The WNBA rookie’s game-day routine, off-season skin swaps and inside-out take on confidence.
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If you’ve been following this WNBA season, Maddy Westbeld has probably crossed your feed—and not just for her play at power forward. The rookie has built a following for her personal style, her holistic approach to wellness and the cooking and raw-food recipes she shares with fans. Add a coffee bean brand of her own, and she’s quickly becoming a go-to for anyone after athlete-level discipline with a softer, self-care edge.
What fans may not know, however, is how intentional her beauty routine is. In a recent interview with NewBeauty, she shared her guiding motto: “when you look good, you feel good, you play good.” Ahead: her sweat-proof in-season routine, the off-season swaps her skin needs, how she redefined recovery—and why the couch isn’t part of it.
How has her idea of beauty changed as an athlete?
Westbeld told NewBeauty that self-care used to be a feel-good extra for her. Now it’s non-negotiable and holistic, and she treats it like any other part of getting game-ready. That prep doesn’t start in the locker room. The night before, the morning of and the hours after competition matter just as much.
What does her in-season skin routine look like?
Summer is the WNBA season, and it’s also when her skin is easiest. With more sun and natural moisture, she pares back to keep things balanced. A hydrating cleanser goes on in the morning and again after every practice or game. Since she’s sweating anywhere from one to four times a day, she said a gentle, non-stripping formula matters most. She finishes with SPF and a lightweight moisturizer.
Why it works: Washing several times a day can strip the skin barrier fast. A hydrating, non-foaming cleanser keeps skin clean without leaving it tight.
How does it change in the off-season?
Off-season usually means somewhere in the cold, dry Midwest, and her skin needs much more care. The hydrating cleanser and SPF stay, but she adds a few barrier-supporting serums and switches to a richer moisturizer for deeper hydration.
Try it: When temperatures drop, keep your cleanser and swap only the moisturizer first. One change at a time makes it easier to see what’s working.
How does she recover—physically and mentally?
She admits this is the hardest part for her. She used to think recovery meant a quick treatment, then staying as still as possible for the rest of the day. Now she sees that as surface-level. Her body is built to move and her mind is built to be challenged, so she fills recovery days with walks, reading and writing, prayer, meditation, cooking her own meals, calling loved ones, stretching, the sauna, Pilates, peaceful music and long drives.
She’s candid that this kind of discipline is tougher than the sport itself. But when she sticks with it, she walks into work refreshed, and her body needs far less time to warm up.
What’s in her game-day bag?
No superstitions here. Her only requirements are a good coffee shop, her Bible, a notebook and noise-canceling headphones. Everything else, she said, is just for fun.
Her confidence is quite literally contagious—where does it come from?
For Westbeld, confidence is what consistency looks like from the outside. It rests on the sacrifices she makes, the promises she keeps to herself and her faith. When pressure builds, she simplifies the game and reconnects with her purpose, often through community work.
Her advice for young women is to limit screen time. Chasing every new trend, she warns, hands control of how you feel to strangers. Get to know yourself instead, and don’t let the big picture distract you from what today can do.
Okay, but what’s her coffee order?
A cappuccino, every single morning. Whether she’s brewing at home or trying a new café, she pairs it with a journal entry and a few mindful minutes to pray, meditate and get centered before the day takes over. As she puts it, coffee is her grounding force, pun not intended.
