This time last year you may have rolled your eyes at all the ‘self-care’ chatter, maybe even brushed it off as marketing hype — but wellness trends happen for a reason. Here we are, mid-2020, holding on to our self-care routines for dear life.

This summer, we met Nikita Gibson on Instagram and instantly took to her holistic approach to self-care. We asked the new author to share some advice with us uring this season that could easily lead many of us to emotional burn-out and overwhelm. Here are five simple, high-impact habits the author recommends now… 

I wrote my book for everyone who has ever been too busy or may sometimes forget to care for themselves because they are caring for others. I wanted to remind readers that neglecting yourself is the ultimate recipe for disaster. You have to start with you.

In my new book, my holistic and self care remedies help to serve as a reminder to never put yourself last.

A healing cup of tea | You need to heal from the inside out. When you need to decompress, make a cup of Ginger Lemon ImmuniTea, sit and enjoy. 

What you’ll need:

2 limes or 2 lemons, washed and cut up with skin and seeds
4 cloves garlic (if you have low blood pressure)
6 to 8 cloves of garlic (if your blood pressure is normal to high)
1 small or medium onion
1/4 pound ginger, washed and sliced or cut up

Instructions: 

Blend all ingredients together in about a quart of water.
Strain through a towel.
Blend trash/fiber/pulp a second time to get all the substance.
Trash/fiber/pulp can be boiled to get even more of the substance.
Boil for 5 minutes and let cool.
Strain fiber/trash/pulp through the same towel.

Grab your favorite book and do a deep dive. I wrote my book Self-Care: A Guide to Holistic Healing: Internal & External Care because I wanted to give men and women a resource for focusing on what we often put last — ourselves. When I need to ‘detox’ my mind, I grab my favorite books, head to a quiet place and focus on me for a few moments. In my new book, Chapter 7: Remedies is filled with self-care tools that really help me. 

Detox + Reset: You may be wondering, ‘Why should I detox?’.  I go into detail about this in my book, but here is a short expert, “Our body is constantly working to rid itself of toxins and, over time, the body gets run down from unhealthy food choices, environmental toxins, stress, alcohol, caffeine, and drugs. No matter how healthy your diet or lifestyle may be, we will always have to recharge and rid ourselves of anything that may be holding us back from optimal health and supreme vitality. Illness and disease occur when our organs are treated terribly and unable to work efficiently. Taking time to cleanse the body was the norm growing up in my household. It gives us greater energy, clearer skin, and allows us to digest what we consumed better. Now, as an adult, my detoxification practices helps me achieve clarity, mental health and overall well being.”

Nourish your largest organ | Feel beautiful on the surface with this essential mask. In my book, I talk about how a good skincare routine starts from the inside and no matter how many topical treatments you use, if you aren’t giving the largest organ on your body the nutrients it needs, it’s never going to flourish. When I’m feeling overwhelmed, putting on a mask and relaxing for 30 minutes while cleaning my mind, does the trick. Start with the following ingredients:

1 avocado
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey

Mix this mask, apply to clean skin, leave on until set, or for at least 30 minutes. Wash off and feel brand new!

Detox Your Mind: Social media breaks don’t hurt — sometimes we all need that. It can be a hard, but necessary practice, in times like these. What we see visually, and experience daily, can have a tremendous impact on us, emotionally and physically. After you have gone through the four remedies above to detox your body, mind and skin, this small mental health break can have a huge impact.