I hope you enjoyed my first ten self-care tips for dancers returning from coronavirus hiatus and that you’re here for the remaining nine (if you haven’t read those first ten tips, you can find them here)! As promised, here’s the completion of the set of nineteen tips to get your body and mind back in the swing of things after the COVID-19 break, this time featuring nine helpful hints for healthy skin and a healthy mind.
Tip #11: Keep Your Mask Clean
Ah, maskne. I’m a bit of an outlier in that I actually enjoy the fact that mask culture is becoming normalized (I cannot tell you how many days I said to myself “I’m breaking out, but I don’t feel like doing makeup today- I wish I could just wear a mask!), alas, they come with a particularly annoying drawback. The first reusable mask I got was white, but after a few wears, the inside was the same color of beige as my makeup. Plus, it’s August, so the heat and humidity leads to sweat buildup- and adding in the fact that we’re dancers means triple the sweat. No wonder we’re all breaking out.
The first step to combating maskne is to keep your mask clean. If you’re using disposable masks, don’t wear them more than once. If you’re using reusable masks, try to have more than one so you can rotate them out and wash them after every wear. If one is all you can get your hands on, wash it as often as possible. Keep a hand towel with you so you can dab away any sweat on your face before putting a mask on over it, and, especially if you’re in a situation where you have to have the mask on at all times, either reduce the amount of makeup you wear, or don’t wear it at all. (That’s a piece of my own advice that I find particularly hard to take, but I definitely suffer the consequences!)
Tip #12: Opt For A Gentler Skincare Routine:
(This may be different for you depending on your skin type, so take this with a grain of salt and do what’s best for your skin!) What I’ve found works for me in combating maskne, and what might really work for you if you give it a shot, is making my skincare routine as gentle as possible. As dancers, we’re either sweating in our masks, or putting our masks on right after sweating and going out into summer heat. Seeing as masks carry a lot of dirt, piling on a bunch of aggressive products with unique ingredients on top of already clogged pores could actually make your maskne worse instead of better.
I love fancy skincare products as much as anyone else, but I’ve found- especially now- that those things are best for occasional usage, and your day-to-day routine should be as simple and effective as possible. This was a recommendation my dermatologist gave me when I was struggling with acne in the winter before masks were even a thing, and I’ve found that it makes a huge difference.
Make sure you have a quality makeup remover to clear all the gunk out of your pores at the end of a sweaty day, and use a simple regimen of products that are as natural and gentle as possible. My favorites are Cetaphil cleanser and moisturizer (my go-to daytime formula has SPF in it!), a basic toner comprised only of diluted witch hazel, and Derma-E eye cream. During this time, I only do homemade masks (the skincare kind, not the medical kind!) with minimal ingredients (one of my recipes is listed below). Less is more!
Tip #13: Turmeric Face Mask- The Skincare Kind:
One of my favorite ways to fight maskne (or any kind of acne, for that matter), is a super simple and natural mask that I make myself with only two ingredients: lemon juice and powdered turmeric. Lemon and turmeric have similar skincare benefits, which include antibacterial and scar-fading properties. When combined, they pack a punch to combat existing pimples without drying you out, prevent future breakouts, and fade scars from previous ones. Full disclosure: this mask is rather messy and obnoxious in color, so I recommend doing it in the bath. Before jumping in the tub, I squeeze about a quarter of a lemon into a small bowl and add as much turmeric powder as it takes to form a thin paste. I then slather it on my face, chest, and shoulders (again, I recommend doing so in the tub so you don’t get bright orange drips all over your bathroom, which I’ve done before. Learn from my mistakes), and leave it on for about 10-15 minutes before rinsing it off. If you don’t want to bother with a full-on mask, the paste can be used to spot-treat like a zit cream.
I don’t recommend doing this mask if you have other things to do in the day, or even something important the next day, as it stains your skin yellow. It comes off easily after a couple of washes (usually the wash right after the mask and then another one the next morning, for me), but still, not something you want to risk if you have an audition or show coming up.
