I Swapped My Evening Scroll for a 20-Minute Wind-Down Ritual—Two Weeks Later, I Sleep Completely Differently

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The advice around going on our phones before bed is pretty clear: don't do it. And yet, somehow, there I am at 10 pm almost every night, checking one thing that inevitably turns into another, then another, and so it goes...

It’s not even that I particularly enjoy the habit – more that, after a long day, reaching for my phone has become the path of least resistance. The problem is, phone time – and more specifically, doomscrolling – before bed isn't a particularly healthy habit.

"It means more blue light exposure, algorithm-driven social media and increased mental stimulation,” explains Dr Amanda Mwale, clinical psychologist at The Good Sleep Clinic. “But to fall asleep, our nervous systems should be shifting into ‘rest and digest’ mode, rather than becoming more stimulated.” Research backs her up, too: one randomised trial found that people who avoided their phones for 30 minutes before bed fell asleep faster and reported better sleep quality and mood.

But rather than simply banning my phone and leaving a 20-minute void I’d inevitably resent, I wanted to replace the habit with something that actually felt appealing. Enter my new bedtime wind-down ritual: ten minutes of gentle stretching followed by ten minutes of journalling – two things I already know make me feel calmer, but I rarely prioritise at the end of the day.

For two weeks, I committed to making the swap every night, curious to see whether it would change more than the time it took me to nod off. Would I feel less wired before bed? Calmer during the day? More energised in the mornings? And, perhaps most importantly, could a deliberate 20-minute ritual finally make my evenings feel like an actual transition into rest rather than one last extension of the day?

I Swapped My Evening Scroll for a 20-Minute Wind-Down Ritual—It’s Been a Game-Changer

What is a bedtime wind-down ritual?

A bedtime wind-down ritual is exactly what it sounds like – a handful of familiar habits that help you move from doing to resting. As James Wilson, aka The Sleep Geek, explains: “A wind-down ritual is simply a bridge between the busyness of the day and sleep. It is not a magic routine that makes you sleep. The aim is to reduce physical and emotional alertness so you feel relaxed and secure enough to let sleep happen.”

Interestingly, Wilson points out that there’s no universal formula here – and yes, your phone could technically form part of a routine if it genuinely helps you relax. For me, though, scrolling tends to do the opposite: I come away feeling more mentally switched on, and sometimes more anxious, too.

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What are the benefits of having a bedtime wind-down ritual?

So, how could curating a relaxing wind-down ritual help me exactly? At its simplest, it creates a buffer between the doing part of the day and the bit where we expect our brains to suddenly switch off. Rather than going straight from emails, chores or scrolling to lights out, those few quieter minutes give the body and mind a chance to come down a gear.

That’s a big part of why I chose journalling and stretching for my new wind-down ritual. Both force me to slow down and pay attention to the present moment, rather than ricocheting between thoughts and tasks. “Many of the people I have worked with clinically have found journalling extremely helpful for ‘putting their worries to bed’, but also for recognising their achievements and things that they feel grateful for,” says Dr Mwale.

There's some pretty interesting science around this: a 2018 sleep-lab study found that people who spent five minutes writing a specific to-do list before bed fell asleep faster than those who wrote about tasks they had already completed.

Stretching serves a slightly different purpose for me – getting me out of my head and back into my body. Dr Mwale says gentle stretching can help release some of the physical tension accumulated throughout the day and encourage the nervous system towards a state more conducive to sleep. And a 2024 review of stretching interventions found a positive trend in sleep quality improvement, although the researchers noted that the evidence is still mixed.

Importantly, neither activity is a magic sleep hack. As Wilson puts it, journalling can become “another task” for some people, while stretching isn’t a sleep treatment in itself. His advice? Pay attention to whether your chosen ritual leaves you calmer or more alert. If it's the latter, it doesn't matter how many studies or online articles suggest that it's good for sleep – it's got to work for you.

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Swapping doom scrolling for a wind-down ritual: my review

Week one

The first thing I noticed was just how automatic reaching for my phone had become. More than once, I found myself picking it up without consciously deciding to – that familiar urge to just "check" something was surprisingly persistent.

For the journalling portion of my ritual, I initially took inspiration from the research and tried writing a to-do list for the following day. Unfortunately, this had pretty much the opposite of a calming effect on me. Instead of putting those tasks to bed, I climbed into mine still mentally running through everything I'd written down. Useful for organisation? Absolutely. Relaxing? Not so much.

So, I switched tack and tried gratitude journalling instead – and this was a game-changer. Spending a few minutes focusing on what had gone well that day left me just feeling better. Pairing it with gentle stretching worked brilliantly, too. Getting off the couch and onto the floor brought me back into my body, and even though I only stretched for ten minutes, I felt noticeably calmer when getting into bed.

Katie swapped her pre-bed scroll for journaling, meditating, and light stretching. (Image credit: Katie Sims)

Week two

By the second week, reaching for my phone felt less instinctive, and the ritual itself started to feel like a signal that the day was winding down. I wouldn't say I suddenly became the world's best sleeper – and I certainly wasn't springing out of bed brimming with energy every morning – but I did notice subtle shifts. I felt a little less groggy on waking some days, and generally calmer heading into the evening. I was starting to look forward to my wind-down ritual, which is key.

More importantly, the experiment changed how I think about winding down. I don't think the magic lies in exactly what you do for those 20 minutes. For me, the biggest benefit came from consciously choosing how I wanted to spend them, rather than automatically reaching for my phone and disappearing down a scrolling rabbit hole.

Am I swearing off my phone before bed forever? Probably not. But I do want to be much more intentional about how I use it. I've already got my eye on some of Headspace's wind-down meditations, which feels like a more mindful use of screen time than scrolling.

Two weeks later, that's probably my biggest takeaway: a bedtime routine doesn't need to be perfect or elaborate – it just needs to help you draw a line under the day and give yourself permission to slow down. I'll definitely be sticking to mine.

