Treat The Skin You’re in!
It’s so easy to neglect your entire body even in the warmer months. We spend so much time and effort making sure we cleanse, tone and moisturise our faces but what about our motherboard? Our legs, arms and other parts? After all, our bodies are responsibly for housing our vital internal organs so it’s just as important, if not more important, to nourish our entire bodies and hand over a little TLC. It’s time to treat the skin your in.
Let’s to get down to business and make it a simple 3-step-process that we can all follow and get in the habit of treating ourselves to. We have also highlighted the key ingredients that you will want to look for in these product formulations for optimum skin health and satisfaction.
STEP 1. EXFOLIATE
Rough dry skin can be a real drag, especially when it’s time to put away the jeans and opt for a summer dress, skirt or pantsuit. Getting those pins out can be terrifying after hiding them for so long (thank you winter!). Step 1 is by far the most important step that most of us don’t even think to make a part of our weekly routine. Let’s change that shall we! Exfoliating, if done correctly, gently buffs away dead skin cells leaving you with a nice and smooth surface. Unless you remove that surface dead skin, any moisturiser you put on top of your skin unfortunately won’t be able to do its job properly. FACT: Dead skin is formed at the base of the epidermis, and gradually move up through the skin until they reach the outer surface, where they then die.
Skin exfoliation is key to super-soft skin and also allows for other products to penetrate the skin that little bit better. We recommend a full body exfoliation once or twice a week.
KEY INGREDIENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
Natural ingredients such as sugar and sea salt. These ingredients are a fantastic addition to a high performing body scrub due to the course nature of the sugar and salts, being a natural alternative to beads is also an environmental winner.
Essential oils are always a perfect addition to a body scrub formulation. The oils help keep the skin hydrated and nourished. Look out for essential oils such as lavender for skin irritations, geranium to balance skin oils and condition the skin, lemongrass as an astringent, tea tree for it’s antibacterial properties chamomile for it’s soothing properties and clary sage to help fight the signs of ageing.
It goes without saying that daily grime and dirt doesn’t just effect our face. So choosing a really great quality body wash should be high on your beauty and self care to do list. Remembering that our skin is our largest organ, so it is extremely important to choose your body wash wisely!
STEP 2: CLEANSE
KEY INGREDIENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
Lactic acid naturally balances the pH of a product, so that it matches the pH balance of our skin. A super effective ingredient in your body wash that gently and effectively helps to remove dead skin cells.
Vitamins look for vitamin e in your body wash ingredients. This will often be listed as ‘Tocopherol’. Vitamin e is one of the hero ingredients in most body products as it has so many benefits. It helps to nourish the skin, aids with stretch mark treatment, is an anti-ageing ingredient and makes for a great way to get rid of dirt, grime and other impurities while also maintaining your skin’s oil balance.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine a body wash that contains this main ingredient is what you want to look for (usually the second ingredient on the listing after water. We all like a few suds to make us feel like we are really getting a good clean so look out for this alternative to SLS and SLES.
STEP 3. MOISTURISE
The final and one of the most important steps for your skin. Moisture! Choosing the right moisturiser can be a tricky task, especially with so many options out there! The trick is to find a nice thick and creamy moisturiser that will help lock in moisture and protect your skin from the elements.
KEY INGREDIENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
Essential Fatty Acids are the fuel to the fire. Cells require these magical ingredients to undergo biological processes, like moisturisation, that to keep skin healthy and glowing. Look for ingredients like shea butter, avocado, olive and/or almond oils.
Humectants are an essential ingredient in a body moisturiser to help reduce the loss of skin moisture. What you want to look for are natural humectants. These serve a dual purpose drawing moisture to the surface of the skin while also enhancing the skin’s own hydrating ability. Natural humectants are aloe, honey, hyaluronic acid and glycerin.
Emollients are 100% what you want to look for in a great body moisturiser. Simply put, when the top layer of skin doesn’t receive enough water it dries out. Emollients fill those little cracks with fatty substances called lipids which help to make skin smoother and softer. Popular emollients to look for on the label are shea butter, coco butter, jojoba, coconut, sesame and almond oils.