Tip #14: Having a Day of Nothing:
This one is great to kick off my healthy mind tips, for it is so essential to me and my mental health, coming out of quarantine or not. Going from days full of nothing to days overbooked with activity can do a number on your brain, leaving you frazzled with an impaired ability to function at your best. The longer you’re in that state, the worse it gets.
To combat it, try to give yourself one day a week where you do nothing- no events scheduled, no leaving the house, no working out, no chores (unless you’re like me and certain things- like folding laundry, for example- help relax you), and no work/school related tasks. Just dedicate an entire day to self-care and doing what you want to do- sleep in as late as you feel like and stay in bed all day, binge-watch your favorite shows, read a book, bake if that’s your thing, have a bath with a bath bomb…whatever helps you relax and reset whilst also enjoying yourself.
As someone that used to have seven day weeks of dance, I understand that having such a day once a week is sometimes impossible. Adjust this timing to your needs- whether it be a bi-weekly day of nothing, or two evenings a week of nothing. Just get that time in!
Tip #15: Meditation Exercises:
I don’t know about you, but the return to dance studios hasn’t been a completely happy thing for me. Every day I go, I worry about the possibility of contracting COVID (especially since I’m taking class in a town that’s become a new hotspot for the virus). I also worry about how my skills have slipped during quarantine, and have to decide what’s a bigger priority for me: going to the studio and possibly getting sick, or staying home and not at all being prepared for new beginnings happening in September- plus the added stress of how coronavirus is going to affect that endeavor. There’s a lot of stress going on, and it’s all too easy for my brain to get into a frazzled state. Meditation has been a big help in combating that and getting my mind back on track. I know that some of you think it’s bogus, but just give it a try.
A traditional meditation or following a guided one on YouTube is the most popular option, and certainly effective. But if you’re like me, there are some days where your brain is so active that you can’t get into that state at all. Some alternative options for meditative exercises to try are adult coloring books, intuitive stretches, runs or walks in nature, knitting, etc. Sometimes giving your body something to do can give your mind the green light to calm down. Try to be in an area as quiet and private as you can find, listen to only ambient music if anything, and direct your focus towards the present moment only.
Tip #16: Self-Focus:
This one is always applicable, coming out of quarantine or not, but I’ve found the necessity of this has increased. Everyone had different circumstances and was able to do different things during quarantine- some had full-on home dance studios with access to online classes, and some lived in cramped apartments with limited WiFi. Plus, some studios opened earlier than others- some still had showcases and attended competitions, whilst others could do none of that. As we go about our in-person summer classes and return to our fall programs, some are on top of their game, and it’s easy to feel like you’re struggling if you’re not. It’s easy to look and see the person beside you nailing six pirouettes when you haven’t been able to attempt one in months and can’t seem to find your center. It’s easy to feel down on yourself when someone in class is pulling out flashy acro tricks that you’ve lost because you haven’t been able to try them since March. It’s very easy for the joy of returning to be eclipsed by feelings of inadequacy.
The first step is to draw your focus entirely inward. Put your blinders on. Don’t watch anyone in class. This is easier said than done, but you can make it easier for yourself by keeping busy. While you’re getting back into shape, set personal goals for yourself that have more to do with improvement rather than addition- for example, instead of saying “I want to get my quadruple pirouette,” set the goal of “I’m going to focus entirely on my technique every time I turn, with a technically perfect prep and good alignment in the air.” Instead of saying “I want my extensions to be level with my eye,” say “I’m going to focus on the line of my leg, working on my placement and control of the movement.” It’s a subtle change, but setting more attainable goals is essential as your body readjusts to movement.
The most important component of this, however, is to remind yourself as much as you need to that it’s okay. It’s okay if you’re not technically where you were when quarantine started. It’s okay if you need to hold back a little bit to protect your body. It’s okay to not have been able to do as much over hiatus as your classmate did. In the long run, it’s really not going to make much of a difference. Direct your focus completely inward, and be gentle with yourself.
