Ok, if you follow me on instagram, then you’re like:
“Enough already! We get it, you like to shoot salt water up your nose.”
But the thing is that I’m shouting this from the rooftops for a reason. Trust.
Unfortunately, there’s literally no way to get a perfect, blog-worthy or Instagrammable shot of this- so you’ll just have to deal with the bleak reality that although it’s effective, it’s not exactly the cutest thing in the world.
I honestly just don’t even care, because it’s the top health and wellness tool in my toolbelt. Genuinely.
Watch, I’m about to prove it to you.
Depuffs the face:
Look, I’m all about an ice rolling moment (especially in the morning). But the truth is, if you run puffy, and it’s really not subsiding- it’s worth looking deeper than the surface (the part the ice treats) to understand the WHY.
Now, there’s obviously many reasons you might be a little pufferfish when you wake up, but for many of us- it’s environmental! Whether it’s pollution, smoke, or dust, all those nasties get caught in our nasal passageways, and can cause bags under the eyes.
So, a super simple solution is to wash all that gunk out. I like to do one rinse in the morning, and one in the evening for best results.
Illness and disease prevention:
I contracted a strain of antibiotic resistant form of Staph years ago when I was living in Asia. This would manifest as large boils or abscesses all over my body. Not only did it impact my self-esteem, but it was also super painful.
Although I already knew that Staph lives in the nose, and tried a few antibiotic treatments through the nose- it kept coming back.
Finally, a doctor suggested the neti pot, and I figured why not? After using it consistently for 4 weeks, I stopped getting infections. And, as long as I’m using it consistently (ideally daily, but I can skip days, or even a week at this point), then I don’t get infections AT ALL anymore.
Staph, like many bacterias and viruses, can stay in the nose for a long time (or even forever, unfortunately). Keeping the area CLEAN is the best way to clear infections, and reoccurring issues such as mine.
Less mouth breathing:
Why is this a good thing? Because we get more oxygen when we breathe through the nose!
If our nose is blocked, or stuffy, we usually (unconsciously) start breathing through the mouth. This happens when we’re awake, and even MORE SO when we’re asleep.
A great way to promote more nasal breathing is by keeping the passageway clear, duh.
A few tips for use:
So, one of the things I love about the neti pot is that it’s super affordable, and you can find them anywhere in the world (somewhere between $10-$15).
However, if you’re a bougie bitch like me, then you’ll opt for the Rolls Royce of neti pots, and splurge on the electronic version (the Navage, which is obviously linked in my Amazon storefront). I love this one, because it’s cleaner than the manual neti pot by containing all of the water in one device. AND, i love that the electronic element of it actually SUCKS stuff out of one side (kinda gross, kinda cool) which gives a deeper clean.
I’m not gonna lie, the biggest downfall is that it’s super wasteful, because you need to buy the plastic salt pods for every use. Definitely not the most sustainable model, but clearly not a dealbreaker for me because i’ve been using it for years.
Whether you go with the manual neti pot, or the electronic neti pot, it’ll feel super strange the first time you do it. Some people say they feel like they’re drowning, which is a bit much- but also I can relate.
The trick is that you need to keep the most open while you rinse (just a few minutes of that pesky mouth breathing), and try to RELAX so the water can actually flow with ease. It might feel weird at first, but I swear, if you give it time- it will actually become something you CRAVE.
Look, you guys were the ones asking me for top health and wellness tips. So here ya go. This one is the holy grail. If you don’t believe me, you’ll just have to try it out yourself to see 🙂
xx,
K