Body Care: How To Create Your Glow Up Routine

I don’t have glowing skin. I have highly sensitive skin and I am allergic to quite a few things. My skin can react to the smallest of things. My eczema can be triggered by products and my urticaria is triggered by the environment and temperature. The journey to achieve glowing skin has been up and down like most journeys. This past year, I have realised that I am able to fix most of these problems at home with a consistent body care routine.

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My Battle With Skin Allergies

During last summer, I realised that I was having an allergic reaction to a piece of clothing that I was wearing. I had to go through my wardrobe and remove all the clothing made with that type of material. My allergy tablets and steroid cream were able to curb the itchiness but the surface level scars marked my body. It made me feel a loss of confidence. My chest looked gross with patches of these scars. As it was summer, I couldn’t really cover these areas. These scars were also on my inner elbows along with chafing marks on the under boob. I felt like an epic failure. I hadn’t found a way to maintain my skin with this type of allergy. An allergy that I’ve been battling for close to 10 years.

However, I was determined to not have my skin rely on steroid creams to combat these allergies. So I created a detailed plan of how I was going to achieve even and glowing skin. Then, I bought a haul of body care products that targeted my skin concerns and got to work. Over the last year, my skin has really transformed and now my body is more hydrated and smooth than it used to be. The allergy came back again but it was mild as my current body care routine was able combat it.

Why Should You Invest in A Body Care Routine

Having a detailed body care routine is the ultimate self-investment into your skin’s wellbeing. It is more than a routine, it is represents you for a lifetime. The same way that you have a detailed routine for your face, your body deserves that extra TLC. What I have discovered in the last year is that regularly maintaining a routine has transformed my skin. By exfoliating it once to twice a week, my skin is softer, smoother and hydrated. Active ingredients such as Vitamin A and E in my products has improved the hyperpigmentation and evened out my skin tone, which I am grateful for. Lastly, body sunscreen to protect my skin.

Despite investing in my body care routine for the past year, I’m continuously discovering how to pair up the best products that work for what my body needs. The skin on my body is dry and sensitive which is completely different from my face. I felt that I had to go to the very beginning to relearn the ingredients in products and understand the key steps into building up my routine. Although, I’m still at the beginning of this process, I want to share what I have done so far to get to where I am. In short, I still have so much more to learn and I’m enjoying the process so far.

Daily Body Care Routine

I go through this routine every morning after the gym.

Step 1: Use the Dove Beauty Bar for Sensitive Skin, lather and massage on the body. It might seem weird for those of you who dive straight into body wash, but this step is important as it hydrates the skin at the first stage. In addition, it removes all the dirt, sweat and impurities from the skin. This is a nostalgia step for me as I used to use bar soap all the time growing up and it feels that it penetrates all the layers of the skin. You can use this step both in the mornings and nights every day regardless if you go to the gym or not.

Step 2: Use the Nécessaire Body Wash in Eucalyptus to add more hydration and moisture to my skin to address the dryness. If I want to target specific skin concerns on a particular day, I will use a specific body wash. The Nécessaire Body Wash is my go-to for most days as I enjoy the luxurious feeling on my skin.

Step 3: Rinse body thoroughly in the shower or bath. Then, apply L’Occitane Almond Cleansing and Softening Shower Oil as a shower moisturiser to end the shower routine. I started using this product about one and a half months ago. Although it is on the pricey side, I have found that it keeps my skin very hydrated even when I have been out of the shower for a good five minutes.

After Shower Body Care

Step 4: Pat damp skin with a towel to remove excess water. Next, apply Nécessaire Body Serum with hyaluronic acid. If you experience any skin dryness, I recommend adding a serum to your body care routine to add more hydration. It sinks into your skin. Since using this product after the shower, I no longer have to through my routine.

Step 5: Apply body lotion (in the warmer months). Or body butter (in the colder months) to add more moisture to your body. I find that body butters are much thicker and contain oils that body lotions don’t have. This keeps my body very hydrated during the winter months when the weather is very dry.

Step 6: Apply cuticle oil to your nails, toenails and cuticles. Rub it in with your hands. If you don’t have any, you can use extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil. On my feet, I use the Lush’s Repeat Foot Cream. Then cover them with socks for 10-20 minutes while it dries.

Bonus step: I try to remember to do this whenever I have the product at home. Apply a body oil for an additional glow and shimmer. Realistically, I add this step if I am going out to an event. Where my skin is exposed to the outside environment. It seals in all the moisture from the shower and after shower products.

Weekly Exfoliating Routine

Once a week, I have an exfoliation day where I exfoliate my lips, face, body and feet. This helps to remove all the dead skin from those areas, soften the skin and keep the pores open for hydration.

To exfoliate my lips, I use Lush’s Lip Scrub. For my body, I use the Nécessaire Body Exfoliator which I love so much. To exfoliate my face, I use the Paula’s Choice 2% Skin Perfecting BHA. This has been my holy grail product for nearly five years. I prefer to exfoliate my face twice a week. For my feet, I use Lush’s Foot Scrub but any gentle exfoliator will do.

Weekly Mask Day Routine

Lastly, I have a mask day where I aim to add more hydration to my face, hands and feet. With powerlifting, my hands get extremely rough from gripping the bars and my feet from the additional pressure from the floor. Doing this once a week helps to soften these areas and keep them decent. For my hands, I use the Beauty Pro Hand Therapy. For my feet, I use the Beauty Pro Foot Therapy, but any mask will do. When it comes to my face, I use Garnier Sheet Mask. This has been another holy grail product for years since I was a teen. I prefer to do a sheet mask once a week but if I feel that my face needs more hydration, I’ll increase it to two times a week.

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Until next time,

Folakemi