Summer Self Care Essentials

The summer season has officially arrived and I am beyond excited! Summertime is my absolute favorite time of the year with long hot days, nature green and thriving, beach trips, warm nights, cookouts, outdoor music festivals, I could go on!

Enjoying what each season brings to you and enhancing your life through it is about embodying the energy of that particular season. Summer is a highly energetic time of year. It’s a time of adventure, freedom, love, expansion, joy, fruition, celebration, and flow. It invites us to get out more, to have more experiences, to celebrate ourselves and how far we've come, be authentic and live in our power, simply enjoy what the day is bringing us, to spend more time in nature, let pleasure guide us, and to deeply nourish ourselves.

My “Summer Self Care Essentials” guide is full of lifestyle products that will help you embody summer vibrations all while enhancing health, wellbeing, self love and fulfillment. And of course I didn't forget to throw in a little summertime recipe to enjoy! If you want to check out any of the products I talk about, simply click the underlined headings and it will bring you right to the product page! Let the guide commence…

Mineral Sunscreen

Along with the hot, sunny summer days usually comes longer sun exposure. The sun is integral to human health and wellbeing. Without proper amounts of daily sunshine on bare skin we will stay at a lower level of health and homeostasis will never be fully achieved.

We have been so conditioned to fear the sun and have been led to believe it causes more damage than it actually does. We are meant to be exposed to the sun, we need it as it offers an array of powerful benefits including initiating and regulating so many processes within the body right down to the cells. It's all about intentional sun exposure, 15-20 minutes of direct sunlight on the skin per day is all it takes.

Sunscreen comes in handy when you're going to be out in the sun for extended periods of time without breaks. Even though we need the sun to survive and thrive, too much of anything can be harmful. We want to avoid getting burnt and causing damage to the skin, our largest organ. We also want to avoid lathering chemical sunscreen onto our skin which only increases sun sensitivity and adverse reactions, negatively impacts the liver and blood, and damages marine life.

All of the toxic agents found in most sunscreens not only contaminate your body but the oceans as well, greatly affecting coral reefs and ultimately thousands of marine life species. Earth, and humans, will not survive without healthy oceans - about 80% of the oxygen we breathe comes from marine plants and animals.

You’ll want to look for mineral sunscreens that list “zinc oxide” as the only active ingredient. The one I've been using for a couple years now is from Native. I opt for the fragrance free version as most scents are chemicals.

If you're interested in learning more about the sun, health benefits, and intentional sun exposure check out my blog Sunbeams For Wellbeing.

Glass Water Jug

Staying hydrated is always of the utmost importance. We tend to need more water during the hot months so you'll want to make sure you always have water by your side! This 64 oz glass water bottle is perfect for taking with you anywhere you go and serves as a reminder to sip it throughout the day! I call mine my child and it basically never leaves my side no matter what time of year it is!

We don't want to be drinking water from plastic as it leaches into the water and is detrimental not only to human health but earth as well. It's in our best interest to begin eliminating plastic products from our lives and replacing them with glass and high quality metal versions.

Coconut Oil

I don't know what screams summer time more than coconut oil but if you have yet to treat your skin to this sweet smelling, hydrating goodness, don’t wait any longer! I can't describe to you how good this feels on the skin after a good shower and shave. Plus this is a skin savior after long days in the sun and on the beach!

Lots of body lotions contain harmful ingredients that affect overall health and wellbeing. Anything you put on the skin gets absorbed into the bloodstream and filtered through the liver. Chemicals also affect gut, hormone, kidney, brain and nervous system health. It can be overwhelming to learn what products are good for you and which ones aren't. My philosophy is always to keep it simple! Eliminate all the fluff and return back to things in their natural, most simple form. It doesn't get much more simple or natural than organic coconut oil 🥥

Facial Ice Roller Set

This is such a treat for the skin especially when it's hot out! Keep the ice roller and gua sha in the freezer for a super soothing, cooling effect. These facial tools help to de-puff, increase blood circulation, reduce wrinkles and fine lines, promote lymphatic drainage, and just feel so damn good! You can't go wrong with a self care ritual like this! Use it day or night after you've done your skincare routine.

Sand Resistant Beach Towel

These are the coolest, most convenient beach towels out there! Not only do they dry fast and look super cute but the sand literally just falls off of them. No more getting sand everywhere in your car or house, leave it at the beach with these sand proof towels!

Picnic Set

I am all about romanticizing life and this cute little picnic set does just that! This set comes with everything you need for a date in the park with yourself, friends, family or significant other. It's perfect to take to the beach and even road trips! Hell, you don't even have to go anywhere, set yourself up a dreamy little picnic in your backyard and relish in yourself and life. Little things like this make a huge difference in your self love and fulfillment.

Blue Light Blocking Glasses

These are a must for everyone to add into their lifestyle! Human eyes being exposed to artificial forms of light is still a fairly new thing. It is and has been contributing to the dramatic rise in dis-ease we’ve been seeing for over half a century now. Screens and artificial light are unavoidable these days but there are precautions we can take to minimize the degree at which it affects our health.