Katie learnt that a bedtime routine doesn't need to be perfect or elaborate – it just needs to help you draw a line under the day. (Image credit: Katie Sims)

Shop my favourite bedtime essentials here:

Insight Editions Gratitude: A Day and Night Reflection Journal

This is the exact gratitude journal that I use, morning and night. My favourite prompt in the night-time journal is 'a positive thought to carry me to sleep'... I love it.

The White Company Spa Sleep Refreshing Face & Body Mist

For me, a luxurious spritz of The White Company Spa Sleep Mist has been the perfect treat to end my day with. It's like an instant signal for my brain to relax.

Loop Experience 2 Ear Plugs - Stylish Certified Hearing Protection

My sleep has had a serious upgrade since I started wearing Loop earplugs. They usually stay in through the night, and do a great job of blocking out noise. Perfect for light sleepers.

How do I create a good bedtime wind-down ritual?

The key to a good bedtime wind-down ritual is that it leaves you feeling relaxed. "It could include taking a bath, skincare, gentle yoga, listening to calming music, meditation or prayer," Dr Mwale says. "It's whatever works for you."

If the idea of turning off your phone 20 minutes before bed feels a little too intimidating, try and change how you're using it. "Scrolling through something relaxing, listening to an audiobook or connecting with somebody you care about could be part of a perfectly healthy wind down," Wilson advises.

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Charlotte Mensah Has Spent 40 Years Changing the Conversation Around Afro Hair—Now, Her Legacy Is Going on Display

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There are few people who can claim to have fundamentally shifted the way we see, understand and celebrate hair. Charlotte Mensah is one of them. Throughout her four-decade career, the award-winning hairstylist, entrepreneur, and author has helped move Afro, curly, and textured hair from the margins of the British beauty conversation to its rightful place within it. Along the way, she has built her Hair Lounge salon into a Notting Hill institution, launched an award-winning haircare line and become the first Black woman inducted into the British Hairdressing Awards Hall of Fame.

Now, her extraordinary career is being put into cultural context. Charlotte Mensah: Community Matters, a landmark retrospective at London’s Ladbroke Hall from 8th – 13th September, brings together photography, film, personal artefacts, archival material, soundscapes and interactive installations to trace Mensah’s journey from childhood in Ghana to 1980s North West London and, ultimately, the upper echelons of global hairdressing.

By placing Afro hair at the centre of conversations about identity, heritage, creativity and belonging, the exhibition makes the case for hair as cultural history—and for Mensah’s 40-year career as an important part of British beauty history.

Here, Mensah shares the memories, lessons and people behind that legacy, and reflects on how far the industry has come—and where it still has work to do.

(Image credit: Charlotte Mensah)

“I’ve Really Lived—and None of It Happened Alone”

Going through thousands of photographs for the exhibition made me realise just how much life has actually been lived. A photograph can unlock a memory in extraordinary detail—I can look at an image from February 1997 and suddenly remember who was there, where we were and what we were talking about. More than anything, it has made me realise that I’ve really lived. There have been ups and downs, smiles and frowns, but I persevered—and none of it happened alone. It takes a community, and this exhibition is really a celebration of them.

Mensah with her grandfather (Image credit: Charlotte Mensah)

“I Spent My Last Money on a Pair of Tongs That Still Work Today”

The most emotional object in the exhibition is probably my tongs. In 1988, when I had just turned 18, I saved my salon tips and wages from the Youth Training Scheme to buy a pair like the ones we used at Splinters. I was living alone in a hostel and beginning to dream big after losing my mum five years earlier. Buying those tongs was the first real sign of intent about this vocation. Looking at them now, I can see that 18-year-old Charlotte in the mirror, completely unaware of the path ahead.

(Image credit: Charlotte Mensah)

“Success Is Whether You Can Look at Yourself When Nobody Else Is Looking and Be at Peace”

Life moves so quickly that sometimes you have to make yourself stop. I’m always thinking about what’s next, but you can’t properly plan your future if you never take an honest look at your past. We live in an age of constant comparison, with a 24-hour window into everybody else’s achievements and perfect moments. But success, to me, is whether you can look at yourself when nobody else is looking and be at peace with what you’ve actually done.

“Somebody With Textured Hair Should Be Able to Walk Into Any Salon and Feel Understood”

We need to talk much more about education. Hairdressing is an art, but underneath that artistry has to be knowledge. I’m not necessarily saying every hairdresser needs a licence, but we need clearer standards that demonstrate what somebody has actually been trained to do. My idea of real inclusion is simple: somebody with Afro or textured hair should be able to walk into a salon anywhere in this country and feel confident that somebody there understands their hair.

(Image credit: Charlotte Mensah)

“Heritage Isn’t About Looking Backwards—It’s About Understanding What You’re Carrying Forward”

Everybody comes from somewhere. What becomes interesting is deciding what that inheritance means to you, rather than allowing somebody else to decide it for you. Accra and London have always existed side by side in my world because both places gave me different parts of myself. Heritage isn’t about looking backwards for the sake of nostalgia; it’s about understanding what you’re carrying forward.

“Don’t Confuse Visibility With Stability”

Loving what you do doesn’t make running a business easy. You can be brilliant at your craft and still have to learn about people, money, negotiation, stock, rent, mistakes and a hundred other things nobody puts on Instagram. One of my biggest lessons has been not to confuse visibility with stability. Awards and press are lovely, but you still have to build something that works when nobody is talking about you. Forty years teaches you there are no shortcuts.

“I Want Respect, Care and Dignity to Be So Normal We No Longer Need to Call Them Progress”

By 2046, I hope somebody with Afro, curly or textured hair can walk into any salon in the UK and have their hair done properly, and into any retailer and find products that work for them without searching for the tiny section somebody has decided belongs to them. Ultimately, it comes down to respect, care and dignity. I want those things to be so normal that we no longer need to call them progress.

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I Tried Roxie Nafousi’s Manifestation Technique for a Month—and It Transformed How I Handle Stress

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I'll level with you: I've always been a bit of a manifestation sceptic. But recently, I've been seeing more and more content around how transformative the practice can be, and I'll bite: I was intrigued.

