Our series My Perelel Protocol takes you inside the daily lives of creatives, entrepreneurs, and other amazing individuals as we uncover the routines and rituals that keep them grounded and thriving. From wellness practices to creative inspirations, we’ll explore what’s fueling them right now (including their Perelel!)—giving you a glimpse into the small yet powerful habits that shape their lives.
Today we chat with Sissy Chacon, 50, former stylist and soon-to-be sex coach.
Sissy Chacon doesn't just navigate life's changes—she's built a brand and community around embracing them. The LA-based former stylist is in the midst of becoming a sex coach, hoping to help all women understand their libidos, with a specific focus on embracing sexuality while aging. Devotees of her Substack, “The Sort,” know that in addition to can't-miss styling tips and perfectly curated shopping recs, they can expect a dose of sisterly advice on another kind of life transition: perimenopause. Even Chacon's daily routine is the product of constant evolution—whether it's shifting her workouts to align with her hormones, or taking insomnia in stride.
We caught up with the creative about un-taboos, getting busy, and the habits she relies on to feel her very best. (Spoiler: You may want to invest in a mini trampoline.)
Q: Walk us through a typical morning.
A: I'm a very early riser—I get up around 5am. If I wake up at three, I can usually get back to sleep, but if I wake up at three and I'm not asleep by four…I'm like, I'm just going to go make coffee and work with it.
My morning routine is just drinking coffee in bed and checking emails. Very boring. Then if I'm being disciplined, I'll do a little meditation. It's not a routine yet, it's just when I force myself to do it. It’s one of those things I know is supposed to be good for me.
Q: And a typical evening?
A: We have a really comfy bed. We wanted to make it feel like a big cloud, so we have a mattress topper that's super cushiony, soft sheets and fluffy duvets, and we each have three pillows.
We're usually in bed by nine and asleep by 10pm. We'll put on a show until we fall asleep. That said, I’m not sleeping so well these days. I used to be such a good sleeper, but now I wake up a few times in the middle of the night. Apparently it's an age thing and sometimes I just go with it. I can answer emails in the middle of the night or do The New York Times crossword or the Wordle archives until I fall asleep.
Q: How has your concept of self-care evolved through the years?
A: I don't think I had a concept of self-care in my twenties. I sure knew how to be lazy, but not in a good way—not in a way that revitalized me and restored my energy. It was pure sloth. So now I am way more excited to wake up every day—and exercise, learn, hang out with my husband and my friends, pursue interests and hobbies and do a million different things.
Someone else recently asked me about how I practice extreme self-care as a reward, and I told them I like to clean the house. Even on those days where you have the luxury of time and you deep clean—or getting to cook a meal and actually enjoy it—those domestic things are a form of self-care for me. It's a luxury of free time.
Q: Daily vitamin lineup?
In addition to their new Peri Support Pack, I'm really glad that Perelel has a libido supplement. I take the Libido Support when I need a boost. I take collagen in my coffee every morning. I also have a nighttime beauty wellness routine: I take fiber, colostrum, and electrolytes or a magnesium supplement, like Perelel's Sleep Support.
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On resistance training days, in the morning, I take the Perelel Triple-Support Protein. It’s so good! It mixes up so smoothly. It tastes like a combination of cake batter and eggnog.
Q: Tell us about your exercise routine.
A: I do some sort of physical activity at least every other day—ideally, every day. I used to do Tracy Anderson method and I loved that, but now I’m doing LEKfit, which mixes mat exercises and trampoline, or barre and ballet. It's so fun. I do those workouts in the gym in my building. I haul my trampoline there, and I know it must look ridiculous—a 50-year-old woman jumping on a trampoline. But I love it so much.
I'm also lifting heavy weights again and trying not to overdo it. When I was in my forties, I would overtrain and injure myself. As we get older, it becomes harder to maintain or build muscle mass. So I'm including resistance training three times a week. I've always wanted to be a yoga person, but I'm not there yet. Maybe in my sixties?
Q: Any habits for your mental health?
A: When I stay in the habit of journaling every morning I feel more calm, clear-headed, productive, and in control of my thoughts, emotions, and reactions. I love the Morning Pages practice best.
Q: What’s something you always make time for?
A: My husband. Anytime he needs to bounce an idea off me or talk to me, I'll always make time for him. Even though a lot of the time I'm a workaholic with my nose and my phone or my laptop—if he really needs me, I will drop everything. We prioritize hanging out with each other above everything.
Q: Has anything surprised you about your wellness and getting older?
A: I used to do high-intensity interval training but I was overtraining and I stopped getting a period, and it wasn't perimenopause—it was that my cortisol levels were spiked so high. It was stressing my body out so much that it had stopped getting a period, and that scared me. And I was also kind of overdoing it to the point where I was injuring my joints, which is another reason why I now love trampoline. It's easy on the joints! I'm glad I've found ways to adapt my routine so that it's better on my body—and it's something that's not punishing, it's more revitalizing.
Another thing that surprised me was that in my late forties, my sex drive just went through the roof. With perimenopause, people warn you that it's going to drop off a cliff—and I guess it has a swan song before it goes over the cliff. It kind of comes back for one last hoorah. I was actually really shocked that that happened, but I had a lot of fun with it, and it led me to become a sex coach.
While I was having the time of my life with my spiked libido, I started listening to a podcast called Savage Love with Sex Advice columnist Dan Savage. I loved hearing the stories of people who would call into the show and the advice he gave. And I was like, I want to do that. And I was also kind of getting burnt out on styling. As a career pivot, I thought I wanted to go back to school to become a therapist and be a sex therapist. And then I looked into it, and at my age, I just didn't want to go back to school for that many years or spend that amount of money and then not be able to work in that sphere for another five years. and saw that the sex coaching program was more affordable and the time it takes to get certified aligned better with my goals.
Q: What do you wish more people talked about?
A: I feel like I am playing catch-up a lot with regard to self-help and wellness. I am currently reading The Body Keeps the Score which is about how trauma is stored in the body and how it affects our mental health and behaviors, the world around us, and inspires healing. It should be required reading for every human.
I also feel like perimenopause has been in the media a lot lately, just in time for me to go through it—but I think before now it wasn't widely discussed, and I don't think partners of people who are going through perimenopause know what they're going to be in for. I joke that in your late forties, you kind of go through a two-year demonic possession, and you might accidentally blow up your whole life. I wish people were more open about the dark night of the soul that you can go through, along with the beautiful transformative aspects of it as well.
Q: A motto you abide by?
A: Everything in moderation. I want to feel good—so I want to have good habits, I prefer clean living since I'm pretty sensitive, and I don't like to eat things that are going to drag me down. But I eat chocolate every day. I will never give up coffee no matter what people say about it. And I love a martini.
Q: How would you sum up your daily routine in five words?
A: A joyful Rube Goldberg machine. (Google it.)
Q: What’s the last nourishing thing you ate?
A: I recently made this fennel cauliflower soup. It's just five ingredients, and it's so delicious—and I'm pretty sure it's good for me.
Q: What's the current soundtrack of your life?
A: There’s this artist K. Leimer. I think they're from the seventies and eighties, but they're new to me. I guess it's kind of symbolic to this period of my life because I'm still in a state of discovery and curiosity.
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