Most of the people you know have a skincare routine, you included. There is a lot of time and care dedicated to the skin of the face, for obvious reasons. The skin covering the face is more sensitive and receives more sunlight exposure. Although, facial skin deserves the love it receives, so does the rest of your body. A body care routine ensures the maintenance of healthy skin, allowing the skin to carry on proper function.
The appearance and condition of the skin can tell a story. A good body skincare routine ensures that your skin tells the best story there is. A consistent routine is essential to prevent potential skin concerns, including dry skin, irritation, sun damage, and strawberry legs. Therefore, when you develop a full-body skin care routine, you are maximizing all the goodness your skin has to offer. If these all sound good to you, let’s dive into this body care routine to achieve doughy skin.
Start with warm water
The lukewarm water acts as a stress reliever as it relaxes the body and also preps your skin for subsequent body care routine steps. If you are taking a bath, lie down in the warm water for a few minutes. For showers, stand under the running water and allow it to cover different surfaces of your body.
The winter months might tempt you with hot water, but a lukewarm bath/shower is more beneficial for skin health long-term. Warm, instead of hot water prevents your skin from being robbed of its natural oils. When you use warm water, you are still getting the necessary benefits without depriving your skin of moisture.
Cleanse with a gentle formulation
The skin’s natural pH falls within the acidic range. The acidity of the skin allows it to keep a healthy barrier, which helps protect the skin from harmful agents and helps retain moisture. For this reason, you should choose a cleanser that will maintain your skin’s pH, ensuring balance.
The purpose of this step is to remove sweat and impurities that may have been attracted to the skin throughout the day. Ultimately, it is part of your hygiene routine to keep you comfortable and your skin’s function optimized. You can complete your body wash routine with the use of a body mitt and an acidified body wash.
Say goodbye to dead skin cells
An important step in your body skin routine is exfoliation. Look at this as a way to revive and help the skin. The rate at which the skin self-exfoliates can be reduced due to various factors, chiefly, age, and sun damage. In other words, adding manual exfoliation to your weekly body care routine tremendously helps the skin.
Exfoliation helps with moisture retention, in addition to improving the appearance of the skin. The ingredients in your exfoliants can also help unclog pores and reduce skin dryness. For this step, you will need an exfoliating agent and a gentle body mitt. After exfoliation, rinse your body with warm water.
Shave after exfoliating
If you did not get all the dead skin cells from the outer skin layer while exfoliating, don’t worry because shaving can help as well. To reap the benefits of shaving, you need to follow proper shaving techniques. Some of these tips include shaving in the direction of hair growth, using a shaving aid, and changing your razor often.
The warm water that you’ve been using throughout the routine will help soften the hair for a better and closer shave. Body care routine products for shaving include a razor, and a shaving aid, which can be cream or a gel. Oils, such as coconut oil can also help achieve a shave for soft skin but be careful as it can be slippery.
Get into some aftercare
End your in-shower or bath body care routine with cold water. The cold water helps with circulation, keeps your skin firm, and gives your skin a refreshed appearance. The water does not need to be dropped to freezing temperatures to enjoy the soothing effects.
You can simply rinse your body after shaving to remove anything that may have been left off, such as hair remnants. Since you have already cleansed and exfoliated your body, you can use your hands and a small amount of body wash to gently remove any residue from shaving, if necessary.
Hydrate the body
After leaving the shower, follow good practices by patting dry to avoid irritating the body. Before moisturizing the body, you can use other hydrating body care products, such as serums or oils. A body serum helps introduce active ingredients more efficiently and maximizes skin hydration.
Simply, apply a body serum all over the body after getting out of your shower or bath. Lather every surface of your body without forgetting the neck and the feet as well. You can do the same thing with a nourishing body gel or oil. Some people prefer serums over oils due to the lighter formulation and quicker absorption. They are both however hydrating and the choice between the two will depend on personal preference.
Don’t skip the moisturizing step
This multi-step body care routine cannot be complete without moisturizing. Adding a moisturizer after your shower seals in moisture and prevents dry skin issues, such as irritation and itching. The colder winter days make moisture even more important due to the low humidity.
A body care routine for glowing skin always includes a moisturizer. Using a body serum does not eliminate moisturizing from your body care routine. Massage a generous amount of moisturizer all over your body to seal in the skin-loving ingredients.
Follow-up with sunscreen
Yes, you need sunscreen for your body as well. Sunscreen formulations are mainly to protect your skin from damaging UV rays. Although that is the primary function, you may encounter many sunscreens that offer other skin benefits, such as reduction in hyperpigmentation, for example. You can avoid adding another body care product to your list by choosing a moisturizer with spf.
Your choice of sunscreen will also depend on your preference, as you have a choice between mineral, chemical, and hybrid. The difference is the active ingredients, which are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in mineral sunscreens, while chemical sunscreens contain ingredients, such as avobenzone, octisalate, and oxybenzone. Hybrid sunscreens contain a combination of mineral and chemical sunscreen active ingredients.
Finish off with scent (if desired)
You can complete your body care routine with a specific scent. Using scents can improve mood and act as aromatherapy after your shower. This step can be skipped if you don’t enjoy fragrances or are easily irritated by them.
Aside from your spray-on fragrance, don’t forget to also add a deodorant to your body care routine. This can be scented or unscented. Deodorants can be helping in preventing body odor by removing odor-causing bacteria.
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