If you have some skincare and makeup hacks, then it is just right that you discover some *self-love hacks* too that will work for you. Whether it’s having an overall mental wellness check, or listening to a meditation playlist or even doing a quick yoga sesh, it’s vital that you allow yourself to cope with your daily grind by calming your mind, staying connected with yourself, reassessing your mindset and simply giving yourself some positive self-talk. Taking care of your overall well-being should be a priority, especially now that the pandemic is still upon us. 

But this is easier said than done. Truthfully, it’s easy to put self-care at the the bottom of our list. For me personally, sometimes I feel like there are better things to do other than taking a moment of silence for myself and do some workout. I feel guilty indulging myself while I know there are still tasks that I need to do with my two full-time jobs, a passion project, and my graduate studies. But I believe that when I am drowned with daily pressures, I need to snap back and remember that some positive self-talk can realign me and remember that I need to take care of myself and thought process too. 

Setting some minutes of meditation a day can do wonders. But a quick inside push can do the trick too. All we need is some daily inspiration. It could be a vision board, or some digital spaces that can talk sense to our souls. What works for me personally, aside from reading the Bible, is to make sure I follow social media accounts that send good messages on self-love. I can feel inspired with just a little browse on my IG feed as I learn from Instagram personalities who remind me to not place self-care on the back burner. I like that I can get bite-sized self-care ideas on Instagram, thanks to some self-love advocates who empower me to work on my best version every day.

Here are three Instagram self-love personalities I follow for when I need a dose of self-love and a little push on loving myself, mind and body:

1.Jo Sebastian (@itsjosebastian) 

My fitness journey led me to Jo Sebastian’s page. As a certified nutritionist, she talks about the importance of consuming proper food and going against the diet culture. 

Some of the prevalent diet culture notions that Jo seeks to change are de-normalizing starving after overeating, earning your food through working out, and exercising to stave off the weight gain after eating. 

The U.P. Diliman graduate admitted that she used to have a bad relationship with food and kept on reverting to the starve-binge cycle for years. I like the fact that she provides a balance of encouragement and information on her Instagram and YouTube posts. Just recently, I watched her YouTube video on her history with disordered eating and felt she helped me understand my body more. I also learned that eating a donut or two is not a sin, especially if you think your body needs it.

2.Lovi Poe (@loviepoe)Lovi Poe is my fitspiration for life. She is known for her dedication to working on her body despite her busy schedule as an actress and model. Every time I scroll through her feed, she encourages me to spend time working on the body that I want. 

Lastly, I love the fact that she unapologetically loves her being flat-chested! In one Instagram post, she said, “Yes, I am flat and proud.” As a flat-chested woman, I sometimes feel insecure in a world full of full-breasted women like Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner. I am so happy that I don’t have to beat myself up for having small breasts. Instead, I should work on other aspects of my life, such as improving my physical, mental, and spiritual attributes. 

3.Erianne Salazar (@eriannesalazar)

I love my morena/brown skin. It makes me feel like a beautiful island girl in the city. But here’s the catch: Sometimes I feel like I am not enough or pretty enough because the mestiza skin color is still the preferred skin tone in this tropical country. But instead of moping, I turn to the ultimate morena skin advocate Erianne for that reminder on my own skin color lovin’.  

Colorism is still prevalent today because it is rooted in colonial beauty standards. It is so common to hear discriminatory comments against people who have dark skin tones.

Traditional advertising, especially ads for whitening lotions, sends a strong message that white skin is more beautiful. But it is high time to embrace the fact that all skin shades and tones have their merit and beauty. We’ve come a long way as humans to acknowledge this fact, but we still have a lot of changes to do.

Erianne reminds me to accept my color and recreate the narrative behind it. It starts with me loving the brown skin tone that I have, so I can encourage others to do the same. 

There are days when I feel less than perfect. My mirror points that I have blemished and oily skin or that I don’t have big boobies or rock-hard abs. When the voices of negative self-talk arise, I acknowledge that I may not be perfect, but I can work on myself just like the self-love advocates who live to tell the tale that there is beauty in imperfections.