Post-Hospital Pamper

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know I’ve spent the last month or so in and out of hospital. I’ve found that the warm hospital atmosphere, plus the various drugs I’ve been given, has left me with really dry, itchy skin and lacklustre, dull hair. So, I decided to treat myself to some pampering and give myself some much-needed TLC!

I decided to pop a status on Facebook and Twitter, to get some suggestions for the best products for my current needs, and got some great suggestions. I already had a few bits and bobs, but thought I’d buy myself the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser as so many people recommended it. And I can understand why! It’s really gentle on my skin and leaves it feeling clean and soft, getting rid of the horrible clogged up feeling my skin developed while I was in hospital. From Liz Earle, I also decided to try Superskin Concentrate, as you could buy a 2ml vial for £6, which I thought was a great way to try out a new product. You apply this at night, before your moisturiser, and it is said to help soften dry or mature skin and balance combination and oily skin. I haven’t used enough yet to comment on it’s effects, but so far so good!

A lovely friend of mine saw my Facebook status, and that same afternoon she popped round with the most amazing pampering goody bag, filled with hair products, bubble bath, moisturisers and nail varnish. Not only did this help me pamper the outside of my body; it really made me feel good inside too, knowing I have such a special friend! The goody bag contained the Aussie Shampoo, Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Treatment and the Dove Purely Pampering Nourishing Lotion. I’m already a massive fan of Aussie products, but don’t tend to use them day-to-day as they’re a bit over my budget, so I was really excited to see these in the bag. The treatment is amazing – to me, it smells like marshmallows and leaves my hair feeling so soft and shiny. I’ve been using it once a week, which seems to work well and I’ll definitely be repurchasing it when this one runs out! To get a deeper treatment out of it, you can wrap your hair up in Clingfilm, then go off to watch a movie or something before washing it out. I’ve used Dove products before and always found them very good, but I’d not seen this particular moisturising lotion before. It smells great and sinks straight into your skin, leaving you feeling moisturised but not sticky. I’m also having problems with my legs itching, possibly caused by my gall bladder problems, and the only thing that seems to offer any relief is this moisturiser.

One thing I really missed while I was in hospital was having a warm bubbly bath, so one of the first things I did when I got home was to fill my tub up with warm water, adding a squirt of one of my favourite Lush products – Snow Fairy (only available at Christmas unfortunately). I also lit some candles to really create a relaxing atmosphere. I’m a massive fan of candles, especially Yankee candles, but I was recently given this candle from Lily-Flame, which smells so sweet. They sell a whole range of candles and reed diffusers, which look lovely, but are quite similar to those found at Bomb Cosmetics who sell a whole range of pampering goodies that smell absolutely delicious – from bath bombs to candles, soaps to gift sets.

The last products that were essential for my post-hospital pampering were a selection of moisturising goodies for various parts of my body. My lips were incredibly dry and chapped, as I was nil-by-mouth for the majority of my hospital stays, so having some Nivea lip salve was an absolute must. My hands also became very dry, and were starting to get sore, so I really needed an intensive moisturiser especially designed to use on your hands. This Wild Rose hand cream from The Body Shop is fantastic. I’ve been using it every night before I go to bed – it sinks into my skin instantly, smells gorgeous (it reminds me of Turkish Delight!) and I wake up with soft, moisturised hands. They do a whole range of different hand creams for different skin problems, but I’m tempted to give them all a try! For my face, I’ve been using my normal moisturiser from Johnsons, which has always suited my skin very well. I would like to invest in a more intensive facial moisturiser at some point, that I can perhaps apply at night, but I’m not sure where to start as there are so many options to choose from! And, last but not least, is the iconic Body Shop Body Butter, which I find is really great for places like elbows, knees and so on (although I do sometimes use it everywhere!) I remember the first time I was given a Body Butter – I think it was the Vitamin E one – ever since then I’ve been hooked! I love going into the store and smelling all the different flavours – it takes me ages to choose which one I want to buy!

There were a few other recommendations from friends and other bloggers, which I’ve made a list of as I couldn’t afford to treat myself to any more at the moment, but when some of these run out I’ll be taking a look at my list for some new ideas.

Do you enjoy pampering yourself? What are your favourite products that you treat yourself with?