Out of cultural habit, moon cycles can be a big deal. My mother guided a ritual for my first period when I was 9. She instructed me to rub the blood of my first period onto my face and wait till it dries up before washing it off. I smeared the darkest chunks of blood from my underwear on my forehead, cheeks, and chin. I remember this was an act to release embarrassment and summon glowing complexion.

Not every girl going into womanhood displays great admiration for oneself. Often silencing their moon cycle revelations. Subjected to weakness at the very beginning. Like suppressing themselves with Midol pills behind bathroom stalls during pubescent days. Altogether, this severs a routine to wishfully unearth the significance of their journey.

Last weekend I resurfaced as the daughter cocooned in my new-mom body. My first postpartum period drew out the rest of my magic. To commemorate this gift, I wanted to worship myself in the same way I did when I was taught to at 9 years old. Instead of using my blood, I used 100mg CBD lotion from Ology Essentials ‘She’ collection— because I wanted to reenact the ritual, I only used it on my face, however it can be used for the entire body. One full pump was enough to evenly moisturize my face and covered my neck. The effect of the CBD instantly put me in the mood of watching myself in the mirror… Sometimes when we wake up to our period or still recovering from the nights strike of cramps, it drains our desire to conquer the day.

In Ology Essential’s ‘She’ face + body lotion I detected a citrusy fragrance, one from the rinds of lime before ripening. The awakening smell convinced me to not hit my vape pen right away. The lotion was what I needed to tend to a comfortable morning with my first postpartum period. The warm aroma was sweet, rawer than cane sugar.. a perfect blend to my early hours to help me get moving. I later discovered that orange black tea paired greatly with the routine including the lotion. Adding a black pepper turmeric shot was a good call to my morning routine, to also combat my sugar craves. The idea of killing bacteria in my body was induced by the benefits I felt from Ology’s ‘She’ lotion. I was eager to continue to detox and prepare myself for another rebirth (postpartum period). Proceeding with this theme of being the young woman (representing fertility) and letting myself bleed (representing the new me— liberated from death), I intentionally burned sage during my morning meditation, since sage works as a natural detoxifier.

This entire postpartum period morning recipe would not be as strong without the Ology ‘She” face + body lotion. I was able to do the things that made me feel most like myself and go to the conservatory with baby Light like I had planned without the need to get glammed up!

~ J-NA$TY