In case you missed it, manifestation is the idea that we can influence our lives in various ways through the power of thought, attracting greater success and fulfilment via a proactively positive mindset.

If this sounds too good to be true (and trust me when I say that I get it!), you might be interested to learn that, in fact, the technique does have some scientific weight behind it. Studies reveal that people who manifest perceive themselves to be more successful and have stronger aspirations and belief in their success (check out this study from the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin) - and it's also endorsed by the experts.

"Reframing and self-belief definitely have some strong psychological backing," notes psychotherapist Eloise Skinner. "There are fields of therapy that address these behaviours specifically - cognitive reframing, for example, is used across many fields of psychotherapy, while gratitude practices have quite a bit of research behind them, indicating that a consistent gratitude practice can help us feel more positive and intentional."

I'll be honest: a combination of life stressors and hormones has been playing havoc with my brain lately, and I could do with a little purpose and direction, so when I was asked to try out Roxie Nafousi's manifestation mindset technique, it felt serendipitous. Could a month of manifesting clarify my goals and boost my motivation? I couldn't wait to find out.

Keep scrolling to find out how I got on, but in the meantime, you might be interested in our guides to common manifesting mistakes, five steps to manifesting the life of your dreams and quiet magic morning routines here - plus, find out how one Health Writer got on when she tried Dr Tara Swart's four-step manifestation method, too.

I Tried Roxie Nafousi’s Manifestation Mindset Technique To Boost Calm and Restore Balance

What is Roxie Nafousi's manifestation mindset technique?

Firstly, let's dig a little deeper into what manifestation actually looks like - and how it works.

For this, I went straight to the expert herself: Roxie Nafousi is a self-development coach, motivational speaker and bestselling author of the best-selling manifestation bible Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life, and it's her seven-step method taken from this book that I'll be trialling.

"For the Manifest Mindset series, I took the same seven manifestation steps from my book, which were inspired by my own journey of changing my life, and created a short class for each," she tells MC UK. "In each class, I break down the concept behind each step and then guide you through an actionable workshop where you can put it into practice."

Put simply, the technique is a simple, follow-along guided manifestation series for those who need a little extra help along the way - perfect for this manifestation newbie.

So, how does it work? "I created the 7-step method to be an entry point, so if you've never manifested a day in your life and think it all sounds like a bit much, this is for you," shares Nafousi. "But it's just as useful if you've read my book already and want a more guided, practical way to work through the steps. It's for anyone who's in a season of wanting change but doesn't know where to start."

The main tenets are visualisation, gratitude and reframing - tenets that are all psychologically backed, as we'll go into more detail below.

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What are the benefits of the manifestation mindset technique?

Manifestation has plenty of purported benefits, provided you're willing to also put in the work: this isn't as simple as making an aesthetically pleasing vision board and gazing at it each morning (although, if that helps, you do you!). The techniques you use are grounded in strong neuroscientific principles - centrally, the idea of neuroplasticity. If you've never heard of it, prepare to have your mind blown.

Put simply, our brains aren't fixed - how we think can, quite literally, change them. The more often you have a specific thought, the deeper those neural pathways become, meaning you're then more likely to continue thinking in that particular way. Fascinating, right?

But beyond this, Nafousi's method has benefits of its own, too.

1. Visualisation focuses the brain

"Visualisation can be incredibly powerful in several ways," shares career coach Hannah Salton. "Firstly, it forces you to focus on what specifically you want. It sounds simple, but often when we’re not satisfied, we think quite vaguely. Visualisation encourages people to say exactly what they want, write it down, and picture it.

"This focuses the brain and triggers something called the reticular activating system – the part of the brain that filters information and starts drawing your attention to things relevant to what you're focused on. That’s why, for example, if you decide you want to buy a blue car, you suddenly start seeing blue cars everywhere."

2. Gratitude promotes a more positive outlook

"Gratitude works in a similar way to visualisation," continues Salton. "When we focus on what we already have, it makes us feel grateful, or lucky. Once we feel that way, our mindset shifts – and a more positive mindset makes us more open to possibilities and more likely to spot and act on opportunities we might otherwise have missed.

"Self-belief is something that grows over time – it's not something you can click your fingers and make magic. But by reminding yourself of what you already have and what exactly you want, you are more likely to develop self-belief. Other things that help with self-belief are focusing on your strengths – what you are naturally good at – and reminding yourself of what you have achieved so far."

3. Reframing helps shift our perspective

Manifestation isn't just about picturing your best life. While that's one aspect of it, it also forces us to challenge our habitual thought processes - some of which might not be altogether helpful. Working on reframing thoughts and situations is a key manifestation skill - and one that can have benefits way beyond the technique itself.

"Reframing can be an incredibly powerful tool, and involves deciding to view a situation differently," notes Salton. "For example, many of my career coaching clients experience rejection when job searching, and it’s easy to tell yourself it's because you're not good enough. In reality, there are so many reasons why you might not get a job offer – for example, the challenging job market, competition from other candidates, roles being paused."

"Reframing your perceived failure as being part of a broader, more complex situation can remind you that your worth isn’t defined by one outcome."

4. It's simple and accessible

Nafousi's method draws on all the techniques referenced above, but in an easy and accessible way.

"Using small, repeatable steps like in my 7-step method helps to build momentum," shares Nafousi. "I believe you don’t need to wait for a big breakthrough in your life, but stacking small wins helps start to shift how you see yourself and what you think is possible. Over time, you’ll start to notice more opportunities and show up as a more confident version of yourself."

@officialroxienafousi

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Who is manifestation best for?

The experts are clear: manifestation can be useful for anyone and everyone - with an important caveat: you have to put in the work.

"Anyone and everyone can use these techniques; we all have this incredible superpower that we can use," agrees holistic life coach Nichola Henderson. "We can unlock our personal potential to achieve what we’re capable of by removing our own self-imposed limitations.

