Katie Piper talks running, self-care and the £2 hair mask she swears by to banish frizz

The star shares how we can look after ourselves better in 2021 💪

Katie Piper chats self-care

by Aimee Jakes |
Updated on

We love a bit of self-care and all this time at home over the last year has really given us an excuse to look after ourselves inside and out. Each week, we'll be asking the celeb lot to share their Sunday self-care routines, because taking care of yourself is more important than ever.

This week it's all about Katie Piper, the TV presenter, author, podcast host, motivational speaker and activist who is known for her unwavering positivity, energy and kindness. She famously founded The Katie Piper Foundation in 2009 to help other victims of burns injuries.

Katie is a very busy lady indeed and is currently writing a new book, helping women feel confident running with her zero to 7k plan and is working with the PJ Masks to find thenext biggest little superheroes for National Superhero Day.

She caught up with heat to tell us all about her self-care routine, beauty favourites and the one book that's changed her life...

On mental health

Katie Piper talks mental health

Katie explains how she has been trying to discover what keeps her feeling balanced during lockdown.

"Everyone's talking about kindness this year and last year, so I started this thing on my Instagram where I'm reading out daily affirmations. It's affirming positive stuff about yourself, about other people and putting kind thoughts into your head, rather than critiquing yourself every time you sort of wake up, grab the phone, or look in the mirror."

"It's a real passion project for me, but now I've started writing a new affirmation book, because it's been a whole year of the little community we have on Instagram, where we would hunt for daily affirmations by different authors."

"So I'm really excited actually turning that into a book that's available to pre order now called A Little Bit Of Faith and its almost like a diary, where you read that piece of hope for that particular day."

Exactly what we all need in 2021. 👏🏻

On life-changing books

Katie Piper shares her go-to books

Katie is a believer in the Law of Attraction, saying: "there is no denying it, because it's our energy, isn't it?!'' and counts Rhonda Byrne's The Secretas one of her all-time favourite books, alongside Self-Care Sunday alumni Amelia Mist, Georgia Harrison and Harley Brash.

"A book that really helped me open my mind was The Secretbecause that was all about seeing something beyond who we are, who the universe is and I think people have got drawn back to that in COVID times."

"I recently read Glennon Doyle's Untamedand that was really good. It's all about opening your mind to something being bigger than we are, bigger than the ego and I think that kind of writing is really helpful."

"I also listen to podcasts quite regularly, because I've got my own podcast, Katie Piper's Extraordinary People and it's my method of research for a guest. So, I'll go on and listen to other interviews and podcasts they've done to sort of help me suss out who they are."

On self-care

Although the star has been finding more time for pampering sessions, Katie shares that self-care for her is about getting ready for the day. See, self-care isn't just about joggers and face masks, but routines that make you feel good.

"It sounds really weird, but one of my big self care things in lockdown was still dressing up with my make-up, my hair and wearing perfume for zoom. I know that sounds insane, but it really helped me. It wasn't about feeling pretty, It was about identity and separation of work-life, home-life. I just carried it on, I just think it's really really important to remember who you are."

"I think for me, lockdown was quite a good time to be able to actually step up all the kind of skin and hair routines. So I love to do hair masks, like really deep conditioning, hair masks. In old life, the pace was too fast, you didn't always have time to blow dry your hair in the morning before work. So with lockdown, I've been doing like two hair masks a week, where I'll leave it on either all day and go like camera off on Zoom. Or I'll actually sleep in the hair mask with a shower cap on and then do a cold rinse in the morning."

"I'm using thePantene Smooth and Sleek Hair Mask. It helps evoke moisture and sorts out frizz. I don't have curly hair, but I don't have dead straight either. So it kind of helps combat all that frizzy dryness, I love it."

At only £2.22, you really can't go wrong.

Pantene Smooth and Sleek Hair Mask

Rrp: £21.93

Price: £19.93

On running

Katie Piper running
©Katie Piper Instagram

Katie laughs that although she's not 'some crazy athlete that runs marathons', she has reaped the benefits of regularly running - especially during the uncertainty of lockdown.

"Running has really helped throughout my life with my mental health and confidence. I fell back in love with it during lockdown and I think for me and my husband, it was our way to tag team and have time alone. So, he'll sit with the kids, whilst I run, I come back, he takes his turn. It was just really nice freedom, when we didn't really feel free as a society, particularly in that summer, we had the heatwave."

The presenter explains how sharing her running journey online, meant she realised how so many women were lacking in confidence when taking the first step (and literally).

