Why Self-Care Isn’t Selfish
Have you ever noticed that little shift after a haircut? You leave the salon, and suddenly the world feels a little lighter. Your shoulders sit differently. You walk taller. You catch your own reflection and smile without even thinking about it. Even the way you move feels steadier, like you’ve been reminded of a version of yourself you hadn’t seen in a while.
That’s one of my favorite parts of working behind the chair here in Evanston. I get to watch that transformation in real time. People walk in carrying the weight of their day—work stress, errands, kids, that endless to-do list—and they walk out with something more than just fresh hair. They walk out with permission. Permission to pause. Permission to be cared for. Permission to feel like themselves again.
Somewhere along the way, many of us started to believe that taking time for ourselves was selfish. We get busy. We convince ourselves that other people’s needs always come first. But the truth? When you make time for yourself, you’re giving something back to everyone around you.
Think about it. When you feel good in your own skin, you show up differently. You have more patience when your kids are climbing the walls. You’re able to meet your partner with calm when life feels messy. You walk into work ready to contribute instead of second-guessing yourself. That quiet confidence spills over into every corner of your life.
That’s why I don’t see self-care as indulgence. I see it as fuel. And like fuel, it doesn’t last forever. If we never stop to refill, we eventually run on empty. We snap at our loved ones. We lose touch with our spark. We carry stress in our bodies until it starts to wear us down. A haircut might seem small, but it’s often the kind of reset that changes everything about the way we carry ourselves into the world.
The salon chair has a way of creating space for that reset. For an hour—or maybe two if you’re treating yourself to color—your only job is to sit. To let someone else hold the details while you just receive. Sometimes that looks like catching up and sharing a laugh. Sometimes it looks like zoning out with a magazine or closing your eyes while your scalp is massaged. Sometimes it means finally saying out loud what’s been weighing you down and leaving lighter than when you walked in. However it unfolds, it’s yours.
What happens in the salon doesn’t stay in the salon.
That glow you carry afterward comes with you. It changes the way you respond when your teenager rolls their eyes. It changes how you walk into a meeting. It changes how you connect with your partner at the end of a long day. That energy ripples out far beyond the chair.
So if you’ve been putting yourself last, I want you to know you’re not alone. Most of us do it without even realizing it. But maybe this is your reminder that it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t have to wait until you’re running on fumes to take a break. You don’t have to earn self-care by exhausting yourself first. You can choose it before you’re burned out.
Book the haircut. Refresh your color. Treat yourself to a scalp facial. Not because it’s “extra,” but because you deserve to feel like yourself again. Because when you make that choice, you’re not just caring for your hair—you’re caring for your whole self. And when you do that, you show up in the world with a strength and presence that everyone around you feels.
That kind of shift is powerful. And it starts with you.
Your next hair appointment can be more than a style change. It can be the reset you’ve been needing. Ready to feel that post-salon glow? Book your next appointment at Linmay Studio in the heart of Evanston.
