This Valentine’s Day, love your self-care routine

Whether you’re spending Valentine’s Day alone or with a special someone, it’s a great time to show yourself some love with beautifully formulated personal care products.

Published On: 02/13/24

Self-love looks different for everyone.

For some, it’s eating ice cream straight from the tub while watching reality dating shows (Singles Inferno, anyone?). For others, it’s all about the little rituals that make you feel beautiful inside and out.

Valentine’s Day has traditionally been about celebrating love with a romantic partner. That’s great for those of us who have a special someone, but for others, the holiday is about building healthy relationships with family, friends, and your own body and mind.

Statistics show the latter is becoming more and more important for consumers today. To paraphrase RuPaul, if you can’t love yourself, how can you love somebody else?

72% of Americans say they have taken a greater interest in their self-care routines over the past two years.
Source: Talker

How a wellness routine can spark new feelings

It’s important to acknowledge how concepts like self-esteem, self-confidence, and overall wellness play into the need for self-care rituals. With all the idealized images portrayed on social media, many consumers feel a societal pressure to fit mainstream beauty ideals.

When consumers feel they don’t fit those popular notions of beauty, concepts like self-love can feel like a challenge. Personal care products have the potential to shift those feelings in a positive direction by supporting relaxation and reducing stress.

To put it another way, the importance of self-care is less about how a product makes you look and more about how good the routine makes you feel.

What is (self) love?

So, you’ve decided to be your own Valentine this year. Is it enough to buy yourself some chocolates and a bouquet of roses? Maybe book a spa appointment? Or is there a more personal way to express self-love?

When it comes to research and polls, answers are all over the map. A 2023 study found the top self-care method for US youth was listening to music (72%), while another found journaling was the most popular self-care activity in 35 out of 50 states.

One study found that 74% of people associate self-care with taking care of their bodies, 74% think self-care is about fitness and exercise, while 72% associate it with beauty and grooming rituals.

To find answers from real people, we also looked at some Reddit threads asking users about their favorite self-care routines. Common answers included sleep, drinking water, eating healthy (or, by contrast, eating something indulgent), and reading.

In the personal care realm, answers that came up consistently include hygiene (face washing, flossing, and showering), scents and perfumes, hair care with their favorite shampoos and conditioners, and a whole lot of skincare (moisturizing, exfoliating, and using new lotions, soaps, and masks).

Woman in bathrobe using skin lotion on back of hand

When love is more than skin-deep

It’s clear that beauty and personal care products are an important part of how many people demonstrate self-love. As a formulator, it’s your job to ensure they adore the results. To inspire your self-care product creations, we developed some ingredients and formulations to share with you. Think of it as our love language.

For those with sensitive skin, Sacred Patch™ delivers a comforting hug based on molecular patch technology. It’s a key ingredient in the Enveloped in Comfort Skin Serum, delivering relaxing comfort, hydration, and reduced irritation in the skin.

Breakthrough Body Butter can redefine your relationship with severely dry skin by providing a rich, nourishing, and hydrating sensation. Formulated with emollients such as Cetiol® SoftFeel, it’s a decadent way to keep skin feeling smooth and silky.

Love is in the hair

To look and feel beautiful, your hair also needs a regular dose of nourishing ingredients. Try the Hair Hydrate Conditioner to show your locks some love. Powered by Myritol® 331 N and other naturally derived ingredients, it hydrates and revitalizes hair for silky-smooth texture worthy of a date night (or a fabulous night in).

Ready for a new partnership?

The team of scientists at BASF is here to help you meet consumers’ self-care goals. Contact us to request a sample or discuss your next personal care formulation. Oh, and happy Valentine’s Day!

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Harmony Blend: Diverse formulas for our diverse needs

We believe that diversity and inclusion should be celebrated in every office, in every community—and on every store shelf. You, and everyone else, deserve to walk down the beauty and personal care aisles and see you represented: your skin tone. Your hair texture. Your unique needs and preferences, available with high-quality ingredients and thoughtfully crafted blends. With that vision in mind, we at BASF are incredibly proud to present Harmony Blend. Harmony Blend is a breakthrough collection with quality and representation at the core, embracing the essence of textured hair and melanated skin.

This Valentine’s Day, love your self-care routine

Self-love looks different for everyone.

How a wellness routine can spark new feelings

What is (self) love?

When love is more than skin-deep

Love is in the hair

Ready for a new partnership?

Related Formulations

Enveloped in Comfort Skin Serum

Hair Hydrate Conditioner

Breakthrough Body Butter

Related Products

Sacred Patch™ BC10022

Myritol^® 331 N

Cetiol^® SoftFeel

Rediscover the joy in beauty with playful skincare trends

Harmony Blend: Diverse formulas for our diverse needs