Tip #17: One Day at a Time:
Piggybacking off of the previous tip, in addition to shifting your focus inward, direct it so that you’re only focusing on what’s right in front of you. I feel that everyone is dealing with a lot of overwhelm right now. With going from nothing to a lot, as well as having no idea what the future holds for you or your industry, it would be concerning if you weren’t a little frazzled. Also, I’ve been personally experiencing an addiction to habit- despite the fact that I was so desperate to get back into a studio during quarantine and how happy I am that I can dance again, the depression that flared up during isolation sometimes makes it hard for me to get moving, and leaves me coming up with a multitude of excuses to stay home.
First off, it’s completely okay to feel that way. It doesn’t mean that you or I don’t love to dance. And it’s okay to take a day off here and there to get readjusted. But when I evaluate my own feelings, they’re usually borne from overwhelm at the amount of things I have to do coming right out of doing almost nothing. After days that were wide open, four classes a night seems like a mountain too tall to climb. On top of all of that, the unsteady future of the entertainment industry as a whole makes it easy to feel like any efforts exerted now are worthless.
However, whenever I take my focus out of the future and put it right in the present moment (another reason why meditation can be so helpful!), my mind seems to breathe. When I stop worrying about how I’m going to get through my last class of the night in the middle of my first and treat each class as if it’s the only one I’m going to take, the night goes by a million times easier. When I start worrying about how tired I’m going to feel at the end of the class and start giving my all to each individual combination and exercise, I find myself improving at a much faster rate. When I put focus in the present, I come home at the end of the night feeling satisfied, fulfilled, and ready for more.
Tip #18: Try Something New:
Following the theme of the rest of these mental health tips, it’s completely understandable if burnout creeps up sooner than usual at this time. Humans love habit, after all, and we’ve thrown ourselves in and out of a lot of different habits and routines lately. But since we’re already all shaken up, a really good way that I’ve found sparks my motivation and creativity is to try something new. If there’s a class that your studio offers that you’re not taking, see if you can jump into one. If there’s a drop-in studio operating in your town, go in and take a class that you’ve never taken before. Perhaps even try out something not directly dance related- martial arts, acting and/or singing lessons, a new style of working out that maybe you haven’t heard of before- like gyrotonics, for example. During this time, I started taking tap class after seven years away from it, took reggae/Jamaican dance, and got addicted to HIIT workouts- all of which cleared the cobwebs from my mind and left me with an even deeper love for dance in my heart. If there’s not anything of the sort available where you live, the internet is a great tool if you do a little browsing. You can find tutorials, walkthroughs, and classes on YouTube for almost everything under the sun!
Tip #19: Find Joy in Every Moment:
Gratitude is a big deal right now. COVID shutdowns made us realize just how much we take things for granted. But in the midst of stressful situations, it’s easy to slip into that state again. Don’t let that happen- use this as an opportunity to make a lifelong change for the better. Do some research into gratitude journaling and try to apply some of the routines that feel the best to you. Give yourself allotted times each day to reflect on what you’re grateful for- for example, every time you sit down for a meal, or every time you walk into a new place. If you find yourself slipping into a negative mindset, redirect your self-talk by listing what’s positive about the situation instead. Choose some affirmations to repeat whenever you need to, such as “I am joyful,” or “I am living the life of my dreams” (a powerful affirmation even if you’re not currently in that situation!). If you’re looking for the negative, that’s what you’re going to find. But if you seek out the positive, your eyes will be opened to a world filled with beauty beyond your imagination.
If you made it this far, thank you so much for taking time out of your day to give this a read! I hope you were inspired to give some of these tips a whirl. Let me know if you do, and how they worked out for you! For now, drop a comment down below, pass this onto your friends, and check me out on social media, all linked below. Until next time!
