3 Ways I Melt Away Stress With This 5 Star Rated Cleansing Balm

As POPSUGAR editors, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you’ll like too. POPSUGAR has affiliate and advertising partnerships so we get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase.

Remember Avril Lavigne’s 2002 track “I’m With You”? If not, it’s a track about a “damn cold night” in which “everything is a mess” and “nothing’s going right” and I’ve embedded it for your reference below.

 I believe that Alpha H, Melting Moment Cleansing Balm ($70) is an antidote for both “damn cold nights” and those days when nothing feels right.

Had Avril Lavigne had it on hand in 2002, we may have been denied one of the best emo bangers in pop history.

Despite playing the field with beauty products for a living, I’ve been through three jars of Alpha-H, Melting Moment Cleansing Balm and I can’t see it ever losing a place in my routine. It’s been coddling my dry, product-trialling ravaged skin through the recent cold snap. On the days when, like Avril, I just want to shove my face in a pillow and scream, it does a better short-term job at melting away stress than any therapy appointment (therapists always ask tricky questions like “when was the last time you tried mindfulness meditation?”).

So, with winter coming and stressful days an inevitable part of life here on earth, this is my love song to Alpha-H, Melting Moment Cleansing Balm, in three stress relieving steps. 

Taking My Makeup Off, the Best Way 

Long day at work? Itching to get your makeup off? Get home, and you’re suddenly overwhelmed with tiredness, sprawl on the couch and get to 10pm before realising removing your makeup feels like… the hardest thing ever? Same. Alpha-H Melting Moment Cleansing Balm makes taking my makeup off a delicious pleasure and, occasionally, a highlight in my day.

It’s truly a treat for the senses that eases away stress with every silky stroke. On application this thick balm dissolve into a luxurious oil, while the invigorating scent of mandarin, geranium, ylang ylang, blackcurrant, labdanum, jasmine and vanilla envelopes me. All these essential oils with demonstrated stress relieving benefits, and they transform my cramped Newtown share-house basin into a luxury spa.

Mixed with water, the balm oil quickly transforms into an emulsion, that washes clean taking caked on concealer, waterproof mascara and buckets of sunscreen and any bad vibes from the day along with it.

As an In-Shower Mask 

@imanogundeko Try this for the plumpest, most hydrated skin 🥰 thank you @Nusrat🌙 for putting me on to face masks before shower #skincaretip #plumpskin #skincarehack ♬ original sound – Iman | Beauty & Style

Using a face mask in the shower is a hot tip, because it quite literally protects your mug from hot water.

Because, let’s face it, we all linger longer in the shower longer than we should in winter, I love using Melting Moment as an in-shower mask and cleanser. I pop it on before I hop in, so my complexion can benefit from hydrating mango seed butter, sweet almond oil, shea butter and vitamin E, while staying protected from the dehydrating and drying effects of my in-shower procrastination. Before I hop out, I rinse my face with a plump, juicy and balanced complexion. 

To Assist a Gua-Sha

One of my other favourite stress relieving techniques? A gua-sha before bed. Not only does gua-sha sculpt cheekbones, get blood flow going and ease jaw tension (surprise, I’m a night-time tooth grinder) it’s a great stress reliever. I can speak from experience, but there is plenty of evidence that lymphatic drainage can reduce cortisol levels and help you relax and unwind. The only trick with Gua Sha is lubing up – you need an oil or balm with a little resistance. If your “lubricant” is too slippery, you’ll likely lose control of your tool and knock yourself in the eye. Not very chill. 

As a thicker balm packed with dense butters, my favourite stainless steel FaceGym, Multi-Sculpt Gua Sha Tool ($89) glides but never slips over my complexion. Plus, the formula doesn’t feel unpleasantly greasy while it’s on. Instead, once I wash it off, my skin feels clean, soft and hydrated, and I feel calllllm. 

I hope Avril has picked herself up a pot. 

Read More POPSUGAR Beauty

• These Vitamin C Products Are the Secret to Glowy Skin
• What to Know Before Trying the Copper Hair Colour Trend
• These 13 Lipsticks Are the Perfect Dupe for Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk
• Slay Or Nay: The Viral Beauty Trends of 2023 (and Whether They’re Worth Trying
• 16 of the Best LED Masks in Australia and Exactly What Each Light Does for Your Skin