Looking at artificial light and screens of any kind is the same as looking at the daytime sunlight at its peak strength, so being exposed to these lights at night specifically is damaging to health. When we rise in the morning and go to sleep at night, different chemical reactions happen within the body that prepare us for either. This is known as the circadian rhythm, our innate sleep wake cycles. The type of light that eyes are exposed to signal different reactions in the brain and body.

As humans, ancestrally and physiologically, we are meant to rise and fall with the sun. When we are exposed to any kind of artificial light after sunset, our brain and body isn't getting the message that it's time to prepare for sleep. The brain and body won't make proper amounts of chemicals for sleep like melatonin, it will continue to produce hormones like cortisol to keep you awake. Melatonin is actually a powerful antioxidant that allows deep healing of the body during sleep. This imbalance causes a ripple effect throughout the body and negatively impacts gut health, nervous system regulation, brain function, liver capacity, immunity and can cause other forms of dis-ease like diabetes, chronic anxiety, depression, infertility, autoimmune disorders, and more.

One of the best things we can do for our health is to start wearing blue light blocking glasses right after the sun has set. This way the circadian rhythm can rebalance, the body can heal, and homeostasis can be restored. This practice also enhances eye health. Many, myself included, who have made this ritual part of their lifestyle report better eyesight, less floaters, and it has been shown that this can seriously help protect eye health long term and avoid eye sight loss.

Pro tip: Get outside to expose your eyes to natural light as soon as you can after waking up in the morning, the closer the sunrise the more effective. Did you know that the eyes have to be exposed to morning sunlight in order for the skin to be able to synthesize D3? Expose yourself to the sunset and the darkness afterward as well.

Non Toxic Nail Polish

I love me a nice, fresh manicure and pedicure at any time of the year but summer especially! Most nail polishes are chemicals and applying it to your nails may not seem like a big deal but it does have negative impacts on health. While completely eliminating harmful chemicals is nearly impossible, we can do things to reduce our toxic load so we aren't overloading our bodies. Swapping products for “clean” or “non toxic” versions although not perfect all the time, decreases the amount of harmful elements we are exposed to, this does add up and make a difference.

Many popular brands of nail polish contain chemicals known to cause cancer, infertility, respiratory issues, skin conditions, hormone disruption, nervous system dysregulation, and harm to eye, liver, brain, and gut health. It can also affect the appearance of nails themselves, causing thinning, peeling, discoloration, and fungal issues. If the appearance of the nail is being affected, it is impacting internal health, your body will always tell you when something is wrong.

Once again we ask why and how these ingredients are allowed to be in our products. Formaldehyde, toluene, and dibutyl phthalate just to name a few. Chemicals applied to the nails get absorbed directly into the bloodstream and filtered through the liver. The non toxic nail polish I linked in the header is vegan, cruelty free, and no toluene, formaldehyde, DBP, TPHP, and comes in a variety of gorgeous colors!

Book Recommendation - Emotions

An incredible book written by the sage Osho. “Emotions” is all about gaining inner freedom from normal human emotions like anger, jealousy, and fear by learning to understand them and not allow them to rule you and your life. It's a short, simple read that offers a lot of insight into oneself. Becoming our happiest, healthiest self is about evolution on all pillars and taking care of every one of our bodies, not just the physical one. Mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health are all integral aspects of attaining true health.

Olive Oil & Honey Iced Coffee + Glass Straws

Coffee is a love language of mine! When I saw this trend of adding olive oil into your coffee I had to try it as I'm a big fan of adding a healthy fat to your cup of joe to enhance health benefits. Usually I add organic coconut oil, grass fed ghee or butter but I have to say that olive oil takes the cake! It adds a certain flavor I didn't know I needed! This recipe is super nourishing but most importantly, delicious!

Note that first cold pressed olive oil is the highest quality, offers the most potent health benefits, and the one you’ll want to always use but never for high heat cooking! You'll also want to go for raw honey, local if you can, for the most nourishment and best flavor! I've linked a wonderful organic coffee for you to check out as well, coffee is one of the most highly sprayed crops alongside oats, rice, and wheat. Don't forget to check out investing in some glass straws, something that benefits your wallet and the environment long term!

What you'll need:

• Mason jar, shaker bottle, or handheld frother

• 2 fresh brewed shots of espresso or 4-6 ounces of regular coffee, organic beans

• 1 tablespoon first cold presses olive oil

• 1-2 tablespoon of raw honey depending on how sweet you like it

• 6-8 ounces of grass fed milk or clean plant milk

• Ice cubes

How to prepare:

• Brew the coffee into a cup of choice and add the olive oil and honey, blend or shake.

• Pour in cold milk, add desired amount of ice cubes, grab your glass straw and enjoy!

This concludes my 2021 Summer Self Care Essentials guide! More important than the items in this guide, I want to leave you with a message - Spend time this summer reconnecting with yourself. Retreat into nature, take quiet slow walks, sit outside at night just to listen to the crickets, spend time with yourself, romance yourself, do the things that get you out of your comfort zone and spark growth and reignite your zest for life.

Wishing you a beautiful Summer 🌿

Much Love,

Bellamy Ryder