Welcome back to Wellness Around the World: City Guides. Once a month, I’ll be tapping a resident wellness aficionado in their home city, asking them to share not only their must-hit spots, as well as a glimpse into the culture of wellness in their community. I’m so excited about today’s city, Lagos, and our tour guide, Tomi Oyinloye.

Tomi is a Lagos-based wellness creative and content strategist who works on building intentional, feel-good brands. She’s the founder of Me Myself & Love The Podcast, your ultimate guide to becoming the dream version of yourself and The Love Club (coming soon) — a wellness and journal club focused on IRL community building. Tomi is THE girl to talk to about a wellness experience in Lagos, and we’re lucky enough to have her share her guide to the city today.

A Little Backstory

What is your relationship with wellness, personally?

For me, wellness is “Tomi-core.” At the beginning of my wellness journey, I was simply looking for tools to help me feel more confident and grounded in a world full of distractions. Over time, wellness has become the foundation of how I live, create, and see the world - keeping me grounded when I feel lost, reminding me of my inner power and potential, and inspiring others around me to do the same.

What are some traditional or typical wellness practices of people living in your community? Any specific outlook or history?

Traditionally, spa rituals and herbal remedies are significant wellness practices of people in my community. We exist in a country with an abundance of organic material which has been used to create indigenous herbal remedies such as “agbo” — a medicinal herbal tonic, typically made by boiling a mix of roots, barks, leaves, and spices — that has been passed down for generations.

Some more traditional wellness practices include mentholated sinus steaming, fresh herbal tea, herbal body scrubs, black soap and shea butter skincare, and much more.

What is the wellness + beauty scene like today?

The absolute essentials in each category: