Skincare Tips for the Rest of Your Body

Thanks to sage guidance from various beauty gurus, you adhere to a rigorous twelve-step skincare regimen every morning and night to keep your face looking flawless. But what about the skin on the rest of your body?

Your skin is your largest organ, and it doesn’t only need care and attention on your face. If you want to prevent signs of aging and treat unsightly, uncomfortable skin conditions everywhere, read on for tips and tricks for your entire body.

Clean Your Body Regularly

Just because your body isn’t covered in mud doesn’t mean it isn’t dirty. Over the course of a day or two, your skin accumulates dead skin cells, sweat, old lotion and sunscreen and a bit of dirt and grime, and all that junk needs to be washed away to keep your skin healthy and happy.

How often you shower and clean your skin depends on a number of factors, such as your environment, your activity level and how you feel. Most skincare experts warn against cleaning yourself too often, which could result in dry, damaged skin. However, if you work on an oil rig or exercise vigorously every day, you might want to shower more often than the average person.

Exfoliate Rough Areas

Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells, revealing the softer, younger skin beneath. Most exfoliants are granular exfoliants, like sugar, salt or bits of walnut shell, but you can find chemical exfoliants as well, like alpha and beta hydroxy acids. You can also use an exfoliation tool, like a pumice stone or a loofah.

Exfoliation can be controversial; some skincare experts warn against exfoliating at all, believing that the process can damage skin. To prevent this, you should concentrate exfoliation on rough areas of your body, like your elbows, knees and foot calluses, which could use some softening up. Additionally, you probably don’t need to exfoliate every time you clean yourself; limit your exfoliation sessions to once or twice per week to be safe.

Keep Your Skin Hydrated

Some people have multi-step body skincare regimens, much like you likely have for your face, but in truth, this intensity of skincare isn’t really necessary on your body unless your body is constantly under close scrutiny. For the average person, there is just one daily step to keeping your body skin happy and healthy: moisturization.

At least once per day, you should spend a few minutes slathering your body in a moisturizer of your choosing. Different people tend to have different preferences for body hydrators, so you might consider trying several options over time. Some people prefer light lotions which soak in quickly, while others prefer heavy creams that continue to provide hydration for hours. You might like a CBD lotion, which provides anti-inflammatory and pain relief effects. Even after you find a body moisturizer you truly enjoy, you should continue experimenting every so often because your body skin will change over time.

Watch for Irritation

Your skin may be resilient, but it isn’t invulnerable. Products, textures and activities can cause your skin to flare up in different ways — you might notice a rash, bumps, itchiness and other irritating developments. Skin irritation tends to be both unsightly and uncomfortable, so you should pay attention to potential sources of irritation and avoid them when possible. Some common causes of irritation include:

Shaving. Thin, sensitive skin often doesn’t react well to the scrape of a razor. Additionally, a dull razor can pull on hair follicles before slicing them off, which can cause the follicles to become irritated and inflamed. If you notice razor burn every time you shave, you should consider changing razors or opting for a bladeless depilatory option.

Bad products. Plenty of skin products contain harsh chemicals that can cause bad skin reactions. The most common culprit is fragrance, which can make sensitive skin flare up in itchy red splotches. If you notice irritation after using a certain product, it is a good idea to stop using that product for a while to allow your skin to heal.

Skin conditions. You could be suffering from any of a handful of common skin conditions, like eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, dermatitis and others, which could be negatively affected by all sorts of skincare choices. If you suspect that you have a skin condition, you should talk to your healthcare provider about possible avenues of treatment.

The rest of your body is covered in skin too, so why are you only providing skincare to your face? Your body skin doesn’t need that much attention to be supple and glowing, so you might as well integrate cleaning, exfoliating and hydrating into your healthy lifestyle.