Mona Kattan Reveals Her Ways To Wellness: Prayer, Moroccan Baths, And Journaling!

Wellness is a deeply personal journey, shaped by individual interpretations. Creative Director Emerald Elitou created the series ‘Ways To Wellness’ as a way to highlight professional women who use self-care practices to nurture their mind, body, and soul. Hopefully, this candid conversation with Mona Kattan inspires you to create your own self-care and wellness rituals.

To Mona Kattan, wellness is a daily investment worth making. Despite her busy schedule, the investment banker turned beauty founder always makes time to prioritize her physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health with acts of self-care and intention.

“I feel like every single layer needs to be taken care of to feel like you’re at the peak of your wellness optimization,” the Oklahoma-born entrepreneur tells BrownStyle Magazine, noting her love for scheduling self-care practices with the same precision as business meetings.

From luxurious massages with richly scented oils that cocoon her in relaxation to engaging in free practices like meditation and prayer, Kattan ensures every facet of her well-being is nurtured.

Ahead, find out how the visionary founder of Kayali Fragrances and co-founder of Huda Beauty is embracing a soft life filled with prayer, journaling, and peace of mind.

Cultural Roots And Wellness Routines

As an Arab and Muslim American woman, Kattan believes that her culture plays an important role in her wellness regimen. According to the busy entrepreneur, she always begins each day with the healing benefits of prayer.

“I pray five times a day,” she explains, noting prayer provides her with peace and allows her to stay centered. “It also helps me to remind myself that I always have the ability to disconnect and to think about not only where I am today, but where I want to be in the future and beyond this life.”

Kattan also credits her cultural teachings about hygiene for shaping her well-rounded wellness routine, which often consists of body scrubs, nail maintenance, oil masks for her hair, body scrubs, and Moroccan baths.

“I feel like it’s really inspired me to always take care of myself and to feel my best,” she notes about her weekly grooming routine. “Taking care of myself makes me feel incredible!”

Maintaining Work-Life Balance

For Kattan, having a strong morning routine that starts at 5:30am is a “game-changer” when you want to have a positive and productive day.

“I pray first thing in the morning, then I usually work out immediately after that for about an hour. Then afterward, I like to journal, brain dump, look at my vision board or listen to manifestations that I’ve recorded for myself. I also like to give myself time to set the intentions for the day,” she tells us.

Although the businesswoman admits that her morning routine doesn’t always happen how she wants it to, she always makes a strong effort to pour into herself before starting her day.

To recharge for the next day, Kattan likes to start unwinding as early as possible. “I have my dinner very early, it’s usually around 5:30 or six. On most days, I like to start unwinding around 7pm. By 8pm, I start getting ready for bed.” 

She continues, “I usually listen to a podcast or a spiritual show— something that’s very deep and meaningful. I personally like to slow down the speed of the podcasts because it really slows down my mind and helps me really unwind. It prepares me to get into a slower pace for bedtime.”

Maintaining Spirituality And Inner Peace

When faced with a mental roadblock, Kattan finds that there are two important things that she likes to turn to for answers: Allah (God) and journaling. 

“Connecting with my Creator makes me feel a lot more content and at peace with my problems in life,” Kattan reveals. “I always say the antidote to anxiety is faith because anxiety is fear. The opposite of fear is having faith. When you practice things that help you build your spiritual muscle, it just makes you feel a lot more soulful, stronger, and at ease.”

As for journaling, Kattan says that writing things down helps clear her mind. “I think that whenever I write things out, I find the answers,” she shares, noting most of the answers she is seeking is in her own mind.

Her Words Of Wisdom For BrownStyle Readers

When it comes to finding work-life balance, Kattan suggests starting small. She explains, “Start with three small things that you do for the week that doesn’t take too much time or too much money. It’s all about building that muscle of discipline to take action and to keep the consistency going. If you slip up, don’t worry, just get back on track.”

By sticking to smaller goals, the beauty founder notes you will feel a sense of “huge achievement” if you’re able to maintain consistency for a month. “The small things add up over time,” she concludes.

Editor’s Note: This story has been edited and condensed for clarity.