Ice baths, infrared treatments, EMS suits and tennis
Courtney Cox never looks anything less than radiant – and it might be partially due to her love of taking an ice-bath.
The Friends actress, 59, posted a look back at her January on Instagram yesterday, and amongst her personal highlights was her preparing to take a dip in her personal plunge pool.
The mum-of-one asks the camera if it’s cheating to keep waterproof booties on as it’s ‘so f**king cold’. We say definitely not – put some gloves on, too!
She previously told Glamour that she never imagined she’d join the cult of cold water, but now can’t get enough of it.
She said: ‘I thought I would never do a cold plunge. I thought I would hate it, but I love it so much. I feel great for hours afterward. So as much as you dread getting in, you know that you’re going to feel so good…the dopamine hit you get from it lasts a long time. Do it. Really, it’s worth it.’
Over the years Courtney has spoken openly about her favourite wellness habits, how she stays fit, her approach to beauty (and ageing), and how good friends, good food, and good music make her heart swell.
She loves an infrared sauna (with BFF JenAn)
In 2017, Jennifer Aniston told Shape that she became an infrared sauna devotee after using Courtney’s. She said: ‘I have an infrared sauna that I fell in love with. My friend Courteney Cox – you may know her – had a portable infrared sauna that you go into. It kind of looks like a little igloo.
‘It’s such a game changer in terms of your skin detoxification and cell rejuvenation. So that I do a couple times a week right after I do the gym. I’ve noticed a real change in my energy, and my sleep, and my skin.’
Infrared saunas are also a favourite of Cat Deeley, who likes to double-up her wellness by slathering her hair in oil during her time in the red light chamber.
She loves a normal hot sauna, too
Courtney told Glamour that one of her favourite ways to take a moment for herself involve a piping hot sauna, some essential oils – and then a cold plunge.
She said: ‘In the afternoon I take a sauna, a hot sauna. I use water with essential oils on it so it becomes steamy. It’s not infrared; it’s just a pure hot sauna. Then I get into my cold plunge. The dopamine hit you get is so, and I shouldn’t say, it’s like a drug. I actually haven’t taken a drug that gives you a dopamine hit, but that’s what this does. And it lasts a long time.’
She loves reformer Pilates, and mixing up her workouts
Courtney practises reformer Pilates three times a week with Jessica McTighe, a former dancer turned instructor who is famed for making ‘muscles hug the skeleton’ to create a lean, dancer-esque, silhouette.
She’s also spoken about her passion for interval training, exercise bands and plays tennis every week. Speaking to New You, she said: ‘I do Pilates three times a week with an amazing teacher, Jessica McTighe. I’m also into walking, then running. I walk for a minute, then I run for a minute. I try to do that for 30 minutes, three times a week.
‘For toning, I like to use those bands and walk across the floor sideways and then front. I also play tennis on Sundays. It’s just a bummer that you can’t bank workouts. When I’m off for two weeks, I’ll be really consistent and I’m like, “Wow, my body’s looking much better.” But then all of the sudden, I can’t work out for two weeks and go from scratch.’
She has also spoken about how important it is to lift weights – especially as you get older.
You’ll find her on the tennis court
She told Vogue: ‘I play tennis twice a week. I look horrible when I play tennis. [Laughs]. I mean, I used to wear cute little shorts; now, it’s just not the same. I wear one of those turtleneck sunscreen things, my Asics sneakers, a hat, and I’ve got the wrist band, the elbow band, the knee brace, I’ve got sunscreen on. And I wear an Apple watch because I really care how high my heart rate gets!’
Courtney turned to hypnotism to stop smoking
When she was 34, Courtney quit cigarettes – but she needed a lot of support to give up her precious smokes.
She admitted: ‘I used to smoke cigarettes. I loved smoking! I quit when I was thirty-four, and can’t believe how hard that was. I went to this guy in Boston, Yefim Shubentsov. He’s known as the “Mad Russian,” and he hypnotised me. I was like, “Really, that was it? Now I don’t want to smoke?” But there’s something about the power of our minds.’
She bought an EMS suit during lockdown
Like most of us, Courtney was at a bit of a loose end during the coronavirus lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 and turned to home workouts to keep her busy. But, rather than tuning into a daily dose of Joe Wicks, she invested thousands of dollars into an EMS (Electronic Muscle Stimulation) suit she could train in at home.
She said: ‘I never stream fitness classes, but I bought this product called the Katalyst, and it}s an electric stimulation suit that you put on. You have to buy a subscription to use it, so I signed in to watch some guy do squats and tell me how to do things.
‘I didn’t pay attention as much as I should. But it definitely had my muscles sore. It feels like you’re buzzing, like a jolt, but not uncomfortable. It’s just like, “Oh, that’s working. Oh, that’s tightening my muscles”.’
WH’s Editor-in-Chief Claire Sanderson is also a fan. Read her review of working out in an EMS suit.
Lasers are a big part of her skincare routine
Courtney has spoken about having some very high-end treatments to boost collagen, remove discolouration, and tighten her skin.
She said: ‘I am a big laser believer. I really think they are the wave of the future. I just did Ulthera, which is supposed to produce collagen. And I’m about to do Fraxel, which will get rid of all these brown spots on my arms, chest, and face. I’m hoping this stuff works, because it sure would be great if that were all we had to do.’
Shortly after waking, she likes to start her day with a quiet sit beneath a $6,000 red light panel. ‘In the mornings, I always use a LightStim treatment, which is a red light panel; they make a mask as well,’ she said. ‘But I like to be able to just sit under it as a way for me to start my day. It’s my version of going outside and standing in the sun for a few minutes. I like it; it relaxes me.’