"There are many examples of incredible people who have achieved amazing things by unlocking their own potential. Take Olympian Eileen Gu, for example, who recently spoke so eloquently and openly about using some of these techniques to help her become who she wanted to be. She described how she spends a lot of time in her mind, breaking down her thought processes and controlling what she thinks using an analytical lens; this is the power of metacognition to move towards whatever your goal may be.

"This doesn’t mean we can all become Olympic athletes, but it does mean we can experiment with what we are capable of. If we are brave enough to treat ourselves like a beautiful artwork, we can experiment, mould ourselves over time, knowing that it’s OK to do it just for ourselves; then we get to consider what might be possible.

"Generally, these techniques can be especially useful for people going through change or transition, rebuilding confidence after a setback, developing a new habit, or anyone feeling stuck or lacking clarity."

@hotsmartrich

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I tried Roxie Nafousi's manifestation mindest technique for a month - here are my honest thoughts

Steps one to three

Full disclosure: I've never manifested before. I'm notoriously poor even at basic mindfulness skills like journalling, so it's safe to say I'm slightly apprehensive about getting started.

Added to this, we're deep into school summer holidays, meaning that there's little to no time for me to get stuck in - but I don't have the luxury of choosing a perfect time, so there's nothing for it but to start. And, to my relief, the first step is all about learning all about the process - nothing too scary here.

Step one is where things begin to ramp up a little, but honestly - it's totally achievable - the longest class is only just over twelve minutes, so even time-poor parents like me can manage to squeeze it in. PSA, though - listening to the instructions and attempting to lock in on a busy commuter train is not the one!

This being said, it's interesting to take some time to think about things I haven't really considered recently - if ever - such as asking myself what I really want from my life. In fact, it's pretty confronting - and when it comes to making a vision board, I'm well and truly stumped. But then my newfound reframing skills come into play, and I consider that maybe this is the perfect task for me.

Steps two and three involve removing fear and doubt and aligning behaviour, and I'll be honest, it takes me a few days to settle into it - but Nafousi is clear that this is all part of the process. "Start with step one and don't rush it," she advises. "Being clear on your vision is the part people want to skip, but it's the foundation for everything that comes after. Sit with the meditation, do the vision boarding exercise, and put it somewhere where you’ll see it every day. From there, go at your own pace and move through the steps one at a time.

"Some will take you ten minutes, while others may take you a few days to sit with, and that's fine. The workshops are created to help get you in the habit, and you can revisit any of the classes whenever you need a reminder."

Maybe I can work on my impatience at the same time...

Anna during her month-long manifesting experiment - which she admits really did make her feel calmer than she has in months. Allowing herself to really let go of things enabled her to feel more in control. (Image credit: Anna Bartter)

Steps four to seven

Steps four to seven feel a little more intense; I won't lie. Step four is overcoming tests from the universe; it's all about the reframing skill- how to overcome those things that don't quite go our way: the tough times, rejections and failures.

Parenting three children in the summer holidays is essentially one long series of failures and rejections, so it feels like this has come at exactly the right time. I'm surprised to find out that actually, I'm already pretty resilient, and able to bounce back from setbacks - I'm taking this as a win.

Moving on to step five - embracing gratitude - feels relatively simple. I try and apporach life with a gratitude mindset always, and this task builds on the skills I know I already have. Likewise, step six (turning envy into inspiration) feels straightforward to me. I've long used feelings of jealousy as a driver for what I need to go after in my own life, transforming one of life's least constructive emotions into a powerful goal-setting message.

After a few weeks of deep work, it's time for the final step: trusting in the universe. Nafousi is clear that this isn't a passive step; it's not about sitting back and doing nothing; rather, it's about trusting the process and relinquishing control. Put simply, the art of letting go. As I'm about to go on my summer holiday, I'm more excited than ever to have a week off - and allow the universe to do its thing.

And I'll admit - I really do feel calmer than I have for months. Somehow, allowing myself to really let go of things helps me feel calmer and - confusingly - more in control than before. I'll have to report back on whether the universe delivers what I want - but for now, this sceptic is firmly on board.

Shop MC UK's go-to wellbeing essentials here:

Manifest

Pop Nafousi's best-selling manifestation bible in your basket for everything you need to know about transforming your mindset - something you can come back to again and again.

Wild Nutrition Magnesium

For me, wellbeing always starts with sleep. If you're struggling to catch those z's (or even if you're not), adding a magnesium supplement can really help - we love Wild Nutrition for its food-grown credentials.

The Morning & Evening Affirmation Deck

Struggling to start? Pop this box of affirmation cards on your desk and pick one at random for a motivational boost.

What results can I realistically expect from manifestation?

There's good news here. "It’s common and possible to see results from manifestation techniques within weeks," shares Henderson. "Behaviour can start to shift quickly as the sense of self changes and adapts.

"Realistic outcomes can include feeling clearer and more purposeful, having greater confidence, responding more constructively to setbacks, becoming more consistent in daily behaviour, noticing relevant opportunities, feeling more hopeful, and increasing the likelihood of progress through preparation and action."

They go on: "Finally, it's important to note that thoughts are not magic instructions to the universe, but they are powerful psychological instructions to our attention. What we focus on can influence what we notice, what we attempt and how we show up, which changes everything."

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The Beauty Digest: Dyson Does Teeth, Fenty Rips Up the Rulebook (Again) and a Surprisingly Fragrant Week for Dogs

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The Beauty Digest is my Beauty Director’s edit of what’s actually worth your attention. Each week, I’ll be sharing the new launches I’m using and loving, the viral treatments I’m putting to the test (and what I really think of the results), plus my take on the industry conversations everyone’s talking about.

The New Launches on My Radar

Jo Malone London

Orange & Cedarwood Dog Shampoo

I often joke that my two great loves are beauty and dogs (I have two of my own). You can, then, imagine my delight when Jo Malone London announced it was launching a dog shampoo.

