Skin

7 Genius Beauty Hacks To Keep Your Body Looking And Feeling Good

With spring in full bloom, the season’s sheer layers, crocheted dresses and leg-baring short shorts mean bodycare is very much on the agenda. To ensure healthy, glowing skin from top to toe, MALENA HARBERS shares the expert-approved hacks that will make your regimen work harder and deliver more

Beauty
Prepped and party-ready: British supermodel Naomi Campbell and French actor Léa Seydoux

Repurpose your LED device

“You can take your home-use LED mask down to any part of the body that needs healing,” says A-list aesthetician Joanna Vargas. While the chest, arms and tummy are all popular areas to treat, it’s worth targeting the upper back, too, adds Vargas. “It’s common to have experienced sunburn there and, as a result, you’ll get a loss of elasticity that’s very noticeable around the bra line.” The LED blue light is also excellent for treating breakouts on the back and chest. Look for devices that are flexible and can work on different body parts, advises Dr. Dennis Gross. “You really want the LED to be flush against the skin in order to achieve maximum light penetration.”

Treat your body like your face

While we may have a beauty wardrobe of serums and masks, we often rely on just one cream or oil for the body. Swapping in a glycolic lotion, such as U Beauty’s Resurfacing Body Compound (brilliant for refining skin and fading pigmentation), a couple of nights a week makes a real difference to skin texture and quality. Alternatively, you can use it daily for two weeks for an intensive seasonal treatment. Hyaluronic acid is key for treating dehydrated skin anywhere, and Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Super Anti-Aging Body Serum makes all the difference – use it alone on oily areas or with a body cream on drier limbs. For breakout zones, Vargas recommends “using a salicylic acid-infused cleanser once or twice a week and spot-treat blemish-prone areas with a retinol serum, layering your regular body moisturizer over the top.”

Double-duty your sheet masks

After applying a sheet mask, soak up any excess serum found lingering within the packet (there’s usually a lot) and gently rub it in circles over the area you want to concentrate on. Try a vitamin-C-based treatment to pep up dull, dehydrated elbows, or Vargas suggests massaging a moisture-rich sheet mask over typically dry shins. “The skin here is very thin, so it needs plenty of rich but not heavy hydration.”

Try the Brazilian way to depuff

“I follow this routine every morning and it takes less than five minutes,” says Brazilian body therapist Flavia Morellato. “I start with body brushing the belly, but always activate the lymph glands first so the fluid can be drained away – just press down with your fingertips as you work upwards between the ribs four or five times to stimulate the thoracic lymph nodes. Then you can brush in clockwise circles over your stomach. Next, move on to the legs, stimulating the glands in the groin by gently pressing inside the curve of the hip at the top of the leg a few times, before brushing up from knee to hip. Finally, press the lymph nodes behind the knees before brushing up from ankle to knee.”

Start body-combing

“As well as shifting water retention, this technique can move trapped energy in the body’s meridians [energy lines], which helps to expel waste products, including fat – I dropped a dress size on my thighs just by body-combing,” explains Chinese-medicine practitioner Katie Brindle. “It’s very simple and takes less than four minutes a day. Either do it with water in the shower or using a body oil, so you have some ‘slip’ on the skin. Using either long, sweeping strokes, or short, brisk ones, you work down the outside of each limb and then up the inside, doing six strokes per area, then comb diagonally over the belly.”

Use AHAs on bumpy skin

Glycolic-acid and lactic-acid treatments work best to tackle keratosis pilaris – those tiny bumps on the backs of the arms. Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare’s much-loved Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel pads contain both, but opt for the extra-strength or dedicated body version here. “The skin on the body is two to three times thicker than that on the face, so you often need a cocktail of stronger ingredients for best results,” says Dr. Gross. While U Beauty’s The Sculpt Arm Compound also works on cell turnover (which helps to treat any type of uneven skin texture) using retinol – excellent for firming and tightening the skin at the back of the arms.

Don’t forget your cleavage

“It’s very common to get both vertical and horizontal lines under and between your breasts due to your sleeping position,” says Vargas. “Take the products you use on your face down to your chest, cleavage and underside of the breasts to address texture changes and loss of elasticity.” For even more wrinkle prevention, roll up a face cloth or hand towel and place it between your breasts before going to sleep.

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