Kate McLeod’s Nighttime Rituals and Perfect Formula for Sleep
Kate McLeod's Body Stones—buttery, nourishing solid lotion bars—have a serious cult following. As the story goes, McLeod, a former pastry chef and yoga teacher, became captivated by the benefits of solid cocoa butter, then began experimenting with making her own skin-care concoctions. “My now husband was like, ‘no one's going to dig it out of a jar,' so I started pouring it into my old silicone baking molds and giving out canelés and madeleines, and eventually, we came up with this stone-like shape,” she says.
Naturally, McLeod is religious about using one of her Body Stones every night before bed—but it’s as much about the ritual as it is the skin-care benefits. “It's a chance for me to be kind to myself. I don't really love the word self-care; I think it's really overused. What I use is self-devotion... to me it really is like a ritual space,” McLeod says. “I believe the rituals you love are the rituals you return to. I was on the road a lot last year, and these rituals helped ground me, even far away from home,” she says.
From sauna breathwork to her dry brushing and shower ritual, each step in her (impressively screen-free) evening routine is about slowing down and connecting—with her kids, husband, and herself. “If you really tap in, your body's going to give you so much information that's just you can't find anywhere else, and that's really going to guide you,” she says.
Ahead, the beauty entrepreneur shares the grounding pre-bedtime beauty and wellness practices that nourish both her mind and body.
On the ‘toddlers' truce’ and slowing the energy down:
We try to cut the noise when the kids come home and practice something called the toddlers' truce—if you haven’t heard of it, check it out. Our modern version is no phones or screens until the kids are down. This doesn’t just help us be more present for the kids during dinner, bath time, and bedtime; it also helps us drop into ourselves and start to unwind. I try to slow the energy down by dimming lights, lighting candles (her two cozy picks below), and incense—I burn the New York and London sticks in tandem.
On her evening sauna and breathwork ritual:
The night shifts again around 7:30 or 8 p.m., once the little ones are asleep. The evening is when my husband and I connect—speaking, breathing—trying to be present with one another. Some of our best date nights involve sauna breathwork. We prefer infrared to a traditional sauna and are blessed to have one in our building. The absolute best breathwork session on Spotify is: From Darkness to Light by Nessi Gomes and Elemental Rhythm.
On her dry brush and indulgent shower routine:
About twice a week, I’ll dry brush and use our pebbles—they look edible; it's like an ode to my chocolate days because it literally looks like a truffle box. You can use it in the bath—it’s not a bath bomb, but the citric acid and the baking soda help things dissolve and bubble a little bit—but I actually prefer using it in the shower. I start with one, put it in the palm of my hand, and hold it up to the hot water, and then rub it directly on the skin for an oil cleanse. What’s amazing is that those same things that help it fizz in the bath help it act as a really nice, gentle, natural exfoliant on the skin.
For a deep everything shower, I also love the goop Beauty Himalayan Salt Scalp Scrub Shampoo. You've got to try it to understand, but if you've been traveling, over-styling, beaching, sweating—basically living—it gives your scalp an amazing deep clean.
On her simple nighttime skin-care routine:
I keep things very simple: I wash my face using a microfiber round. When I use a cleanser, I use the LESSE Calming Cleanser. Then, I spritz with Yay for Earth Hydrosol Spritzie and brush my teeth while allowing my face to dry. A few times a week, I’ll use Eighth Day’s Regenerative Serum, and then apply a thick coat of the Face Balm. And I religiously apply NeuBrow’s brow serum—it’s very effective. I do love red light masks, but don’t remember to use them as often as I should.
On her perfect formula for sleep:
Every bedroom in our home has blackout blinds and a noise machine: I fall asleep listening to rain, in a pitch-black, cold room, in a warm bed. I’m addicted to the Eight Sleep system and set it to +3/+4. Crawling into a warm bed in a cold room—whether it’s spring, summer, fall, or winter—is the best.
On the product she always keeps on her nightstand:
After a shower or bath, I use a Body Stone. More often than not, I use the Sex Stone as my total body moisturizer. Enhanced with Argan Oil, the Sex Stone is an essential oil free (unscented) Body Stone that’s deeply nourishing and beautifully multipurposed. I always have one on my nightstand. There's no pump, there's no squirt, there's no awkward moment. And there's no water in it, so it can't mess with your pH. It feels really cooling and nice on a woman's body—I've been told on a man's as well.
My other two favorite Body Stones are the Grounding Stone and the Recovery Stone. The former is rich and earthy—super soothing to the nervous system at the end of the day. The latter is deeply robust and warming—the ginger, cardamon, and vanilla sooth the senses and instantly transport me to a more relaxed state. I hop into bed and coat my full body—especially the rougher bits like my heels and knees—before falling asleep.
One her final thoughts before falling asleep:
I don’t love going to bed with any ‘with-holds’ in the family—something that hasn’t been said or resolved but keeps coming up in my mind. I also don’t want to ‘dump’ all over my partner right before bed. We have a practice of sharing with-holds once a week—this gives us each time to sit with things and then bring up what’s actually important.
And, gratitude. As cliché as it might sound, it really does work. I think about how truly blessed I am: I have a very abundant life. And sometimes, especially with two young children, it feels overwhelming. But I know this is just a season, and I am practicing embracing it—and letting go of the need for things to be planned or go to plan—and just enjoying the full abundant juiciness of the here and now.