How to get your body ready for spring Now’s the time to renew your body, so shake off the drying effects of winter and prep your body for spring! Even celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Charlize Theron, both justly famous for their toned legs and arms, know there’s a lot of work to be done before you expose a lot of skin. It’s also a wise move not to leave exfoliating, pampering and moisturising until the day before you plan to don that new-season swimsuit. In fact, the condition of your body skin can suffer as much during winter as it does in summer, and for the same reason – dryness. Just because you’re not scrutinising your bare skin as much during the cooler months doesn’t mean it’s gone into some sort of beauty hibernation, ready for a quick brush-up to morph into beach readiness. Indoor heating, piling on layers of clothes, and indulging in too-hot showers to “warm up” can all lead to dry, dehydrated skin – especially if you’re using the wrong body cleanser and not moisturising daily. Winter’s heavier fabrics and even too many blankets on a bed can also contribute to dry, itchy skin. So to avoid the horrors as the mercury rises, the time to undo cold weather damage and neglect is now. Away with dull skin Dead skin cells, poor circulation and a stodgier diet all contribute to dull skin tone. One of the smartest ways to start a new bodycare regime is to dry-brush your body, otherwise you’ll sabotage the hydrating effects of body cleansers and moisturisers as they try to “battle through” the build-up barrier. Using a long-handled, natural-bristle brush, gently buff – don’t scrub – your body from bottom to top. Start with the soles of the feet to stimulate circulation and nerve endings, then work upwards to buff your legs, front and back. Pay special attention to “on show” body parts such as the hands and arms. Be careful not to irritate the skin, but pay extra attention to more well-fleshed areas such as the backs of the thighs, upper arms and hips. A few minutes a day is all you’ll need to hop on the fast track to smoother, brighter-looking skin. If you feel uncomfortable using a brush, a good body exfoliant will do the trick. But don’t exfoliate daily; twice a week is enough. No matter which skin sloughing method you choose, though, always start about a month before you plan to expose your limbs (and more). Cleanse and moisturise in one go Twenty years ago, who would have thought that these days bar soaps would be barely hanging on to their No.1 position in the global bath and shower category, with only a 30% market share? The bullet performers causing this decline in bar soap sales are body washes, and with good reason. Many regular soaps are alkaline and dry out the skin, leaving a “tight” feeling. It takes nearly 24 hours for the skin to start releasing natural oils again, so you’re defeating the purpose of putting on a moisturiser after washing. It’s far better to use a moisturising body wash, then add more moisture, instead of letting your skin play a constant game of catch-up. For two examples of routinely neglected areas, just look at your shins and the sides of your torso. The best way to achieve smoother, softer skin is by layering body creams and moisturisers. Apply a thin coat to damp skin, then reapply five minutes later. And warming the bottle by taking it into the shower with you means less shivering when you apply. The thicker the skin, the more likely it will crack and dry (think of your soles, palms and elbows). Body creams and moisturisers help keep rough, callused skin supple, so use them generously. Friction-prone areas (your waist, lower legs, thighs and ribs, among others) get itchier and drier as heavier winter clothing rubs away protective skin oils. Finally, one of the best moisturisers is not a cream at all, but a humidifier that helps skin to absorb moisture. Position one close to the floor, as it’s better to disperse moisture throughout the room than to aim it directly at your face. Firming body creams and lotions are popular, but not as much as they once were. Most of them won’t work wonders, but they do contract the surface of the skin with tightening ingredients such as caffeine, so if you’re after an instant fix they’re worth trying. If your décolletage is starting to lose its elasticity and firmness, keep wrinkles at bay with Ella Baché Décolleté d’Eternité. Its pricey, but packed with regenerative ingredients such as Osilift (derived from oats), olive oil extract and metabiotics resveratrol, a powerful anti-ageing agent. Great for use on the neck, too. You can get away with using body lotion on your heels – if not, try Alpha Keri Heel Balm – but hands need extra care. Women who make their living as hand models moisturise up to 25 times a day and wear white gloves at all times to prevent sun damage. But even when you aren’t earning a living from your mitts, remember to hydrate your hands at least three times a day. The skin on the backs of our hands is as thin and delicate as the skin on our eyelids. Medical insights into where and how dry skin occurs, coupled with the increasing scientific sophistication of moisturisers, are bringing us close to “curing” dry skin. Far from being a vanity issue, dry skin can be vulnerable to infection and, for some people, intolerably uncomfortable. But forget the idea that dry skin is a desert that can be transformed by flooding; if that were the answer, long baths wouldn’t make flaky, itching skin worse. Water loss from the skin is associated with a decrease in skin oils between cell layers. It’s not enough for a moisturiser to simply contain a barrier ingredient such as lanolin, or a water-holding humectant like collagen; it must rebalance and restore skin oils as well. Most products we use, from shampoos to face and body creams, contain high-tech ingredients like alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), cocktails of vitamins A, C and E, and enzymes that penetrate the skin more effectively because of their advanced delivery systems. But it’s up to us to map out our own body geography, pinpointing site variations in skin thickness, structures (oil glands, pigment cells, hair follicles) and reactivity – all of which are factors in skin dryness
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:52:57 +0000
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