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For our inaugural body care conversation, Glossy sat down with Shel Pink, founder and CEO of 18-year-old Sparitual, a sustainable, vegan beauty brand based on the rituals of self-care. Through Sparitual, Pink promotes the importance of body care from the neck all the way down to the soles of the feet.
In Pink’s world, a typical day is not complete without at least two self-administered full-body massages. According to the beauty founder and author of the book “Slow Beauty, Rituals and Recipes to Nourish the Body and Feed the Soul,” published in 2015, hitting all of your reflexology points when you first wake up and right before bed is a great way to destress and clear your mind.
“We hold stress everywhere in our body, so having that regular maintenance helps to keep stress at bay and relieve it on a regular basis, because it’s a cumulative thing,” Pink told Glossy. “It’s hard to reduce stress. There’s so much of it in our bodies. But if you address it on a daily basis, then you’re just in a better place. That impacts your mood, your sleep and your relationships. There’s a direct correlation between how you take care of skin and self-massage, and how you show up in the world.”
Pink’s personal massages, which are modified versions of the Abhyanga ayurvedi massage, are one of the few times during the day when she can meditate and reflect. According to health and wellness publication Healthline, an Abhyanga self-massage can also reduce muscle stiffness, promote lymphatic drainage and improve skin health.
For Pink, the only downside she’s found around this health-filled ritual is that, in order to effectively perform the massages, you need to use oil. While oil can be great for the skin, the type she was using left stains on her clothes. To combat this frustration, she developed the Body Salve. It’s still an oil, but it’s formulated with special ingredients to prevent clothing stains. The salve currently comes in three scents, plus it can be used morning and night and anywhere on the body, making it the perfect product for full-body massages.
“[When giving myself massages], I start at my feet, and it’s kind of intuitive. I work my way up … and I put my Body Salve everywhere. I put it in between my toes, on my nails and on the heels of my feet, and I rub it on my ankles. I pay extra attention, doing circular motions, around the knees, and then I do long strokes where I’m holding tension. [While doing this,] you’re intuitively creating a self-massage that’s really personal,” Pink shared.
Performing these daily self-care massages led Pink to explore her foot health more intensely. Through research, she learned that the feet are a crucial part of the body and overall health. They deserve extra attention, she said. Aside from providing the foundation for your body, feet play an important role in one’s organ health. If not taken care of properly, foot complications can lead to a myriad of larger health issues. Because of this, Pink created the Foot Balm to encourage consumers to engage with their feet regularly. Pink predicts that, as beauty and wellness enthusiasts continue to invest in body care products and education, the next trend in the category will be a focus on foot health.
Along with massages and foot health, Pink said that knowing the ingredients you’re putting on your body is crucial to body care. As an advocate for slow beauty, Pink uses her platform to spread awareness of the dangers harsh chemicals can have on the body, both externally and internally. Her Instagram account @sparitualist currently has 25,800 followers. “Our skin health is so important because it helps us boost immunity,” Pink said. “There are all these amazing benefits to paying attention to our body and working with products to improve skin health and overall well-being”
Read on for more highlights from the conversation.
Pink’s full body-care routine
“I do the dry body brushing daily, and then I do exfoliation probably two to three times a week in the shower. When I’m in the shower, [I spray a hydrating mist] to pump it up and make it like a real spa culture environment. When I get out of the shower, I towel dry. I use our Body Salve every day when I get out of the shower, and I spray the hydrating mist in the environment and walk through that. I’m all about hydrating and exfoliating for healthy, glowy skin. Then I use hand serum and then foot balm. … I [also] do a reflexology-type self-massage on my feet and put foot balm on my feet before I go to bed.”
Trends to watch in body care
“People are going to spend more time [doing daily rituals] … The sensorial aspect, with high-touch [processes] and [product] textures, will be a focus. … It’s not just about the supplements you’re taking, but it’s also about how you’re caring for your skin. People want to nourish their skin with healthy products that include certified organic ingredients that are green and healthy. People are going to become addicted to [fairtrade ingredients] because they’re going to see what the cumulative effects are once they start using them and how they increase their overall sense of well-being over time. The shower is great. … It’s like going to the spa. Spa culture at home is going to be a huge trend, especially since everyone is threatened by the recession looming. Going to the spa is super expensive, so if you can’t get to the spa, you can create that environment at home. In the bathroom, it will be important for the products you have on your counter and in your shower to relate to the health of the skin. Education on the different types of massages and exfoliation practices and bathing [are also going to be big]. … And the whole idea of getting clean feet before you get into bed by hydrating them and doing a few reflexology points that link to helping sleep health [will become popular]. Foot health is going to become super important in the body care category.”
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