Everyone deserves self-care! Working in construction can be tricky. You’re surrounded by males and dirt all day long and if you’re not careful you can get engulfed in the testosterone and lose your girly side. Taking care of yourself should be a priority!
My daughter and I have come up with a top 5 self-care tips for female construction workers:
1. Pedicures & Manicures
Honestly, pedicures are a must! You’re on your feet all day long in steel-toe boots. Your feet take a beating every day. My daughter and I keep a stash of pedicure kits at home and try and get a professional pedicure once every 2-3 months.
Our favourite pedicure kits are VOESH Pedi in a box: 4 steps. They have amazing scents like a chocolate lover, mango, and pumpkin spice!
I get acrylic nails done. I only work on-site 2-3 days a week as I run the office, so this is completely doable for me. My daughter works 5-6 days a week so it’s not as doable for her. She does at-home manicures though and treats herself to a professional manicure to keep the callouses at bay.
2. Massages
We both try and get regular massages done (every 2 months). It’s paid for by our medical insurance (if you have medical insurance and you’re not using it towards massages, you’re doing it wrong!). Our bodies take a beating every day, we’re on ladders, lifting things above our heads, carrying materials, etc. So to prevent injuries we ensure we regularly see a massage therapist so they can keep our muscles where they need to be.
3. Facials and Hair Masks
The construction environment is absolutely the worst for your skin and hair. Debris, chemicals, sweat, dust, dirt, etc coat us for over 8 hours a day. We both have a fairly strict skin care regiment, which includes exfoliating twice a week and applying a face mask once a week.
My absolute favourite face mask is from WEI Beauty Store. It’s a Two-in-One Purifying and Glow Mask Collection that has 4 golden root mask pods and 4 brown sugar pods.
I also use Olay Regenerist Pore Detoxifying Scrub cleaner to exfoliate, Swissokolab revitalizing 24k golden eye mask, and sun’s out, pouts out gold foil lip masks.
We both also do a hair mask once a week to give our lifeless hair a boost. Wearing a hard hat for over 8 hours a day takes the life out of your hair. Treat yourself to proper shampoo, conditioner, and a weekly hair mask treatment and you’ll feel so much better about your hair on your days off. I use a VERB ghost hair mask and she uses Redken hair cleansing cream shampoo.
4. Baths
Again, your body takes a hit all day long! My daughter isn’t a bath person, but I love to take a hot bath once a week. I fill the tub up with hot water and either a bath bomb or a bubble bar (I get mine from lush), set up my bathtub caddy tray (I have a handmade one), with a candle and a glass of wine, and then put my bath pillow in it. Not only does this relax my body and nurture my skin, but it gives me 30 min to myself to relax and forget the week.
5. Gym Membership
Another way we try to prevent injuries is by staying in shape. My daughter has a gym membership and tries to go to the gym 3-4 times a week to strengthen muscles she doesn’t typically use, stretch, and get her cardio in. I prefer to do my workouts at home. We also try to do other stuff to keep us active like yoga, hiking, walks, and fitness classes.
Additionally:
You should also be getting tons of rest and eating healthy. Make sure you socialize and take time for your mental health as well.
Construction is a hard job that you should be proud of yourself for doing. Allowing yourself a bit of self-care isn’t being selfish, it’s vital for your mental health, physical health, and emotional health.
If you’re a woman in construction, let me know what your must-haves for self-care are in the comments section!
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