Created in collaboration with British pet-care brand WildWash, the Orange & Cedarwood Dog Shampoo is formulated with naturally derived essential oils of—yep, you guessed it—orange and cedarwood, and promises to gently cleanse and freshen the coat while leaving it beautifully shiny. There are four different bottles featuring illustrations of different dog breeds, the campaign stars Tom Hardy's French bulldog, Blue, and at £18 for 285ml, it is also, somewhat remarkably, cheaper than quite a few of the shampoos currently sitting in my own shower.

My only question now is: is it suitable for humans?

Acqua Di Parma

Cedro Virtuoso Eau De Parfum

When it comes to fragrance, I can't resist a woody accord. Cedarwood, sandalwood, vetiver—something about those cocooning, dry notes does something to my brain. So Acqua di Parma's new Cedro Virtuoso was always going to have an unfair advantage.

Part of the Signatures of the Sun collection, it's essentially an ode to cedarwood, with three different varieties running through the fragrance. But it's the opening notes that makes it really interesting—Virginia cedarwood is co-infused with hazelnut, giving it a buttery quality, while Calabrian bergamot brightens things up, keeping it from becoming too rich. Then, Atlas and Alaska cedar bring spicier, slightly leathery facets before sandalwood, tonka bean and Ambrox make everything warm and enveloping as it dries down.

The result is woody, but not in a predictably masculine way. It's creamy, nutty and incredibly moreish. Consider the dopamine receptors well and truly activated.

Fenty Beauty

Pro Filt'r Fluid Flex Foundation

When Fenty retired the original Pro Filt’r earlier this year, I was intrigued. But this week, we met its successor: Pro Filt’r Fluid Flex Natural Matte Longwear Foundation. Three years in development, it comes in 50 entirely new shades and promises flexible, medium-to-full coverage that moves with the skin, as well as 12-hour wear and resistance to sweat, humidity and transfer.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to foundation and rarely stray from a few select favourites. But this one has, without exaggeration, blown me away. The coverage is substantial, yet somehow looks fresh and natural rather than heavy. It sets and stays, but never seems to harden onto the face; instead, it moves with my skin, stays supple and, hours later, still looks remarkably fresh.

Spotlight On: Sarah Creal Beauty

(Image credit: Sarah Creal)

I've been following Sarah Creal for several years now. As a beauty insider, she's one of those names that instantly commands respect and admiration. After all, she was behind some of the most iconic beauty brands of our time—Tom Ford Beauty, Victoria Beckham Beauty, Bobbi Brown and the original Prada Beauty among them. In other words, even if you didn't know her name, chances are you've known her work.

Her most recent venture bears her own name, and this week Sarah Creal Beauty finally landed in the UK, exclusively at Space NK. But unlike so many new brands on the block, this one has a serious USP: it isn't gagging for the attention of Gen Z. In fact, it isn't really giving them a second thought. Sarah Creal Beauty has been intelligently and painstakingly designed for, in the brand's own words, “babes 40+”.

And that doesn't just mean putting a 50-year-old woman in the campaign imagery. Before launching, Creal spoke to 2,000 women over 40 about what was no longer working for them—and then formulated accordingly. Concealer suddenly settling into fine lines? Face Flex is designed to flex with the skin without creasing or fading. Mascara transferring as eyelids become more hooded and richer eye creams enter the equation? Back of the Cab is a tubing formula designed to stay put, then break down easily with warm water. Losing some of the natural definition and colour around the lip line? pHLip reacts with your skin's pH to create a personalised wash of colour while adding back definition. Every formula is clinically tested exclusively on women over 40, too.

Perhaps most refreshing of all is that none of it feels apologetic. This isn't beauty for women over 40 dressed up in wafty euphemisms, nor is youth being held up as the end goal. It's smart, it's solving a genuine need and, judging by the brand's trajectory so far, women were eagerly waiting for it: Sarah Creal Beauty reportedly turned over $10 million in its first year in the US, and I suspect the UK will prove every bit as receptive.

Turns out, you can build an exciting new beauty brand without trying to make a 21-year-old want it—or convincing a 40-year-old she should look like one. Funny that.

Beauty Buzz: Dyson's £400 Toothbrush

(Image credit: Dyson)

I love a Dyson keynote. They’re the beauty equivalent of a Steve Jobs iPhone reveal: the showmanship, the fanfare, the almost comical juxtaposition between Sir James Dyson’s understatement and the engineering spectacle of what he’s actually presenting. The latest took place in Paris on Tuesday and revealed an entirely new category for Dyson: oral care. More specifically, a toothbrush.

Except the Dyson CameraJet™ isn’t really just a toothbrush. It brushes, flosses and rinses simultaneously, using a tiny 100k-pixel camera and machine learning to scan your mouth 28 times a second, identify the gaps between your teeth and, within 100 milliseconds of spotting one, fire a precisely targeted, one-millisecond conical jet of mouthwash into it. It can even livestream the inside of your mouth to the MyDyson app, where you can see your brushing coverage and get feedback on things like overpressure and over-scrubbing. Six years of R&D, 470,000 dental images used to train its machine-learning system and 16 million lines of code have gone into making brushing your teeth considerably more technologically advanced.

And it costs a cool £419.99.

At first, I gasped along with the rest of the world. £420? For a toothbrush? But then I started thinking: how much does a top-of-the-range electric toothbrush actually cost these days? Philips Sonicare's premium models have retailed for £599.99, while Oral-B's iO10 carries an £800 price tag. Suddenly, Dyson's pricing doesn't seem quite as deranged as the headlines suggest.

And, impressive though those other existing brands' brushes are, they don't have a camera watching your teeth in real time, recognising each interdental gap and automatically firing mouthwash into it as you brush.

So, yes, £420 is an objectively enormous amount of money to spend on a toothbrush. But if it can combine brushing, interdental cleaning and mouth rinsing into one two-minute routine—and make people more likely to do the bit of oral hygiene so many of us skip—I'm not convinced it's the most ridiculous £400 beauty-tech purchase I've encountered. (Plus, think of all the money you'll save on dental work over the years.)

Do I need one? Absolutely not. Do I now desperately want to watch a tiny camera locate the gaps between my teeth and precision-blast them clean? Yes, I think I do. Don't you?

