My Simple 5 Step Evening Self-Care Routine

You will have heard me time and time again talk about how important self care is for your wellbeing. And I will never stop. But the most important part of it for me is my evening self-care routine.

Self-care is essential, and I believe we should all be doing everything we can to look after ourselves. No matter how big or small, even the slightest bit of self-care can make all the difference. 

For someone who doesn’t have a lot of energy, I really cherish any self-care activities that are relatively easy and simple. There are lots of options out there, and I’m sure I will list them all at some point, but for now I thought I’d go through my evening routine before I go to bed. 

I try my best to do each of these things every night in order to ensure a good night’s sleep, and so that I wake up feeling refreshed.

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My 5 step evening self-care routine.

One thing I will note is that I rarely ever manage to complete EVERY step on the list, but I do try my best and regardless of how many I do I still feel the difference the next day (and it is possible to do the whole thing in 30 minutes, nice and easy).

Step One: Clean my teeth

Honestly, this is the one that often falls through the cracks (I can hear the disgust and judgement coming through the screen as I type this, but it’s true). I didn’t grow up in an environment where I was pushed to clean my teeth every day, and as a child I often just didn’t do it at all. 

I didn’t realise how gross that was until high school/college, when I started doing it in the morning before I went out, and it wasn’t until the last few years that I actually started regularly cleaning my teeth before bed. It has just never become a habit for me. So, there are times that I do just forget to clean my teeth before bed.

It’s also the one part of my routine that I have to do outside of my bedroom, and when I’m exhausted it just feels too much to go and do it, when my bed is right there. I try my best to just push myself to do it but it doesn’t always happen (and please don’t feel bad if you are the same).

It is important though, and if you can do it I do advise you to. I can definitely feel the difference when I have cleaned my teeth before bed – I feel fresher and cleaner, and ready to sleep. It’s also good for your general health, and a healthy body can help to create a healthy mind. 

Step Two: Wash my face

I’ve seen a lot of debate lately on social media about washing your face and whether or not you use soap. Some people have been outraged to find that people don’t use soap on their face every day – well I certainly don’t.

When I shower in the morning I do put water on my face, but I NEVER use soap – because I have insanely sensitive skin and haven’t found a single soap product that doesn’t burn my skin. 

Instead, every evening (well, most evenings) I use a reusable make-up pad and some micellar water and take my make-up off and wash my face. It doesn’t sting, it takes of my make-up, and that’s really all I’m looking for. I don’t know if this actually cleans my face, but I don’t feel dirty so I’m going with it!

Sometimes, if I’m feeling like I’ve got a bit more oomph in me before bedtime I will use a toner as well after this. Toners are meant to close up and tighten your pores after cleansing, and prevent you getting spots and blackheads. I don’t know if they do or not, but I like to use them.

This easy step not only makes me feel really good and clean, but it also makes it easier to get ready the next day. My make-up is off, so I can just put some water on my face in the shower and then put more make-up on the next day (or not, depending on what I’m doing). Simple. 

Step Three: Moisturise

I LOVE moisturiser. My skin gets so dry, so it feels great to give it some moisture. 

Using moisturiser also means that in the daytime my skin feels so good. I don’t feel like it’s flaky or that it looks bad, it really boosts my self esteem.

I think most people use moisturiser in the mornings, or have specific day and night moisturisers, but I try to avoid putting anything like that on my skin in the mornings. I am quite a sweaty person, I can’t get away from that. Even when it is freezing outside I get sweaty. If I put moisturiser on in the morning it just makes it worse. I sweat more, and I look noticeably sweaty as well which is terrible for my self confidence. 

Instead I smother myself in moisturiser before bed, don’t have to worry about sweat (because I’m in bed, and my bed doesn’t care if I’m sweaty), and wake up feeling fantastic! 

Step Four: Yoga

This is another step I don’t always have the energy for, but I do really feel the benefits when I do manage to include as part of my evening self-care.

Before bed I try to do a few minutes of guided yoga. I try to stick to bedtime yoga routines that are simple, not too demanding on your body, and relaxing and comfortable. Exercising before bed can be dicey, because it releases adrenaline that can keep you awake, so try to do work outs that are designed for bedtime.

Yoga is so great for relaxation, mindfulness, flexibility, and it’s great for both chronic fatigue and mental health. You can do it in a chair, on the floor, in your bed, there are so many options. And after even just a few minutes I feel noticeably better.

If doing yoga before bed doesn’t appeal to you, I do still recommend trying to fit it into your self-care routine. It’s freeing, and refreshing, and so good for your body (and your mind).

Step Five: Relax

This can take whatever form you want really, but I definitely recommend trying to go to bed a bit earlier to make some time for relaxation. 

You could light some incense (safely of course), read, meditate, listen to a podcast, watch some ASMR, watch your favourite show, do self-massage, or anything else you may find relaxing. 

Personally, I either read or watch ASMR, and then listen to a podcast to help me sleep. It really just depends how much energy I have. Reading makes me very tired, so if my eyes already feel quite strained then I will watch some of my favourite ASMR videos such as itsblitzzz or Gentle Whispering. But I do love reading an interesting book to help me take my mind off the day I’ve had – at the moment I am reading ‘The Little Book of Hygge’ and I’m really enjoying it. 

Whatever it is that makes you feel relaxed, anything at all, try and do it before bed to help you go to sleep with a more calm mindset. If, like me, you’ve ever experienced sleep anxiety this can really make the difference between a good night’s sleep and a bad one. 

Why an evening self-care routine is important.

Having a routine before you go to bed is so important in getting your body and mind ready for sleep. 

When you do the same thing each night, in the same order, your body knows what is coming and gets itself ready to sleep without you even noticing. It can help you fall asleep easier and faster, which for me has always been a problem (it can take me hours to fall asleep). 

This evening self-care routine can also help you get ready for the next day, and wake up feeling prepared for it instead of stressed. I can’t guarantee you that it will make every day good, but it can certainly help. I speak from experience.

Do you have any other tips for a healthy evening self-care routine? Is there anything you do that I haven’t listed here? Feel free to leave a comment below!

If you liked this, make sure you check out my 5 ideas for self-care when you have no energy.