When it comes to creating a skin care routine, the face is often the primary focus. It’s what we see in the mirror and what everyone else sees each day, so creating a skin care routine first for the face makes sense. However, your body deserves the same love, too! It’s time to create a skin care routine for your body—beyond body wash and bath oils.
Why the Skin Beyond Your Face Needs Attention Too
Like the skin on your face, your body’s skin can be dry or oily, suffer rashes or acne breakouts, and become irritated by friction (from clothing), sweat, and exposure to sun.
Skin is our body’s largest organ. It serves as a barrier to protect us from sun, wind, water, and other elements. Plus, it helps keep us warm and cools us as sweat flows through. As much as it protects us, we need to protect our skin to help preserve its elasticity, protective features, and appearance as we age.
We can do this by establishing a good skin care routine for the body and adapting the routine through climate variations in each season and through our own body’s changes through different ages.
Tips to Create Skin Care Routines for Your Body as You Age
While most people have plenty of collagen and elastin in their skin in the first few decades of life, production of these important structural fibers decreases as we age. So, you’ll need to adjust your skin care routine at different stages of life.The best full-body skin care routines can help keep skin looking and feeling smooth and healthy.
One thing is for certain throughout our lives though—at every age, there are certain “must haves” for safeguarding and maintaining healthy skin, such as:
- Sunscreen– Wear sunscreen rated at least SPF 30 on any exposed skin when outdoors, no matter what the season. Look for “broad-spectrum” protection, which blocks 97% of both UV-A and UV-B rays. Sun (ultraviolet-UV) damage creates most of the damage we see to our skin as we age, including fine lines and wrinkles; brown, red, and white spots; dryness and roughening of skin texture; and skin cancers like melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell skin cancer.
- Hydration – Be sure to drink the recommended amount of water each day and limit alcohol and caffeine intake that can dehydrate. You also want to create a moisturizing routine for your face, lips, and body(see tips below) to help hold in moisture.
These are the two fundamentals of skin care. Start with these and then work in the below tips as appropriate for your age, health, and lifestyle.
Choose a mild cleanser and wash in cool to warm water.
Gently wash in warm (or cool) water with a mild, sulfate-free cleanser instead of a harsh soap, and avoid scrubbing that can damage your skin. While living in cold temperatures, a hot shower can feel good, but know that hot water affects the skin’s natural oils and can increase dryness. Showering and bathing in warm to cooler water can be gentler on your skin and is especially important as part of a full body skin care routine for dry skin. In fact, if your skin is dry, you may want to shower less often.
Moisturize after washing or showering to lock in hydration.
The best way to take advantage of your shower or bath is to apply a daily moisturizing lotion or cream right after a quick pat down with the towel, while your skin is still damp. You can lock in that moisture by applying a cream or lotion that has glycerin, ceramides, lactic acid, or hyaluronic acid in it. If you have dry skin or are noticing more dryness and damage as you age, consider a restoring cream, or restoring lotion that has more humectants (ingredients that lock in moisture) and emollients to help moisturize, smooth, and soften skin.
Exfoliate skin as needed, if appropriate.
Exfoliation is removing dead skin cells from the top layer of your skin. Some people exfoliate with a special brush or sponge, while others simply use sugar scrubs or products that have exfoliating agents like alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) in them. Whether and how you exfoliate your skin depends on your skin type—brushing your skin, scrubbing with a special sponge or loofah, or even body scrubs (sugar scrubs) can irritate or damage dry or sensitive skin. People with darker skin tones may find dark spots on their skin after using harsh chemicals or after scrubbing with a brush or sponge. If you use products with retinol or benzoyl peroxide, exfoliating may worsen dry skin or cause acne breakouts and will make you more prone to sunburn. It’s a good idea to ask your dermatologist what exfoliation method might be right for you.
There are also many gels, lotions, and creams now that contain AHAs. They offer gentle exfoliation and moisturization (with lactic acid, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, or glycerin) all in one step. This helps lessen the chance of irritation but gives you similar benefits such as reducing signs of aging (lines, wrinkles, age spots), improving skin texture, and even reducing acne for some people.
Note that using products containing AHAs may make increase your risk of sunburn, so wear clothing over areas where the product was applied, use sunscreen rated SPF 30 or higher, and limit your time outdoors. Look for warnings on the packaging.
Apply lotions or creams that contain lactic acid.
Lactic acid has been used for skin care since ancient Egyptian times and is a key part of the skin’s natural moisturizing factor. Unlike many other AHAs, lactic acid is a powerful moisturizer that helps increase water uptake and locks in moisture for smoother, softer, brighter skin.
It is also an excellent exfoliant for the skin, increasing cell turnover and ridding the epidermis of the top layer of dead skin cells.
When used in skincare, lactic acid can help hydrate and firm the skin to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and smooth the skin’s appearance.
Because lactic acid is one of the mildest forms of alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA), it's typically safe to use on sensitive skin. The sunburn caution still applies though. If you have sensitive skin, first check with your dermatologist, who can recommend the right lactic acid concentration for you and explain more about your skin’s needs.
Adjust product choices and skin care habits to address age-related skin concerns.
As you age, you may find your skin is becoming more sensitive to scented body washes and other skin care products. Consider switching to fragrance-free products, especially as you age into your 40s and beyond or if you notice your skin being more irritated or rashy.
Since we know skin loses elasticity and moisture as we age, focus on ways to be gentle, protect, and moisturize your skin. Even if you set this habit of gentle cleansing and moisturizing in your early 20s, you’ll want to make adjustments as you age. Women especially go through different skin changes due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause. You may hit your 40s or 50s and suddenly be dealing with acne breakouts on your face and body again.
Aging itself along with years of sun exposure contributes to a loss of the essential oils, collagen, and elastin that naturally keep skin strong, smooth, and able to bounce back. As melanocytes decrease with age, the skin is less protected from UV rays, so sunscreen is even more important.
Some habits you can start at any time to boost your full-body skin care routine include:
- Wear gloves when cleaning, washing dishes, or gardening to help protect your skin and decrease moisture loss.
- Use a humidifier to keep indoor humidity between 45% and 60%.
- Wear protective clothing (hats, shirts) with ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) rating of 30 or above
- Stop smoking or never start.
- Moisturize twice a day instead of just once in the morning.
The Best Skin Care Advice for Any Age
The best skin care tip for every age is to start going to a dermatologist when you’re young and make it a yearly habit. Not only will you get yearly screenings that can prevent and find skin cancers, but you’ll also stay on top of any skin conditions that arise, like eczema, rosacea, psoriasis, and even dandruff.
Your skin is the largest organ in your body, so it makes sense to take extra care to protect it.