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Jodie Comer Just Announced the Start of Knee-High Boots Season

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A sure-fire way to determine whether someone is older or younger than 30 is to ask them a simple question: would you wear knee-high boots in summer. If the answer is "yes", they're almost certainly Gen Z—and wore the shoe in question to All Points East. If it's a resounding "no", you're more likely a Millennial, one who wouldn't dream of covering their calves in leather during a national heatwave.

Jodie Comer (Image credit: Givenchy)

Wherever you land on knee-high boots during summer, however, this week's cooler temperatures (plus the advent of a new season) mean that you might be considering shelving your strappy little sandals for something a little sturdier, especially as they've just been endorsed by Jodie Comer.

On the promo trail for The Death of Robin Hood, the actor wore a full look from Givenchy by Sarah Burton—an oversized white shirt that hit the upper thigh and the brand's famous boots, the so-called "Shark Pinch".

Givenchy

Shark Pinch Boots

The Shark Pinch, which are available in a thigh-high version as well as the knee, have a very distinctive silhouette courtesy of a double-shank construction that embraces "the tension between structure, sensuality and female empowerment". Decorated with hardware in the form of a metallic band that follows the leg's curvature (a similar detail can be found on one of the maison's handbags, also called the "Pinch"), these boots have attitude.

Comer paired the Shark Pinch which dropped online today in six different colours, with the same mini hemline that girlies here, there and everywhere have been advocating for this summer. Her oversized shirt, which is also from Givenchy by Sarah Burton, was styled like a dress, leaving a stretch of bare thigh (and knee cap) on show—perhaps to acknowledge the fact that summer isn't over for another few weeks.

It's a formula that is guaranteed to be a winner, especially while temperatures are lingering somewhere between mild and cool—and you can incorporate some coverage but also breeze in your look. Gen Z or Millennial, Jodie Comer says it's knee-high boot season, which means, dig yours out and ignore the nagging voice telling you it's not yet autumn once and for all.

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"What Did She Expect?"—The Sexism and Classism Behind The UK’s Aesthetics Safety Crisis

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I’m sure you are aware of the kinds of comments that are made when aesthetic treatments go wrong. Why would you let somebody mess with your face like that? Clearly she went to see somebody dodgy. The feeling—sometimes implied, sometimes explicitly expressed—is that the person affected ‘should have known better’.

This is, obviously, incredibly judgmental. But more than that, it ignores the beauty standards that drive people to seek treatment, as well as the huge gaps in our current system that leave people exposed to harm. And it’s women who are most affected.

By global standards, the current rules are lax and their loopholes notorious. For example, technically, anybody can inject filler. No formal qualifications or insurance are legally required, nor the medical training needed to manage the situation if and when things go wrong—and injecting filler in even slightly the wrong place can be catastrophic. In 2024, a woman died after receiving a liquid BBL—a highly dangerous procedure whereby filler is injected into the buttocks.

Then there are the counterfeit, unlicensed and illegal products that are rife in the UK. Last summer, 41 cases of botulism were reported in the space of almost two months, linked to the use of an unlicensed fake product.

And yet somehow, we are in a place where navigating the complexities of our aesthetics industry is entirely on the consumer. If you end up being treated by somebody inexperienced, well, that’s your fault for not checking a list of things you may not have even known about—the implication being that you are somehow responsible for things going wrong.

When you look at who is most likely to experience these complications, and who is most judged when they do occur, there is an undercurrent of misogyny and classism. Aesthetic treatment complications are therefore incredibly political.

The Presumption of Safety

Many consumers assume safety is universal when booking aesthetic treatments. “I think it's a genuinely reasonable gap in understanding rather than any failure on patients' part,” says Dr Caroline Warden, GP and Aesthetic Doctor and founder of the Dr Caroline Warden Skin & Aesthetic Clinic. “Most people assume that if someone is advertising and charging for a treatment, they must be operating within some regulated framework.”

But sometimes they aren’t. What seems like an industry that must have watertight rules in place around who can pick up a syringe could not be further from reality. While botulinum toxin (often the brand name Botox) is a prescription-only medicine, dermal fillers and other aesthetic devices, like lasers, aren’t restricted to any particular qualification.

This somewhat undermines the “should have known better” argument. Known what, exactly? That someone legally offering treatments that break the skin, including injections, may have no medical qualifications? That a legitimate-looking business may not be equipped to manage an emergency?

“Patients tell me they feel ashamed, ‘stupid’ and confused as to how there are no regulations to govern who is allowed to inject,” says Dr Steven Land, Aesthetics Doctor and Director of Novellus Aesthetics, adding that this is exacerbated when they learn how unusual this lack of rules is compared to the rest of the world.

Dr Warden echoes this. “Patients frequently arrive apologetic, almost as though the complication reflects a mistake on their part rather than a shortfall in the care they received,” she says.

Of course, complications can happen even in experienced hands. “No aesthetic treatment is completely without risk,” says Dr Cindy Teo, GP and Aesthetic Doctor and founder of Dr Cindy Aesthetics. “The important difference is how we minimise those risks, and whether a practitioner can recognise a complication early and act quickly before it becomes more serious.”

The crucial difference is that regulated professionals are overseen by various bodies, through which consumers can complain when things go wrong, and are bound to strict codes of conduct. Medics have a duty of care and can lose their licenses in the event of serious misconduct. The system is far murkier when it comes to unqualified and unregulated practitioners.

The issue, then, isn’t that cheap treatments are dangerous. The issue is whether appropriate safeguards exist before, during and after treatment. Too often, the answer is no.

The Class Divide in Aesthetic Treatment Safety

The desire (or pressure) to be “beautiful” isn’t new, but we live in a time of social media filters and AI capable of generating entirely new versions of what we could look like. Beauty standards are served up on our phones almost constantly, so it’s hardly surprising that so many women end up wanting treatments. But the playing field isn’t level.