She has also admitted to sleeping under it when struggling with insomnia.
Toxic friends are not welcome
Courtney has her own cleaning products brand, Homecourt, that she loves decluttering and clearing out her home.
She said: ‘I HATE clutter! My favourite drawer is the one that’s empty. I think it’s best to clean as you go as opposed to having to do it all at once; it leaves you feeling less overwhelmed.’
And, bad news for people who don’t have her best interests at heart, she told Vogue that her therapist is helping her take a similar approach to her social circle.
She said: ‘I’m a big believer in getting rid of things that you don’t need…I also believe in getting rid of people in your life that are toxic. I didn’t learn that skill until now. It’s like, why am I wasting my time? There’s a thing that I learned in therapy, [which is] I typically hold on to those people out of fear or connection. So often I just want to make sure that that person still likes me. And I don’t want to do that anymore. That’s a big thing for me.
‘We don’t have time to spend on things that don’t make us happy. That’s what I kind of also mean by being present and in the moment. I spent so much of my life trying to make other people happy. But it’s really important to be able to make yourself happy too.’
She made a conscious decision to embrace ageing
In 2019, Courtney told People that living and working in Hollywood made it hard for her to embrace ageing – and that it had led down a slippery slope of having too much filler.
She said: ‘I would say it’s a common thing you go through as you age, especially in Hollywood. You have to accept getting older, and that’s something that I had a hard time doing.
‘I didn’t realise it until one day I kind of stepped back and went, ‘Oh s—. I don’t look like myself.’
She added that two years after her last batch of fillers she felt more confident than ever.
‘Now I just embrace who I am and getting older with what God gave me, not what I was trying to change,’ she said.
Last March she further expanded on her bad experience with facial fillers. She told the Gloss Angeles Beauty Podcast that they were her worst beauty regret.
She said: ‘It’s a domino effect. You don’t realise that you look a little off, so then you keep doing more, ‘cause you look normal to yourself. You look in the mirror and go, “That looks good”. You think and you don’t realise what it looks like to the outside person.
‘Thinking that I was getting older when I was really young, that’s just a bummer, a waste of time.’
She invests in good facials, very pricey products and wears SPF daily
Courtney has described her regular faciallist, Mila Moursi as ‘amazing’, and that she layers up all her oxygen, anti-wrinkle, and firming creams on top of one of her serums.
She wears SPF every day – even when at home. Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF50 Moisturizer is her go-to choice.
Of the £75 cream, she told People: ‘It’s not chalky. It really is moisturising and it illuminates your skin. It also has a great scent. I use it on my face, neck, and also my hands and my arms, and I’m nuts about that.’
She has also described The Cream by Augustinus Bader, Tata Harper exfoliating cleanser, and an ESPA dry brush as daily essentials.
Her morning routine is nutrient-rich
She told Marie Claire: ‘I take vitamins every morning. I used to do celery juice in the morning for about two years. I was so obsessed with it that I even did it on vacation. I would find a way to get a juicer and do it. Now, I am doing the cucumber, pineapple, ginger, and lemon thing. I don’t know if it’s cleaning my gut, but it’s a way to get something liquid down because it’s hard for me to drink water. Finally, I have a cup of decaf coffee with oat milk and honey.’
You’ll find her in the kitchen
Courtney often skips breakfast in favour of a carb-free ‘turkey roll-up’ made with low fat turkey ham. She said: ‘I generally don’t eat breakfast. I occasionally have a protein shake. For lunch, most likely I will have turkey roll-ups which consist of Boar’s Head turkey, mayonnaise, mustard, Havarti cheese, avocado, Fritos, and pepper. Dinner is my favourite meal of the day. I love to cook steak and broccoli.’
She also loves whipping up a big batch of pasta with garlic and olive oil after a long day, and cooks up turkey mince chilli served with lots of cheese and a side of cornbread for her annual Super Bowl party.
Her go to shampoo is available at Tesco
Courtney was an ambassador for Pantene’s Age Defy and Keratin Repair ranges – and she was thrilled with how the products left her famously dark and glossy locks.
She said: ‘ I love Pantene, and I really use it. I’ve been pretty lucky because I have thick hair, but I didn’t realise that as you age and go grey, it gets thinner and starts breaking. When I’m working, I have to use a lot of styling tools—there’s always some- thing hot plugged in—so when I’m not working, I don’t even brush it. I just literally take a shower, use a conditioner, towel-dry it, and that’s it. I think that helps keep it thick and healthy.
…You’ll want to invest in a towel warmer
One of the best things about going to a spa is the gorgeous, warm, scented towels, right? Well, Courtney clearly agrees and has invested in a towel warmer so she can recreate the indulgent magic at home.
She admitted to New You she had one of the gadgets (which are surprisingly affordable) when revealing one of the most important beauty lessons she had taught her daughter Coco, now 19.
‘I taught her that one of the most important things you can do is to wash your face. Your skin has to breathe,’ she said.
‘It’s so easy to take your makeup off if you have a hot towel caddy. I take a towel, put it in water, put five to ten drops of neroli oil on it, and then ring it out so it still has water in it. Then I roll it up and put it on the caddy to get warm. When I come home, I just use this with my cleanser.’
A £26 body wash is her shower must-have – and more is more
Courtney’s preferred products are so pricey that a £26 Nécessaire shower gel almost seems reasonable in comparison.
She told Harpers Bazaar: ‘I always use body wash from Nécessaire—I love their scents.
‘And my friend Jenni Kayne has a product line called Oak Essentials—their body balm is incredible.
‘I have really hard water here, and it’s hard to stay moisturised. We live in California, and the Santa Ana winds are so drying. But I’m really into putting as many products as I can on my body—I use her lotion, too.’
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