The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway: Physical & Psychological Benefits of Ice Rituals
- seon reverie
- Jun 17, 2025
- 4 min read
From ice facials to reduce morning puffiness, to cold showers and cold plunging… ice rituals have been a popular self-care option and a quiet secret weapon of modern elegance and calm. Celebrities, Victoria’s Secret models, and K-pop idols alike are turning to cold as more than just a skin-care hack…it is a lifestyle and a mindset. So how did ice become such a cornerstone of self-discipline and rebirth?
Well at first glance, these rituals might seem purely aesthetic. Many have testified that ice has given them glowing skin and even a tighter jawline. But beneath the surface, the cold invites a psychological rewiring. It teaches you how to remain calm under pressure, helps reset the nervous system (a major one in today’s overstimulated world), and strengthens mental clarity through discomfort. In a culture that glorifies hustle, heat, and burnout, turning to the cold is a power move of its own.
Ice in the Beauty World
Let’s first begin with the obvious benefits, the one that shows externally .Ice rituals started off as an organic yet effective beauty secret. From high fashion editorials to Tiktok routines, cold rituals were and still are merging luxury with biohacking. The results? Pretty consistent and stunning.
Ice Facials
Ice facials are one of the most beloved methods, and probably one of the first methods to emerge as a popular beauty trend. Vogue Beauty explored this in their 2023 piece, “Should You Be Putting Ice on Your Face? Experts Say Yes”, stating: “No matter what state your face is in, experts weigh in on how fresh-out-of-the-freezer cubes, especially when spiked with green tea, caffeine, or milk (!), can help increase blood circulation, minimize pores, and soothe inflammation for clear, radiant skin.” Their guide offers practical tips for safely icing the face and kickstarting your glow journey. In addition to these benefits, ice facials are also known to promote lymphatic drainage. As noted in Cleveland Clinic’s piece, Facial Icing: Is Ice Good for Your Face?: “The cold helps drain excess fluids from the lymphatic system, which also helps reduce swelling and promotes the movement of lymph liquid.” Lymph liquid helps us pick up bacteria and waste products from the body, filtering them by our lymph nodes, hence making sure these liquids are not static is important to prevent lymph congestion (which causes the swelling effect).
Today we aren’t just rubbing an ice cube on our cheeks and calling it a day. Oh no. The tools and methods have evolved. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Ice Globes: Sleek, glass or metal spheres filled with liquid or gel that stay cold even without freezing solid.
Metal Cryo Sticks: Their structure adds a bit more pressure (pretty good for the lymph drainage)
Cold Face Masks: Shaped like a sheet mask, but you put them in the fridge. Some are filled with orbeez-like gel balls, or just gel. If not, you can put actual sheet masks in your fridge.
Face Dunking: big bowl of ice, and put your face in! Celebs like Hailey Bieber and Bella Hadid swear by this method on Instagram and Tiktok, using it to de-puff and glow.
Straight From the Cold Plunge: The Mental Mastery of Cold Through Full Body Immersion
More than just a trend, ice baths and cold showers just took ice rituals one step further. Cold on your face was just the start of a beauty journey, but immersing your whole body in cold water? That takes a lot of patience and discipline. Kendall Jenner shared a video of herself on Instagram in a crisp and cold ice bath, writing, “First cold plunge bath in a while . . . Feels so good.” Jennie Kim, a BLACKPINK member, took us on a journey into her mind as she is preparing and entering her 5-minute morning cold plunge on Vogue. “It’s like a reset button for your body,” she tells Vogue. She adores this so much, she even included it in her lyrics for her hit song “Mantra,” “My clothes are pajamas, straight from the cold plunge.”
Cold showers are also a popular way of experiencing the full body chill. PubMed shared in their research article “Adapted Cold Shower as a Potential Treatment for Depression” that cold showers send an “overwhelming amount” of electrical impulses all the way to the brain. This fights depression, anxiety, and overall boosts your self-confidence and strength.
But Why Cold?
Cold is a clean slate. A full-body shock that somehow clears the mind. Psychologically, cold exposure resets the nervous system by activating the parasympathetic response. It helps regulate stress hormones like cortisol, grounding you when your mind feels overstimulated. This is one of the key reasons as to why celebrities like Jennie go even further than just using cold with intentions to look stunning. It also builds what researchers call “psychological resilience” — that mental toughness where your body says “no thank you” but you go “no, we’re gonna do it anyway.” Boom. Discipline.
Personally, I love to use a cold shower to wake up my body in the mornings. I start by letting it touch my feet first, awakening all my lymph nodes there, and then work my way up to my head. It’ll be so uncomfortable at first, but once you breathe through it for just a few more seconds, you can turn on that steaming water again. Nothing else in your day will seem remotely uncomfortable anymore — because what is more uncomfortable than a super cold shocking shower at 8 in the morning? But it definitely helped me build discipline. I also felt extra squeaky clean.
Conclusion: Cold Is a Mirror
Cold is not punishment. It definitely should not be pain. It is a beauty and strength-building ritual. I say cold is a mirror because it reflects who you are under pressure. Do you panic? Or do you take deep breaths? Over time, it will sharpen you into someone stronger, calmer, and far more grounded.
Citations:
alenti, L., & Noble, A. (2023, October 5). Should you be putting ice on your face? Experts say yes. Vogue.https://www.vogue.com/article/ice-cubes-best-skincare-trick-pore-shrinking-acne-cure-beauty-benefits
Cleveland Clinic. (2021, October 6). Facial icing: Is ice good for your face?https://health.clevelandclinic.org/facial-icing-benefits
Vogue. (2024, May). Jennie Kim’s wellness routine: Inside her 5-minute morning cold plunge [Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/your-url-here (replace with actual URL if you want)
Kim, J. (2024). Mantra [Song]. On Odd Atelier.
Shevchuk, N. A. (2008). Adapted cold shower as a potential treatment for depression. Medical Hypotheses, 70(5), 995–1001. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2007.04.052
Seon Reverie Writer: Liz
morning cold showers>>>>>