Much has been written about the gap between those who can and cannot afford beauty and aesthetic treatments, and how those who can benefit from them. But when those from lower-income backgrounds do seek treatment, there is still a disparity. “Cost can affect access to safer treatment, as those on lower incomes may have fewer affordable options and be left more exposed to risk in a poorly regulated market,” says Caroline Corby, Chair of the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA).

Research published earlier this year by UCL also suggests that higher concentrations of non-medical practitioners offering Botox, in settings like salons and spas, are more likely in deprived areas. It is silly to pretend there isn’t a kind of safety gap at play, driven by who can afford access to treatments in the safest settings.

This is where simply warning consumers against anything “suspiciously cheap”, though important, can feel inadequate. Of course, people should be warned of red flags. But when the safest treatment is financially inaccessible to many, price often makes the decision—which is why stricter regulations are critical to consumer protection.

There are horror stories of procedures being carried out in places like public toilets or garages. The knee-jerk instinct to ask why somebody would agree to that is understandable. But it shouldn’t stop there. Why was that treatment available in the first place? And what combination of beauty pressures, financial constraints, regulatory failures and a desperate desire to access treatment made it an attractive enough proposition to accept? This is clearly about more than enjoying a beauty self-care moment.

Regardless of the circumstances, everyone should be entitled to help and support when complications arise.

When the System Blames the Patient

Nevertheless, we know that the judgment that can come with complications is very real. However, as Corby says, “People should have clear information about risks, but the focus should be on better safeguards and standards, not placing responsibility on the consumer when things go wrong.”

Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, says that judgement can even extend to the institutions supposed to protect people. “We've had situations where women have been told when they've arrived at hospital, you are the illest person in this hospital, and unless you have an operation in the next hour, you will die. That's been caused by somebody who has been completely negligent and is technically, legally assault,” she says.

Yet when cases are reported, Collins says women can be treated as though they’ve made “stupid choices driven by vanity. Basically, ‘what did you expect’ is the vibe.”

Can you imagine this playing out in other industries? A person is left with a life-threatening injury after a commercial service and they are met with judgement and blame?

Accountability, meanwhile, can be remarkably difficult. Collins describes “ghost practitioners” who operate through social media, sometimes without patients even knowing their full name or address. “When things go wrong, she blocks you,” Collins says. “That cycle will go on; she'll close that page down and set up somewhere else.”

The NHS and the costs of treating these complications are frequently brought into the debate, too, given that these are elective treatments. But if public money is repeatedly being spent treating preventable injuries, why is so much outrage directed at the patient, not the systems that allow unsafe practice to flourish? Why aren’t there better systems in place to prevent as many of these injuries as possible?

Has Prejudice Helped Hold Up Regulation?

We know women are often blamed when treatment goes wrong. So have misogyny, classism, and those attitudes around beauty have contributed to the lack of urgency in protecting them from complications? I don’t think it’s a wild assumption.

“In the past, I have wondered whether the slow regulatory response could be partly attributed to a feeling that when things go wrong, women ‘bring this on themselves’, perhaps through a perception that undergoing these procedures is driven by vanity,” says Corby. “It shouldn’t matter what the procedure is; if it carries a high risk, there should be adequate protections around it to keep people safe and well.”

Regulation is coming (though not without criticism), but progress has been slow. A proposed licensing scheme for England, which categorises treatments via a traffic light system, is still under discussion, while Scotland has announced its licensing scheme, set to come into effect in 2027. No such proposals have been made for Wales or Northern Ireland.

‘What did you expect?’ is therefore unfair and entirely the wrong question when complications arise. This is an industry where, currently, qualifications aren’t mandatory, standards vary wildly, accountability is hard to enforce and consumer protection is an afterthought. But when the stakes are so high, everyone should have the right to expect that their treatment is regulated accordingly.

How to Stay Safe Until Regulations Are Strengthened

• Check registration via the General Medical Council for doctors, General Dental Council for dentists, and the Nurses and Midwifery Council for nurses and nurse prescribers
• Read about PSA’s Look Before You Book Campaign—and look for the accreditation badge before booking
• Use the Save Face Register and resources
• Read BCAM’s Vet It Before You Get It Campaign—including the Pre-Consultation Safety Questionnaire

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice - always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before treatment decisions.

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My Black Hair Doesn’t Need to Be a Political Manifesto—Why I’m Opting Out of the Trauma-or-Triumph Narrative

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Growing up, my family had very specific hair categories. One of my older sisters had 'long hair'—the kind that cascaded past her shoulders and invited endless questioning about her diet and my mother's choice in products. The eldest sister had the 'thick hair', a dense, enviable crown that, as we grew older, seemed impermeable to damage from dyes and 'unique' styling. And then there was me, the youngest of three, with hair that, despite all the same genetics and environment, never quite got the memo about growing past my shoulders. So, whenever wash day came around, I became used to my mother uttering the same gentle assurance, "Oh, but Ata has the 'softest' hair."

The older I got, the more I realised that this use of diplomatic euphemism was her way of sidestepping the conversation that many Black women have faced when their hair doesn't possess the length or curl pattern traditionally coveted. However, it inadvertently taught me early on that my tight, 4C coils were something to be carefully reframed or corrected. Since then, for as long as I can remember, society has insisted that a Black woman’s relationship with her hair must fit into one of two sweeping arcs.

(Image credit: Ata-Owaji Victor )

In camp one, there is the tragedy narrative: a story filled with chemical burns from relaxers, self-loathing, and a lifelong reliance on wigs and weaves used strictly as a disguise to conform to Eurocentric ideals. Then, for some Black women, there is the triumphant redemption arc—the emotional "natural hair journey" sparked by a big chop. It is a cinematic moment where you throw away the heat tools, embrace your afro in all its shrinkage-heavy glory, and declare that every kink on your head is a sacred act of political defiance and radical self-love.

For years, I believed I sat comfortably outside both narratives. The last time I saw a box of relaxer—and felt that familiar, sharp burn at the base of my scalp—was when I was 16 and for me, stepping away from chemical straighteners wasn't a radical choice. There was no solemn ceremony in front of a bathroom mirror. Instead, weaning my hair off the ‘creamy crack’ was due to a combination of living in a Black hair shop desert, not wanting to make the 40-minute bus journey to buy the necessary products, and teenage stubbornness (read: laziness) when the baton of haircare was officially passed to me.

