If you’re searching for the perfect wellness gifts this holiday season, here are seven to promote better health, sleep, and skin for your loved ones.
With the holiday season in full swing, it’s time to start checking your gift lists and searching for the perfect treats for loved ones. Giving wellness gifts or products that promote people’s overall well-being is a great way of showing your love and appreciation. They’re simple enough not to seem too ostentatious, yet innovative enough to show that you put a lot of careful thought into them as well. Plus, who doesn’t want to see their friends and family pampering themselves this Christmas?
Without further ado, here are seven thoughtful gifts to promote well-being this holiday season (and ones that loved ones are sure to appreciate):
Guasha
A guasha is the ideal gift for friends who value their skincare routines. Originating from China, the smooth-edged tool is used to gently sculpt or massage the skin. This improves blood circulation and assists in lymphatic drainage, and as such, the practice is said to bring in a slew of benefits from reducing puffiness to detoxifying the skin.
While a guasha can be made up of any skin-safe material like certain plastics, more premium ones are made with gemstones like jade or rose quartz. This is mainly because their smooth and cool surfaces provide a more calming or soothing effect for users. For beginners who want to start off with a quality tool, try something like Pure Culture’s Rose Quartz Phoenix Gua Sha, which is made from 100% natural and authentic rose quartz crystal.
Wood Wick Scented Candles
Nothing sets the perfect, relaxing atmosphere better than scented candles. With their ambient light and a vast assortment of fragrant scents, there’s a candle out there for everyone. Editor-in-chief Candy Dizon previously collated her top nine scented candles, if you’re looking to peruse proudly-local brands.
You can also shake things up a bit by gifting friends and family with wood wick scented candles, rather than the standard cotton wick candles. These variations possess a little more character, resembling mini campfires with their wider flames and serene, crackling sounds. These wicks also tend to burn cleaner, provided that users trim them with care after each use. Home Studio Scents offers luxe and cozy-smelling scented candles in different sizes and wick varieties—try their best-selling Baker Street candle for that merry, cinnamon-vanilla holiday scent that’s sure to please giftees.
Sunrise Alarm
Sunrise alarms are a fairly recent innovation: alarm clocks that emit a soft, ember light that’s meant to imitate the sun’s gentle rays. This light gradually gets brighter within 20 to 40 minutes, mimicking the way the sun rises—which naturally impacts the brain and circadian rhythm, encouraging its users to wake up in a way that feels less intrusive than setting consecutive alarms on a phone.
So if you know someone who isn’t a morning person and wants to shake up their daily routine, this might just be the perfect gift for them. The Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light is a good option to start with. The trusted lighting solutions brand’s sunrise alarm features a gentle Colored Sunrise Simulation that increases within 30 minutes, and five natural wake-up sounds from forest birds to ocean waves.
Weighted Blanket
There’s a reason why people rest better when they’re cuddling with someone they love: research suggests that soft pressure or weight applied on the body can reduce stress and anxiety, as well as promote better sleep in the process. This is why some health professionals and therapists have recommended the use of weighted blankets, which stimulate this pressure around the body through their glass beads.
When choosing a weighted blanket for someone (or even yourself), it’s important to make sure it’s around 10 percent of your body weight. So if you’re 160 lbs, Healthline recommends a blanket that weights around 14 to 16 lbs (it also has a useful chart for comparison).
Be sure to choose a blanket made from comfortable, preferably natural fibers with quality stitching that keeps the glass beads in. Comfort Living Philippines’ Premium Signature Weighted Blanket is all this and more, with its soft 100% natural bamboo viscose material that feels great on the skin and durable seven-layer structure that’s machine washable for easy maintenance. They also come in 12 lbs and 14 lbs variations for different needs and bodies.
Sleep Mask
Try pairing the weighted blanket with a luxe sleeping mask for a premium “goodnight’s sleep” gift package. A mask is especially useful for those who are sensitive to light and want a distraction-less evening. Tempur’s Sleep Mask is pure comfort in a small package, with a plush wrap that molds to the face and seals out any light, cushioning the eyes for a peaceful slumber.
Yoga Mat
People will have different preferences or needs when it comes to their yoga mats, but I think many will agree that an optimal one needs to be comfortable, grippy (good traction), and easy to clean and carry around. Jade Yoga’s Harmony Mat is exactly that, and has been praised by various yoga practitioners and news outlets.
The mat comes in various designs and sizes, and is made from natural rubber (tapped from rubber trees). This makes it a wonderful gift for loved ones who not only practice yoga, but also value sustainability. No matter how sweaty its user gets, the mat will likely stay in place so they can really focus on their routine.
Hair Oil
Hail oil is a good gift for friends and family who love investing in their locks—but it’s also a nice option if you know someone who can’t stand fly-away strands, frizz, and damaged ends. Enter Davines OI Oil, a popular product from the respected hair care brand that instantly tames frizz while detangling and restructuring one’s lovely locks.
Made with roucou oil to protect hair from aging and breakage while adding shine without all the heaviness that other oil-based products give. It’s no wonder that the oil has been one of Davines’ top-selling products since it launched in 2011.
Banner photo by Antoni Shkraba via Pexels.
