do much before going out the door, at the very least, use a mild cleanser. If you are in your 20’s, it’s not too early to start wearing eye cream daily. The thin skin on your eyelids will thank you for delaying the earliest signs of skin aging. 

If you can be bothered, use a toner in the morning that helps address your skin concerns, whether it’s oiliness, redness, or dryness. For me, this extra step really helps prep the skin for the next layer of skincare.

Sun protection, no matter how little time you will be spending outdoors. Yes, even if the day is overcast.

Some people look forward to bedtime because it means it’s time for the indulgent 10-step skincare routine. If you would rather spend the time on Netflix or a book, make sure to at least cleanse, tone, moisturize, and again apply eye cream. 

Weekly

Over a week, your skin might start to look or feel dull or rough from pollution, makeup, or just the natural pile-up of dead skin cells. Using an exfoliant at least once a week will help scrub off those impurities that your regular cleanser can’t. Depending on your exfoliant, if it’s very mild, you can use it up to twice a week. Do not use exfoliants daily, as they may irritate your skin. If not used properly, some of these can even cause tiny lesions on the surface of the skin and cause more dryness or damage. Remember your face is made of delicate skin; do not scrub at it like a dirty pan in your kitchen.

Once a week is also a good time to do a mask, whether it’s a sheet mask or clay mask. So that you can remember to do this, pick a day like Sunday so that you’ll close your weekend on a relaxing note and have your best face forward at the start of the week.

Monthly

Some people like to go for mani-pedis every weekend, but with the pandemic, this hasn’t been possible. A monthly visit to the nail salon is acceptable; you can trim your nails at home in between.

Waxing about once a month is recommended. Go without a wax too long and hair may need more maintenance; go too often, and hair may be too short to really grab.

More on g.spot: 5 Ways to Go Hair-Free This Summer — If You Want To!

Quarterly

It is recommended to get a professional facial at a skin clinic monthly for the best maintenance. The skin clinic will have products and machines for results that can’t quite be achieved at home. However, many of us don’t have the luxury of time, or the budget to spend P1,000 monthly for this. As long as you are pretty religious about your daily and weekly skincare, professional facials can be cut down to once every two or three months.

It takes about four to six weeks for hair to start growing noticeably. A quarterly visit to the salon will keep hair color, or if your style if you have short hair, looking fresh. A hack of many busy women, one that also works well in this pandemic, is to visit a colorist who specializes in seamless hair color. This is a coloring technique where you can’t see a harsh line of regrowth in the hair, so you can have your color retouched just once every six months.