Last Sunday, I was at brunch and came to a discussion of interesting habits which men considered a ‘treat’, such as, but not limited to: going on Grindr once a month to relieve stress, and sitting down to wee when hungover or extra tired. These self-care acts generally fall off the beaten track of ‘normal’ self-care acts, which brought me to converse with my brunch pals my personal form of catharsis, eating an orange or a cold mango with my hands in the shower, ‘as a treat’. Some were familiar, some thought I was cooked. The reason for the familiarity, is because this very concept has actually been coveted by the likes of Reddit, Buzzfeed and Men’s Health. One Google search will supply you with a plethora of articles on why this is 100% a thing. And upon posting one Instagram story last night, hoping to provoke even more conversation, and among having a multitude of replies either agreeing, informing me that I am the reason why their Google search history is always f*cking weird, or questioning whether or not just drinking in the shower provides similar therapeutic benefits, I woke up to one from TB Editor herself, Chloe Brinklow, simply stating: ‘You’re writing about this, mate x’. So here I am, on International Self-care day, writing about eating oranges in the shower. If you fancy something a bit ~deeper~, Gopi Lev wrote a thing about REAL self-care, and how it’s not just all about face masks and $60 candles, here. I’m taking a different route and talking about oranges.
My introduction to the orange eating shower trend came by way of this Buzzfeed video, explaining the phenomenon. I’m very much here for bizarre acts of self-care, and will really try most things. So one, hot, summer evening, I first took to the fridge, and retrieved a cold mango, and second to the shower, to try and figure out why many people considered this such a cathartic act. It’s really quite simple, and you don’t even need to experience it to figure it out, but I highly recommend you do. Mangoes and oranges are fruits of the messy variety. Fruits that I, on occasion, will opt to not consume, since I’m the laziest person on planet earth and don’t want to deal with the cleanup/mango clothes/mango face/pulp teeth. All of this (except pulp teeth) is eliminated when you consume something in an environment where everything is literally washed away the second it hits your skin. Do you understand how liberating it is to peel a whole mango with your bare hands and then just have at it like a barbarian, with zero stickiness/stain paranoia? The answer is very. Sit down in the shower for max relaxing. Side note: particularly with oranges, upon being peeled next to steam, they let off an invigorating citrusy aroma, adding to the experience.
This self-care technique is like the hero we never asked for but the hero we deserve. I don’t know why so many of us have reserved it to the ‘treat’ pile, maybe the novelty would wear off if you were to do it every morning (like sex?). It’s also not a self-care technique that is going to clear your skin or get rid of your anxiety or improve the quality of your personal relationships. I eat Cheetos in the bath with chopsticks more regularly than I eat a messy fruit in the shower, but when I do, it’s a bloody treat.
In case this tip sounds like exactly the kind of activity you would rather NOT partake in, here are a couple of citrusy suggestions that can still be part of a slightly more normal self-care routine. Cue beauty blogger trying to sell you something.
Aesop Rind Concentrate Body Balm
Drunk Elephant C-Firma™ Day Serum
Venustus Ready-Set-Go essential oil blend
Words: Ella Jane