Since then, I've gone through a multitude of hairstyles and kept wash days adaptable to my lifestyle; I rarely think or talk about my hair in a negative way. However, looking back, my hair transition has served as a point of questioning in my career as a beauty journalist. My relationship with my hair has never fit firmly into either of these camps, but when Black hair remains such a politicised topic in beauty, can I ever truly be neutral about mine?

It’s a delicate tension that exploded back into the public square early this year, led by TikTok creator @sshoz, whose viral video asking black women, “When’s the last time you left the house wearing your natural hair?” sparked a renewed discussion about the effects of a culture that on wigs, weaves, and protective styles may be harming both Black women’s relationships with their natural texture and outsiders’ perceptions of it. renewed conversations surrounding the natural hair movement by highlighting a crucial flaw within the Black hair space.

It doesn't need to be a political manifesto, a shield, a secret compromise, or an object of worship.

In some ways, both positive reactions have reached a critical juncture in this "third wave" of the natural hair movement—one that exposes how much of our socialisation around Afro hair has produced harmful messaging on both sides of the spectrum. It reveals how broader socialisation continues to shape the ways in which even Black spaces discuss racialised beauty.

Paradoxically, the current natural hair movement often, even if inadvertently, mirrors much of the harshness found in the negative or non-inclusive language that has historically surrounded Afro hair in the West. Hair is still frequently described as "stubborn," "difficult," or "unruly." It is the same language passed down by our mothers and grandmothers—a residual byproduct of survival and assimilation that taught us our natural hair was something to be conquered rather than accommodated. Today, even well-meaning natural hair spaces end up recycling that same punitive vocabulary, demanding perfection under the guise of care. So, with this in mind, is it ever possible to opt out completely?

To put it plainly, according to current research, the answer is no. To exist as a Black woman with 4C hair is to navigate this landscape of hyper-visibility and relentless institutional scrutiny. A recent report by The Guardian highlighted how discriminatory grooming policies persist globally—from classrooms in Jamaica and the UK to corporate boardrooms—enforcing colonial-era ideals of "respectability" and neatness. Even where regulatory progress occurs, the shift is painfully slow. Michelle De Leon, founder of World Afro Day, noted that while progress has been made in some countries—pointing to guidance from the UK’s equality watchdog on school uniforms designed to help prevent hair discrimination—the overall global picture remains strikingly uneven.

Meanwhile, research published by the University of Reading and community organisation TRIYBE explored the profound mental health toll of this hypervigilance, highlighting how Black women carry a constant burden of identity suppression in spaces that police their natural crowns.

Having reported extensively on Black hair politics over the years, I've tracked how we have historically been forced to carve out our own digital spaces to reclaim power—building online communities that paved the way for actionable change by recentering our textures, even in environments that refuse to make room for them. Writer and advocate Zeynab Mohamed captures this tension perfectly when reflecting on the intersecting pressures of visibility, race, and identity. "I think the idea that we can ever feel truly neutral about our appearance is almost utopian, particularly when it comes to hair," Mohamed explains. "Black women and Muslim women often have a complicated relationship with theirs. It can feel as though our hair doesn't fully belong to us; it's constantly being scrutinised, politicised or treated as public property."

Mohamed’s insight hits directly at the quiet dissonance I’ve felt for years. "For a long time, I thought I had a neutral relationship with my hair and my hijab, partly because I wanted to separate myself from all the external commentary," she admits. "But I've realised, it’s not as easy as that. Until we loosen—and ultimately break—the societal expectations placed on women's hair, neutrality will remain out of reach for many Black women and for women who wear the hijab."

Yet, what the current online discourse routinely misses is that for many Black women, protective styling and exaggerated hair aesthetics have evolved far beyond simple tools of assimilation. Many of the styles Black women now wear have expanded into a distinct expressive category, functioning much like the hyper-performative aesthetics embraced by other marginalised groups—such as drag queens—who construct an amplified, stylised version of femininity to protect themselves against misogynoir and societal hostility. In this context, hair becomes an art form, a shield, and a creative declaration of space rather than a quiet retreat into Eurocentric blending.

Sometimes, it’s just hair—and striving toward that plain, simple fact is the most peaceful journey of all.

Still, claiming neutrality while carrying a personal history of quiet adjustments leaves me constantly interrogating my own motives: Is this genuine neutrality, or is it internalised racism at play? Is my choice to step back from the politics of my hair simply a subtle, subconscious effort to render myself "other" or invisible—a protective crouch to avoid the discrimination that comes with being fully seen?

Recognising that pure neutrality might be an ideal rather than an immediate reality doesn't mean giving up on peace. Decoupling my self-worth from my hair texture requires recognising that neutrality isn't a state of complete detachment that you magically wake up with; it is an active choice to unlearn those old, bedroom-fashioned rules and resist the harsh language on both ends of the ideological spectrum. This constant pressure to perform hair care as either a political statement, a cultural armour, or an act of emotional healing is exhausting. We are rarely given permission for our hair to just be hair—dead cells, protein, a canvas, or simply a non-event.

I don't hate my "soft" 4C hair. I appreciate its versatility, its gravity-defying ability to change shape, and the complex history it carries. But I also refuse to spend four hours every Sunday wrestling with detangling brushes and a deep sense of moral duty just to prove a point to the world. Some days, I wear my natural hair because it’s easy. Other days, I wear extensions or a wig because I want a different look without analysing what it means for my soul.

Moving away from the binary of trauma versus triumph doesn't mean erasing the past or diminishing the cultural importance of Black hair. It simply means claiming the right to exist without constant self-analysis. My hair is part of me, but it is not the entirety of my story. It doesn't need to be a political manifesto, a shield, a secret compromise, or an object of worship. Sometimes, it’s just hair—and striving toward that plain, simple fact is the most peaceful journey of all.

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