On Sunday morning, at 2am, the clocks go back an hour. Official confirmation comes from GOV.UK, which lists 25 October as the date this year, when the UK moves from British Summer Time back to Greenwich Mean Time. You get an extra hour in bed, which is lovely. You also get the sort of evenings where it’s dark by the time you’ve finished work, which is less lovely.
Rather than simply putting up with it, this is a good moment to build a small, realistic routine for the darker months. Not a 12-step programme. Not a new personality. Just a handful of things that make a grey Tuesday feel a bit more bearable, some at home and some in the salon.
The Extra Hour, and the Catch
Nobody is going to complain about an extra hour of sleep. The catch arrives the following evening, when the sky is dark an hour earlier than it was the week before. Sunrise comes earlier, which suits some people, but most of us only really notice the change when we’re leaving work or collecting children and it already feels like bedtime.
A few small adjustments help. Some people shift their bedtime by 15 or 20 minutes over the few days before the change, so the jump feels smaller. Others go outside at lunchtime, because getting outside in daylight is one of the simplest things you can do for your energy. Neither is complicated, and both are free.
Why a Small Ritual Beats a Big Resolution
January gets all the credit for fresh starts, but October is a more honest moment for them. The routine of term time is back, the summer is properly over, and you have several months of cold weather to get through. A small ritual, something you do regularly and look forward to, is far easier to keep up than a dramatic overhaul.
The best rituals share three features. They are short enough to fit into a normal week. They involve something you actually enjoy. And they leave you feeling slightly better than when you started. That’s the whole brief.
What to Do With the Extra Hour
Strictly speaking, you could simply sleep through it. Many people do, and we salute them. If you’d like to use it a little more deliberately, here are a few options that cost nothing:
- Sleep in. Obviously. Nobody has ever regretted this.
- Take a slow walk in the daylight, since mornings will be brighter than they were last week.
- Cook something that takes longer than ten minutes, with the radio on.
- Write the diary for the next fortnight, including at least one thing you’re looking forward to.
- Do absolutely nothing, on purpose, and don’t feel guilty about it.
The point is that the extra hour is a gift that arrives once a year. It deserves better than being spent scrolling.
What the Colder Months Do to Skin and Hair
It helps to know what you’re up against. Cold air outside and central heating inside both reduce the humidity around you, which pulls moisture from your skin and your hair. Skin can look duller, feel tighter and sometimes flake around the nose and cheeks. Hair becomes drier, more prone to frizz, and a lot more likely to stand on end the moment you take your hat off.
None of this is a disaster, and most of it is manageable with a few adjustments: a richer moisturiser, a weekly hair mask, fewer very hot showers, and a bit of patience. We’ll look at hat hair and static in more detail next week in our winter hair survival guide, because it deserves a proper rant.
Salon Treatments That Suit the Season
Not everything on our menu is a winter treat, but quite a lot of it fits the time of year very well. Here are the ones people ask about most as the evenings draw in.
- Head massage. A head massage is a short, calming treatment you can fit in around a working day. It works on the scalp, temples and the top of the neck, and it is hard to be in a hurry while someone is doing it.
- Facials. Central heating and cold air both dry skin out. A facial focused on hydration is a sensible way to look after your skin through the colder months, and it gives you an hour where nobody expects anything of you.
- Foot care. Boots and thick socks hide a lot, but dry skin and hard heels carry on regardless. Our feet treatments keep them comfortable, and a good pedicure does wonders for how you feel on a bleak morning.
- Body massage. If you carry the day in your shoulders, a body massage is the obvious choice. It’s worth having in your diary before you desperately need it.
- A hair treatment. Winter air is hard on hair. A proper hair treatment adds moisture back and makes the next few months of hats and scarves easier to manage.
You don’t need all of them. Pick one, book it, and see how it feels. If it earns its place in your routine, make it regular.
How to Choose Something Worth Booking
With a menu full of options, it’s easy to book the thing you always book, or to book nothing at all. Three questions help you pick:
- What’s bothering me most right now? Tight shoulders, tired skin, dry hair, sore feet? Start there.
- What would I actually enjoy? A treatment you look forward to is more likely to become a habit than one you feel you ought to have.
- What fits my week? Be realistic about timing and travel. The best treatment is the one you actually turn up for.
If you aren’t sure, say so when you call. We’re happy to talk through the options and suggest something that fits what you’ve told us, without any pressure to book the most expensive thing on the list.
Book Daylight Appointments While You Can
This is a small practical tip, but it makes a difference. Once the clocks have gone back, finishing work at five means leaving in the dark, and the idea of going out again for an appointment can feel like a chore. If your schedule allows, daytime slots at weekends or on your days off are easier to keep and leave you with some daylight to enjoy afterwards.
It also means you aren’t rushing from the office with your mind still on the inbox. A treatment works better when you’re not clock-watching.
A Simple Sunday-Night Routine at Home
Between visits, a short evening routine can do plenty of the work. This one takes about 20 minutes, and you can drop any step you don’t fancy:
- Put the phone in another room. Even ten minutes without it is a treat.
- Run a warm bath or shower and keep the lights low afterwards.
- Cleanse and moisturise properly. Skin dries out faster in winter, so don’t skimp on the moisturiser.
- Spend two minutes massaging your scalp with your fingertips, slowly, in small circles. It feels brilliant and costs nothing.
- Put out tomorrow’s clothes, so the morning is one decision lighter.
We covered the benefits of paying proper attention to your scalp in our piece on why scalp care deserves a place in your routine. It is one of the easiest parts of a winter routine to start.
A Word on Low Mood
It’s perfectly normal to feel a bit flat when the evenings close in. For some people it goes further than that. The NHS describes seasonal affective disorder (SAD) as a type of depression that usually happens in winter, with symptoms such as persistent low mood, a lack of interest in things you usually enjoy, and feeling restless or irritable. The NHS advises seeing a GP if you think you might have it.
We want to be clear about our role here. A massage, a facial or a new haircut can be a lovely way to look after yourself, and they can lift your day. They are not a treatment for depression, and we wouldn’t suggest otherwise. If you’re struggling to cope, please speak to your GP. Support is available, and asking for it is a sensible thing to do.
Make It Easy on Yourself
The most useful thing you can do this week is book something. Not necessarily a big treatment. A short one, on a day that suits you, that you’ll look forward to. Put it in the diary. Then, when the evenings feel particularly long in November, you have something to aim at.
It might also be worth thinking ahead. December appointments tend to fill early, so if you have parties or family events coming up, it’s wise to book those now rather than discovering in the first week of December that everyone else already has.
Book Your Winter Reset
Whether it’s a head massage, a facial or just an hour with someone else in charge of the hairdryer, our team in Widnes can help you plan something that fits your week. Call us on 0151 420 5656, book online, or visit us at 190 Lunts Heath Road, Widnes, Cheshire, WA8 5AZ.
