How to Glow Up: 8 Gentle Steps to Glow Inside and Out

Wondering how to glow up when you barely have the energy to wash your hair? Girl, I’ve been there.

You save a “become that girl” video, promise yourself that THIS is the week you’ll become her, buy the cute water bottle… and by Thursday you’re eating cereal for dinner and feeling worse than before.

If that’s you, first of all, take a deep breath. I get it, and there’s nothing wrong with you. I’ve been the girl who wanted a total transformation by Monday more times than I’d like to admit. After the hardest breakup of my life, I tried to fix everything at once: new diet, new workout, new wardrobe, new everything. It lasted about a week.

What actually changed my life was much slower and much kinder. So in this guide, I’ll show you how to glow up step by step, inside and out, in a way that fits your real life (and your real energy).

Quick grace note before we start: a glow up is not about fixing your body or becoming someone else. It’s about feeling more like YOU. Go at your own pace, save this post, and come back whenever you’re ready. It’ll be here.

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What Is a Glow Up, Really?

A glow up is a visible change that starts on the inside. Yes, it can include skincare and cute outfits (c’mon, who doesn’t love a shopping spree!), but the women who truly glow are the ones who:

• sleep and rest more
• talk to themselves kindly
• take care of their body because they love it, not because they hate it
• have something in their life that lights them up

That’s why this guide covers four areas: mind, body, style and life. You don’t have to work on all of them at once. Pick the one that feels most exciting and start there.

If you’d rather have everything in a printable list, my 6-step glow up checklist is the companion to this guide.

How to Glow Up in 8 Gentle Steps

Step 1: Start With Rest (Seriously)

I know, I know. You came here for skincare tips and I’m telling you to sleep. Buuuuut hear me out.

Tired skin, tired mood and tired motivation all start in the same place. No serum in the world can do what seven or eight hours of sleep does. Energy comes before willpower, always.

• Pick a realistic bedtime and protect it four nights a week.
• Put your phone across the room 30 minutes before bed.
• Create a tiny wind-down ritual: tea, a few pages of a book, lights low.

Your action: Tonight, go to bed 20 minutes earlier than usual. That’s it. That’s step one.

Need a full routine? Here’s the best night routine for women, step by step.

Step 2: Glow Up Your Self-Talk

This one is the real secret. The way you talk to yourself shows up in the way you walk, dress and show up in the world.

• Notice one mean thought a day and rewrite it like you’d say it to your best friend.
• Trade one automatic “sorry” a day for a “thank you”: “thanks for waiting” instead of “sorry I’m late.”
• Write down three things you like about yourself (not just your looks!).

Your action: Choose one affirmation and say it while you brush your teeth. My I AM affirmations for self-worth are a great place to start.

Step 3: Build a Simple Self-Care Routine

Forget the 12-step skincare routine. A glow up routine you actually do beats a perfect one you abandon.

• Morning: cleanse, moisturize, sunscreen. Done.
• Night: remove makeup, cleanse, moisturize.
• Weekly: one “pamper night” with a mask, a hair treatment or a long bath.
• Water: keep a glass by your bed and one at your desk.

Your action: Write your three-step morning and night routine on a sticky note and put it on your bathroom mirror.

A few little things that make the routine feel like a treat (and work as cute gifts to yourself, too):

For a whole day of pampering, try my guide to the ultimate self-care day at home.

Step 4: Move Your Body for Joy, Not Punishment

Here’s the truth: CrossFit is what showed me I was never weak. But it worked because I loved it, not because I was trying to shrink myself.

Your body doesn’t need fixing. It needs care. So find movement that makes you feel good:

• A 10-minute walk after lunch (romanticize your walk with a good podcast!)
• Stretching on the living room floor while your show plays
• A dance class, yoga video, pilates, swimming, hiking… anything you look forward to

Your action: Schedule three 10-minute movement breaks this week. Ten minutes counts. Always.

Step 5: Find Your Feel-Good Style

A style glow up is not about buying a new wardrobe. It’s about wearing things that make you feel like yourself.

• Pull out the five pieces you feel best in. What do they have in common? Colors, fit, fabric?
• Donate or store three things you never wear (and feel weird in).
• Pick a simple “uniform” for busy days so getting dressed takes two minutes.
• Find one hairstyle that works for your hair on a normal day (a cute claw clip counts!).

Your action: Plan tomorrow’s outfit tonight. Future You will thank you.

Step 6: Glow Up Your Space and Your Phone

Your environment glows up you too. A cluttered space and a chaotic phone keep your brain stuck in survival mode.

• Clear one surface you see every day, like your nightstand or desk.
• Unfollow accounts that make you compare yourself and follow ones that inspire you.
• Change your phone wallpaper to something that reminds you of who you’re becoming.

Your action: Do a five-minute phone clean-up during your next coffee break.

Step 7: Give Your Life Something to Glow About

This is the step most glow up guides forget. The most magnetic women have something they’re excited about: a hobby, a project, a dream, a class.

• Try one new hobby this month (here are 101+ hobby ideas to get you started).
• Plan one small adventure: a new coffee shop, a museum, a solo lunch.
• Say yes to one thing that scares you a liiittle. A solo trip to New York changed my whole life, and it started with a scary yes.

Your action: Put one fun, just-for-you activity on your calendar this week.

Step 8: Picture the Woman You’re Becoming

A glow up gets so much easier when you know who you’re glowing toward. Picture her: how does she spend her mornings? How does she talk to herself? What does she say no to?

Then ask: what’s one tiny thing she would do today? Do that.

Your action: Write a short description of your “future self” in your journal. If you want help, my How to Become Her guide walks you through it step by step.

Your Gentle 30-Day Glow Up Plan

Want a simple roadmap? Here’s how to spread the steps over a month, one week at a time:

• Week 1, Rest: earlier bedtime four nights, phone out of the bedroom.
• Week 2, Mind: daily affirmation plus three things you like about yourself.
• Week 3, Body & Routine: three-step skincare, water, three 10-minute walks.
• Week 4, Style & Life: plan outfits, declutter one space, try one new hobby.

By the end of the month, you won’t be a different person. You’ll be a more rested, more confident, more you version of yourself. And that’s the glow up that lasts.

What If I Fall Off Track?

You will, and that’s OKAY! Here’s what to remember:

• Missing one day is normal. The goal is to never miss twice.
• If you’re in a hard season (new baby, breakup, a tough job), focus only on Step 1. Rest is a glow up too.
• If you don’t “see” results yet, check how you feel instead. More energy and kinder self-talk come first, and the outside follows.
• If you feel behind, remember that the women online are showing you their highlights, not their Tuesdays.

You Already Have the Glow

Here’s my favorite truth about glowing up: you’re not building a new you from scratch. You’re uncovering the woman who was there all along, just tired, busy and taking care of everyone else first.

So start small. Go to bed a little earlier. Talk to yourself a little kinder. Wear the outfit that makes you smile. Let’s do this!

Tell me in the comments: which step are you starting with? And pin this guide so you can come back to it whenever you need a reminder.

Ready to go deeper? My 21-Day Self-Discovery Plan guides you through a full inside-out reset, one small step a day.

Wishing you all the love,

Isabelle

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