Products for Your Self-Care Practice in July 2022
We’re heading into the depth of winter now and it takes all the effort we can muster to stave off the cold and dreary atmosphere. This month, the self-care practices are based on products that make the most of the season and invigorate the mind and body.
Because self-care practice can also be about active citizenship, most of the items in this virtual box are locally produced and support local businesses and jobs. Since it’s Mandela Day on 18 July, there are also wool and knitting needles so you can volunteer your 67 minutes from the comfort of home.
TASTE: Cinnamon Apples & Pears
To get the health benefits of fruit and a burst of warmth on a cold day, these warm cinnamon apples and pears are the perfect treat. They also make a healthy snack that’s worth leaving your desk for during the day. Fortunately, they only take a few minutes to make! The recipe is in the guidebook at the bottom of the page.
- R50 at Pick ‘n Pay for 1kg each of pears and apples; R15,99 for 55g cinnamon
- Locally-produced
BODY: Shea Body Butter
Winter weather often results in drier skin due to the drying effect of heavy winds. That’s why it’s so important to moisturise and hydrate the skin during the cold season. Shea butter is full of fatty acids, meaning it’s the perfect moisturiser. It also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
The Body Shop’s Shea Nourishing Body Butter is made with Fair Trade shea butter from Ghana. The body butter feels exactly like a soft butter that melts into the skin easily. It releases a rich, yet not overpowering fragrance and leaves a noticeably shinier skin.
- COST: R100 on sale (down from R200); R80 sizes also available
- Fair trade shea butter from Ghana
SPACE: Beeswax Candles
There’s nothing like fire to keep the cold out. While a candle can’t beat the warming power of a log fire, it does help to create a cosy atmosphere indoors. Beeswax candles also release negative ions when they burn which helps to clean the air of pollutants.
These Simply Bee beeswax candles are made from pure unbleached beeswax. They have a honeycomb pattern on them which, together with the deep mustard colour, makes them very pretty, too.
- COST: R105 at Faithful to Nature
- Locally-made; small, rural business
COMMUNITY & PSYCHE: Wool & Knitting Needles
This month, knitting is our self-care practice that directly benefits disadvantaged communities. 67 Blankets is collecting blankets and knitted squares for Mandela Day. The organisation recommends using acrylic wool (for example, Elle) since it is less allergenic than pure wool but you can perhaps buy pure, locally-made wool (such as African Expressions) and use it to make something for yourself.
Knitting has fantastic mental health benefits so, since there are only four weeks in July, we’ve doubled up the PSYCHE and COMMUNITY categories in this self-care box.
- COST: R60 at Elna for Elle acrylic wool; R60 at Woolcraft for African Expressions wool; R10,50 at PNA for bamboo knitting needles
- African Expressions is locally-made.
Enjoy Your Self-Care Practice
As always, self-care products are nothing without the practice. Each of the products on this list can be used consciously to enhance wellbeing. Our ideas for self-care practices are in the booklet which you can download below.
Have a happy, cosy winter of self-care!
