Statistically, people take less care of their body skin than their face skin. This is largely due to the fact that the body is hidden by clothing. Clothing has not only a masking function, but also a protective function, so despite the lack of care the condition of body skin can be better than facial skin, which constantly faces the effects of various external aggressive factors. Nevertheless, we may have just as many, and perhaps even more, challenges in body care than in facial care. And with a little attention and time, we can significantly improve the health and youthfulness of our body skin.
I propose to divide body care into basic care, which allows to maintain health and optimal condition of the skin, and specific care, the task of which is to provide a targeted action in solving those or other problems.
Basic body care includes cleansing, regeneration (exfoliation), moisturizing and protection.
Specific care can be aimed at a variety of purposes: modeling action to reduce or increase volume, rejuvenation, vascular restoration, drainage, post-depilation care, stretch marks and scars correction. It is also important to pay attention to possible rashes or urticaria from an improper diet. If it’s not too late, I recommend improving your diet and getting more fresh air. If the situation requires medication, then it is worth seeing a doctor (doctors usually recommend terfenadine brand name).
Basic body skin care is necessary for everyone, so I suggest getting acquainted with its basics first.
Basic body skin care is necessary for everyone, so I suggest getting acquainted with its basics first.
Step 1: Cleansing
We perform body cleansing daily or even twice a day so that the components of the skin’s protective barrier are not washed away with impurities. Dryness, scaling, irritation, itching – these are symptoms that are familiar to many people. Sometimes they are the consequence of skin diseases, in which case you need special treatment, but often such reactions are provoked by aggressive cleansing. Pay attention to the composition of the cleanser when choosing it.
Avoid Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), and Sodium Myreth Sulfate (SMS) based products, which are low cost surfactants that produce a thick foam, but damage the skin’s natural protective barrier and cause dryness and flaking. Our preferred surfactant formulas are Coco-Betaine, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Coco-Glucoside, Carpylyl/Capryl Glucoside, and Sodium Coco-Sulfate, which are mild surfactants that can also create foam but still provide gentle cleansing. As an alternative to traditional foaming gels, you can also use clay-based cleansers (kaolin, bentonite), which remove impurities by absorption, providing additional remineralizing and detoxifying actions.
If you are not sure of the formulations of the products, ask the store assistant to select a sulfate-free cleanser for you; sometimes the producers even create a separate line of such products for more sensitive and/or children’s skin.
Step 2: Exfoliate (renew/exfoliate)
Renewing your body skin should be done once a week. This treatment will even out skin texture by removing flaking or hyperkeratosis (a buildup of horny cells that can feel rough or bumpy to the touch), smoothing skin color, preparing skin for further treatment products so they are better absorbed and more effective. The exfoliation procedure also accelerates the natural skin regeneration cycle, which helps to slow down aging processes.
As an exfoliant (skin renewal product), you can choose a scrub (abrasive, mechanical exfoliant) or an enzymatic or fruit acid body peel (non-abrasive exfoliant). You may prefer a scrub if your skin is dense enough and resistant to mechanical friction. You can choose from scrubs that are more active, such as those based on sea salt or nutshell granules, and those that are more gentle, such as those based on sugar or synthetic granules.
If your skin is thinner and more prone to sensitivity, it is better to avoid mechanical rubbing. If this is the case, peels based on a complex of fruit acids (citric, almond, malic, tartaric, lactic, …) and/or enzymes (rice enzymes, papain, bromelain) are suitable for you. Sometimes these exfoliating ingredients can be found directly in body care creams. In this case, you can use them more than once a week. It is important to choose the format that suits you so as not to overdo it and not to provoke skin irritation. For some people, such products are appropriate to use daily, for owners of more sensitive skin – every other day or 2-3 times a week.
Step 3: Moisturize and protect
Depending on your skin condition, you may prefer lighter or richer textures of moisturizing products. Lighter formulas tend to contain mostly moisturizing ingredients: hyaluronic acid, urea, moisturizing plant and algae extracts, and sugars. The richer, more nourishing creams contain different oils: shea butter, jojoba oil, argan oil, avocado oil, borage oil, sweet almond oil, and olive oil.
It is important that you trust the manufacturer of these products because in this case, the quality of the active ingredients is very important. For example, cheap shea butter cannot nourish but on the contrary, it can destroy and wash out skin’s natural protective lipids, and using a product with such oil in its composition will contribute to skin dryness.
If possible your base cream should contain a vitamin complex with antioxidant properties such as vitamin E and B5 to give your skin extra protection from oxidative stress.
In some modern body creams, you can find an “anti-smog” complex, which protects the skin from the penetration of pollutants and toxins of big cities, including heavy metals. This is especially relevant in summer care. Ingredients that have a similar protective effect are, for example, chitin, moringa extract, Caesalpinia prickly.
Tiffany is a Medical Student and also works as a fitness coach in part-time. She is also a writer and writes on health and fitness articles. Tiffany loves to engage with users and help them provide various useful information on General Health. She provides researched-based information and also featured on various blogs and magazines.