I Spent A Cécred Sunday Like Beyoncé—Here's How It Went

Beyoncé's proclamation of self-care and her journey to resting more and prioritizing herself truly echoes the sentiments of Black women all over the world who are yearning for deep rest, and sustainable wellness routines to curate time to pour into themselves and remember that we are much more than the work that we do, we are human beings that deserve to lean into self-preservation.

It's almost impossible to discuss Beyoncé without the acknowledgment of her next-level work ethic, but what does it look like to not just channel her ability to get sh*t done but to do absolutely nothing but care for yourself?

In order to commit to the process, of course, I had to get some Cécred. Their new Hydrating Conditioner, said to instantly strengthen and fortify the hair, was just released, so once I had my hands on that (and cleared my schedule because wash day is just that - a day), I started my day like Beyoncé's with a few additions of my own radical self-care necessities that I think she’d approve of.

6:30 a.m. Alexa, play "Church Girl." Daily, I wake up and listen to my church's daily prayer call. My relationship with the church throughout life has been at times..difficult. Growing up a preacher's kid wasn't the easiest experience, but as Bey said - nobody can judge me but me; I was born free.

Actively choosing to heal from church trauma while going to church constantly again at times can stir up some old emotions, but starting my days with prayer never is. It gives me comfort and reminds me that God is with me and that people are praying for me.

7 a.m. I walked my goldendoodle; idk if Queen Bey has pets, but mine is serious about his walks, so we took a stroll together and came home and had breakfast, and I made myself an iced coffee. I use glass can-shaped glasses and straws (it makes the experience more intentional and memorable for me, like I'm at my own personal coffee shop) and sit at my window staring out at the tall buildings in my neighborhood. I usually turn on Girlfriends or Half & Half while preparing for church.

10 a.m. After showering and getting ready for church, I set aside my swim necessities because I knew I'd want to spend some time in the water after service. I've been swimming since I was a little girl. My father taught me how to do it, and it's been my favorite hobby ever since. I put my bag in the living room to remind me when I got home, and headed to church.

11 a.m. I arrive at church and greet my mama, who's also the pastor of the church. She's the first woman in history to be the senior pastor of her church, so it's a beautiful thing to see her living out her dreams. My family is everything to me, and Beyoncé is the ultimate family girl, so what better way to spend Sunday than with your loved ones?

2 p.m. Church is over, and I'm headed to the pool, but before I get into the water, I pretreat my hair before the swim with some water and Cécred Nourishing Hair Oil. As a swimmer, I pride myself on keeping my hair healthy, and in order to protect my hair from being saturated with chlorinated water, I soak my hair in fresh water and apply hair oil to the ends of it. This allows the chlorinated water less of an opportunity to penetrate the hair and cause more damage overall.

3 p.m. During swim time, I love to play music. I swim above and underwater, and I curate a playlist to bring with me filled with soul music and overall music that stills and calms me. I swim for an hour, touch the lights in the pool at each lap, and speak aloud what I want to pray and manifest as I grab hold of them.

4 p.m. Out the pool, and ready for my #CécredWashDay with Cécred's Clarifying Shampoo & Scalp Scrub. I followed up with the Hydrating Shampoo in the spa shower and then applied the new hydrating conditioner! It just launched this month, so I was anxious to try it out in my wash day routine. I'll admit, I don't usually reach for a lightweight conditioner because my hair is pretty thick, that said, I know women IRL who have used Cécred religiously for months, and their hair is growing and flourishing - so we're on board with the entire routine and will report back by winter on my results!

After rinsing out the conditioner, I took the wash day a little further, applied the Moisturizing Deep Conditioner, and headed to the sauna. Sauna time allows me to let my body sweat and release toxins, and I get to have the ultimate deep conditioning experience, it's a 2-for-1.

I stay in until the conditioning cap feels hot, and then I go rinse it out, I applied Cécred Moisture Sealing Lotion to lock in all that moisture from the treatment, and their new Restoring Hair & Edge Drops because my edges need some TLC after years of braids and tight ponytails.

5 p.m. I come back upstairs, walk my dog, and do some reading before I have dinner. Since it's Sunday, I head to my aunt's house for dinner. She started getting the family together after church to eat on Sundays, and we don't do it every week, but when she hits the group chat, we show up. She has dogs as well, so I bring my dog with me, and he eats dinner with his cousins.

We eat dinner, dance to music, and catch up on what's going on in each other's lives. We danced to the classics and started off honoring the loss of Frankie Beverly, then played some Michael Jackson, and ended with Sade (who my aunt was named after) and Luther Vandross.

9 p.m. I'm finally home from a beautiful Cécred Self-Care Sunday. My hair is clean, I'm fed (spiritually and physically), and I'm ending the day in bed with a book.

10/10 recommend a #CécredSunday wash day routine with a few of your own recommendations, of course. I can't wait for next week to come, and this time, I might add some more Bey-approved rituals (painting and maybe even a sound bowl.)

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