We’re all guilty of giving our faces a little more love than our bodies. The good news: we’ve found formulas that will make you feel fantastic all over in no time. Smooth, radiant skin below the neck is just a hop, skip and scrub away.
Start With A Scrub
If you don’t scrub once or twice a week in summer, you’re missing a trick. Here’s a crash course on why it’s an essential. First and foremost, it feels so (so) good to manually clean yourself with those skin-buffing grains. Next, the scent: our favourite scrubs smell like sun-soaked gardens, poolside cocktails and even popping candy. Finally, while it may feel indulgent, there is necessary work being done, as those teeny particles buff away dead cells, fade patchy-looking self-tanner, reduce your susceptibility to ingrowns and brighten your body, big time. To keep skin supple, refresh and hydrate skin with a generous pump of Hyaluronic Acid from chin to tips.
FRANK BODY Fizzy Body Scrub, $19.95; frankbody.com/au
BONDI SANDS Coconut & Sea Salt Body Scrub, $18.95; bondisands.com.au
THE CHEMISTRY BRAND Hyaluronic Concentrate, $50; chemistrybrand.deciem.com
A New Way to Tackle Cellulite
There’s a reason we can’t see our butts: we’re not really supposed to know what’s going on back there. Still, while out of sight, out of mind works for many things in life, cellulite can be hard to ignore. Before we go further, let us say that the quickest fix for this pesky dimpling is deciding not to care. You’re perfect just the way you are! However, if you’d pay to lose it, a new in-clinic treatment might be for you. Emtone is a device that combines radiofrequency and targeted pressure energy to decrease the appearance of cellulite. It doesn’t hurt, there’s no downtime and most people require just four 20-minute sessions across four weeks. Most compelling: in clinical studies, cellulite was reduced in 93 per cent of cases 12 weeks after the completion of all four treatments.
“Cellulite is a common condition that affects 80 TO 98 per cent of women” – Dr Gina Messiha, Ocean Cosmetics clinic, Perth
Say Goodbye to Bacne
“Hormonal fluctuations, stress and climate changes can all contribute to breakouts,” says skin expert Melanie Grant. To kick congested skin into line as backless dress season hits, Grant recommends her in-studio body-resurfacing treatment, while gentle at-home AHAs “can do wonders for rebalancing sebaceous activity and keeping the skin clear, supple and refined”.
1. Wash Smart
Switch to a formula with AHAs and PHAs to dissolve oil and clear pores.
2. Body Mask
Wipe away dry skin, blemishes and ingrowns with a supersized iteration of the famed at-home peel.
3. Spot Treat
Target hard-to-reach areas and stubborn spots with skin-clearing ingredients.
Mecca Cosmetica Mecca Athletica Skin Perfecting Body Wash, $36; mecca.com.au
Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Exfoliating Body Treatment, $93; mecca.com.au
Paula’s Choice Clear Exfoliating Body Spray, $39; paulaschoice.com.au
Make Room for Retinol
To smooth texture, lift dark spots and stimulate collagen, slather retinol on below the neck, too. KGA Body’s moisturiser combines retinol with bakuchiol and glycolic acid to exfoliate and hydrate. Sans[ceuticals]’ oil repairs dry skin with omegas, while The Chemistry Brand’s one per cent retinoid and vitamin C dry oil works on pigmentation.
SANS[CEUTICALS] Activator 7 Body + Hair + Face Oil, $55; sansceuticals.com
KGA BODY Regenerate, $110; kgabody.com
THE CHEMISTRY BRAND Retin-Oil, $40; chemistrybrand.deciem.com
Try An Anti-Ageing Manicure
The Problem: The hands, arms and décolletage can really show our age. The best approach is a preventative one: apply broad-spectrum SPF to the backs of hands and arms every day. As for sun damage, dullness and blotches you already have, the answer might lie in the same acids we use on our faces.
The Process: As part of a luxe, anti-ageing manicure at Jocelyn Petroni, the therapist cleanses the hands and arms, then brushes on a 30 per cent lactic acid peel, which tingles (like all good acids) but is removed after a few minutes. Vitamin A or salicylic acid are applied, followed by an SPF moisturiser.
The Results: Our upper body felt so much softer after the treatment that we had to actively stop from stroking ourselves. Afterwards, we used an Ultraceuticals lactic acid formula to maintain the smoothness, and found that blotches started fading after a month of daily use.
Book a treatment here or brighten and smooth with these at-home exfoliating serums.
ULTRACEUTICALS Ultra Retexturising Body Complex, $92; ultraceuticals.com
ASPECT Pigment Punch Body, $49.50; aspectskincare.com
Look Inwards
A sachet of this antioxidant and collagen supplement added to your water bottle (do it at least daily) will help protect against pesky pigmentation and boost all-over radiance.
VIDA GLOW Anti-G-Ox, $79.95; ausnz.vidaglow.com
Treat Your Limbs To A Serum
Reaping the benefits of skincare science previously reserved for faces, we’re discovering the all-over complexion-boosting benefits of hyaluronic acid, the calming power of vitamin B5, and the potential for peptides to repair skin on a larger scale. Even textures are getting an upgrade, reminding us that all skin has a right to equal treatment.
IS CLINICAL Youth Body Serum, $165; isclinical.com
GOLDFADEN MD Firm Believer Body Contouring Serum, $157; mecca.com.au
BIOLOGI Bf Restore Face and Body Serum, $72; biologi.com.au
This article originally appeared in the February 2021 issue of marie claire, on sale now.
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