Drew Barrymore shares her current wellness routine (Exclusive)

Drew Barrymore is facing change head-on.

She turned 50 in February and said she had undergone some changes in her appearance during this period of her life. But The Drew Barrymore Show host, who opened up about her beauty journey while discussing Garnier’s latest endeavors, isn’t letting them take advantage of her.

“I just went through a full course of hormone therapy,” which is commonly used to treat symptoms of menopause, and she told People the experience was “difficult.”

“Everyone said it was trial and error, but I just went through a lot of mistakes,” Barrymore says. “I didn’t recognize the person in the mirror. I thought, ‘Is that the keeper of the basement? No, that’s me.'”

Barrymore said her skin looked pale and “swollen from hormones,” adding: “I just wasn’t happy with myself.”

So she took action. “Every time I feel that way, I think, ‘Okay, I’m going to buckle down, eat clean, prioritize my sleep, start exercising a little more, and center myself back,'” she explains.

“My therapist and mentor, Dr. Barry Michels, helped me write out a list of seven healthy habits that work for me, and I just go back to that list,” Barrymore says. “Actually, it’s faded over time, but I’ve rewritten it in black pen so it’s still perfectly readable. It’s helpful.”

“It’s not good to be in a state where you don’t feel confident or attractive, you don’t have confidence in yourself, you don’t feel attractive. So these are just small steps you can take.”

Barrymore shares how she’s currently working on those steps.

“I bought a little walking pad and stuffed it under the couch. Now when I eat on the couch, I sit on the walking pad for 10 minutes and keep watching my show. I also start waking up 10 minutes earlier because the last 10 minutes before I drop the kids off at school always feel like hell in the car,” she says.

“I thought, ‘Okay, I can either just break out of this pattern or I can just finish everything 10 minutes early and see what happens and fix it.'” It’s still not perfect, but it’s getting better. To be honest, I should have woken up 10 minutes earlier,” she admits.

Barrymore is also adjusting her beauty routine.

“I know it’s winter and I know no one’s looking at my legs, but I shaved my legs the other day and I feel 20 times less like a Neanderthal,” she says.

That’s not the only reason the mother of two was feeling good. “You know what else I did? I got an at-home pedicure. I got my toenails done. And I trimmed the roots of my gray hair. We women don’t have time for these things, and all of a sudden you look at yourself and think, ‘I’m not just a basement keeper. I’m a hairy basement keeper with dry skin,'” she continues.

The mother of children Olive, 12, and Frankie, 11, with ex-husband Will Kopelman, is realistic about how she spends her time. “I wish they would have taken me to a spa in Switzerland, just cleaned me up and hung me up and put me back into my normal routine. I can’t do that. That’s not my life right now. I can’t imagine that happening until I’m retired and don’t have kids at home.” ”

However, she uses her limited time wisely to boost her self-esteem. “I’m walking around like I’m a troll. I’m not going to sink down the rabbit hole. I’m going to pull myself up. I’m going to do what I can for myself,” she says.

What will make her feel better inside and out is giving herself more grace.

“I think being a little bit kinder to myself mentally and not saying so many negative things in my head has really helped me feel good about myself,” she explains.

“The other day I saw this girl jumping around in hot pants and I thought, ‘Oh my god, you wouldn’t believe it if you saw me jumping around in hot pants.'” Now her butt is sagging. And you might get a bear. But the fact that I haven’t watered myself down today is amazing,” she says.

But when you find yourself in front of the mirror thinking all the negative things, it’s best to snap out of it, says Barrymore.

“Focus on something bigger than yourself. For her right now, that’s being part of Garnier’s latest campaign, which she says is something special.”

Barrymore is using her platform to spread the word as the beauty brand and National Park Foundation aim to “advance conservation and restoration efforts nationwide.”

She told PEOPLE that she is “proud and honored” to be part of this massive effort.

“Sometimes we get so exhausted that we think we don’t have the strength to do it. But when we do better, we feel good about ourselves,” she says.

“How you spend your time may be just as important as how you treat each other and the planet. If you really want to feel good, serve. Do better for the planet and better for yourself.”

To learn more about Garnier’s partnership with the National Park Foundation, visit garnierusa.com.