How to Create a Simple 5-Step Body Care Routine

Finding the perfect skin care routine for your face is a major feat, but it isn’t the only routine you should be searching for. While we can certainly understand why you would make your face a priority, body care is a must, too. Just as you should use a facial cleanser, exfoliator, and moisturizer from your face to your decolletage, you should also use skin care products on the skin below your neck.

If you’re used to occasionally washing up with a bar soap and semi-regularly slapping on a layer of lotion, it’s officially time to create a more detailed skin care routine for your body. If you’re not sure how, we’ve broken down a basic body care routine into five simple steps, and we’re sharing everything you need to know right here.

What is Included in Body Care?

Body care includes a lot of different steps and products, from body serums and depilatory creams, to dry brushing and foot masks, but these five steps should be the core of any body care routine.

1. Cleanse

If you already have a consistent skin care routine for your face, you could probably guess this first step. No matter what part of your body you’re dealing with, the best way to kick things off is by getting completely clean. For your body, that means using a cleanser meant specifically for washing your body — don’t expect your face wash to do the trick. 

Look for a gentle body wash that won’t irritate or dry out your skin, or if you suffer from body acne look for a body wash with ingredients like salicylic acid. Lather up with help from a loofah or washcloth, then be sure to rinse off before moving on.

2. Remove Rough Skin

Exfoliating with face scrubs can be a tricky thing. You don’t want to scrub your skin too much and cause  irritation, but you need to do it regularly enough that dead skin cells won’t leave your skin looking dull. Everyone’s skin can handle different frequencies of exfoliation, but the skin on your body is better suited to exfoliation since it’s thicker and tougher than the skin on your face.

Two or three times a week, exfoliate your body by adding a scrub to your shower routine. Gently massage the scrub onto your skin, and be sure to focus on your elbows, knees, and heels, which are more likely to have rough patches that need extra exfoliation.

3. Shave the Right Way

Body hair removal is totally optional, but if you do decide to shave, it’s important that you do it in a way that won’t damage or irritate your skin — because even if you’ve been shaving for a while, it isn’t totally foolproof. In fact, there are a lot of mistakes you might be making in this part of your body care routine. 

To shave the right way, start by spending a little time in the shower. The water will help to soften your skin and ready it for your razor. Once it's time to start shaving, take it slow. Apply shaving cream or conditioner to your skin and carefully move the razor with the grain instead of going against it to avoid irritation.

4. Hydrate From Head to Toe

Cleansing, exfoliating, and shaving all have one thing in common — they all require you to moisturize afterward. While your skin is still wet from your shower activities, it’s an ideal time to hydrate your skin. Smooth a hydrating cream or lotion over your body from your neck to your toes, letting it absorb before putting on your clothes. If you have dry skin or need extra hydration, also use a body oil to further lock in the moisture from your moisturizer.

5. Fake Sun-Kissed Skin

No kind of body care routine should include spending hours in the sun or a tanning bed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a tan if you wish to have one. For this optional step, turn to a self-tanner like the L'Oréal Paris Sublime Bronze Glow Daily Moisturizer Natural Skin Tone Enhancer which is a daily moisturizer and gradual self-tanner that will help give your skin a gorgeous glow. 

Make sure your skin is totally dry before applying the self-tanner, and start applying the self-tanner at your legs before moving on to your torso and arms. Avoid showering for about six to eight hours after applying the self-tanner, and reapply it about every two to three days for a longer lasting tan.

Next: How to Get Your Skin Ready for an Event

Photographer: Chaunte Vaughn, Art Director: Hannah Packer, Associate Creative Producer: Becca Solovay, Production Assistant: Jason Parigian, Digital Tech: Sam Kang, Photo Assistant: Hannah Lewis-Lopes, Makeup Artist: Jonet Williamson, Hair Stylist: Akihisa Yamaguchi, Wardrobe Stylist: Melina Kemph, Wardrobe Assistant: Kayla Martinez, Prop Stylist: Katrina Rozeville, Prop Assistant: Zach Molina, Model: Avery McMahon