"My followers were all saying, I'd love to do this, but I don't know where to start. I don't know what to do. And I was like, 'guys, just start by putting your foot out the door, it's free, it doesn't discriminate, you won't be judged. It's the year where you saw so many different types of people running that they'd never run before, I think people just didn't have the confidence, they didn't know where to start or how to do it."

So in true Katie fashion, she launched her very own training plan called'Zero to 7k with Katie Piper'.

"So the plan is taking those people from nothing, like zero and saying, 'look, if you follow it every week, by the seventh week, you'll be running 7k'. If you want to go beyond that, go for it. But there's no pressure. And that's all I ever run for around about five or 7k most days and that's it, I don't go beyond it. And that's, that's just enough to stop you getting depressed and anxious. It means I can eat chocolate every night, which I love doing. I just wanted to give people that tool. It's not a weight loss thing. It's not a competitive thing, it's literally like, 'this tool helps me and I want it to help you.'"

On go-to fitness products

"I did buy a Fitbit, actually, which is something I never thought I'd own. I always used to think people who used Fitbits were real losers! Now I'm a believer, I'm in the geeky Fitbit game. I'm one of those annoying people that that tells you what steps they've done now! It just gave me something to do in lockdown and it was a bit competitive with my husband, with step competitions and stuff like that. That's how low we sunk in lockdown!"

You're definitely not alone with that one...

On make-up

Katie Piper talks make-up

"Weirdly, like I don't really know, people always expect me to be the opposite, but I'm super happy wearing no makeup. However the one thing I cannot live without is a false lash, I always wear a strip lash. Otherwise I just look like a little mole!"

Oh, Katie, we can RELATE. The star shares how her go-to strip lashes are the Ardell Demi Whispies (a classic, also loved by Billie Faiers) which are £10 for a pack of four. An absolute steal, if you ask us.

On PJ Mask's superhero competition

The star has also teamed up with the PJ Masks to find the UK’s biggest little superheroes for National Superhero Day.

"It's so lovely, it came about about really naturally, it was my daughter's birthday last year and we did a little PJ Mask party just us guys in lockdown. So I just posted that and it wasn't a paid ad or anything. And they just saw it and said, 'oh, we didn't know she was a fan'. And I was just like, 'she's obsessed, she's such a tomboy'. And we literally did all the characters, you've got all her PJ Masks and balloons and presents. So I started talking to the brand and working with them."

"They told me about National Superhero Day, which is on the 28th. And they had this lovely little idea. This whole campaign I wanted to get behind where they're trying to find their own little heroes, which is such a worthwhile thing at the moment because it's all about kindness and celebrating children's achievements."

"It's not about like finding people that have run half marathons around the village and stuff it's about the little things. Because self-care has shown us this year that that little things are actually the big things. If a child that fed the dog every day, that means they've kept a routine and stayed consistent. You know, we want to hear that kind of nomination."

You can nominate your superhero, here, with prizes including a VIP family trip to Butlin’s to meet the PJ Masks, a £200 Smyths Toys Superstores voucher, a PJ Masks magazine feature with an illustrated story, a PJ Masks toy bundle and more.

Quickfire round:

Last TV show you binged? Dating No Filter on Sky TV.

Go-to cuppa? I have black coffee and I like it really, really hot. No sugar, no milk and weirdly, I prefer like cheap instant coffee rather than a proper coffee machine posh coffee.

Favourite face mask? I love the Skin Republic Prep + Glow sheet masks.

Go-to takeaway order? I Love Turkish takeaway. So I love like chicken shish kebabs, have loads of kind of white yogurt, rice and salad.

Favourite candle? It would be thecandle from my Confidence by Night range. I like how it's so strong, it fragrances the whole room even once you've blown it out.

Read more celeb self-care routines:

Courtney Black talks mental health, beauty routines and her go-to fake tan for bronzed skin

Georgia Harrison talks beauty tips, meditation and the life-changing book everyone should read

Francesca Allen talks brows, skincare and the £5 conditioner she uses for 'thicker hair'

Surprising trends from lockdown 3.0

Little Moons: the Mochi dessert which is essentially little balls of ice cream wrapped in a sweet rice dough. The flavours are GOOD (think passion fruit to cookie dough) and they're just 69 calories per ball. TikTok is going WILD for them. Try them now and thank us later.

The TikTok tortilla wrap: old us would have attempted a sort of 'rolled up sausage' for our lunchtime wrap, but now it's all about cutting a line to the centre and folding it in quarters. Honestly, our minds are still blown.

Bridgerton: the Netflix series which is a glorious mix between Downton Abbey and Gossip girl has got us all dreaming of summer soirees, Regé-Jean Page and wearing corsets post-lockdown.

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