Take care of
your body hair
When it comes to hair removal there are two
camps: the “let it grow, let it show” team
versus those who shout “take it all off ”.
TEAM HAIR “If you want to maintain your
natural body hair, it’s even more important
to keep up with a proper daily hygiene
routine,” says Dr Hedieh Asadi, co-founder of
the skincare line DeoDoc, since “bacterial
growth is common in longer hair”. The good
news? Hygiene brands have come a long way:
Pacifica Coconut & Charcoal Underarm
Detox Scrub ( 3 £19), for instance, removes
product build-up and unclogs pores in
your underarms.
TEAM BARE “Most hair-removal techniques
are a trauma for the skin,” Asadi says, so
whether you shave, wax or laser, before and
after hair-removal care is a must. Your mantra:
cleanse, remove, moisturise. “Cleansing with
an exfoliating body wash will help prevent
ingrowing hairs and irritation,” says Biz
Lindsay, global brand director of the body hair
removal brand Flamingo. Try Frank Body A
Clearing Body Wash ( 4 £10), which contains
salicylic acid that gently buffs away dead skin
and grime. “Moisturising afterwards will help
maintain a healthy skin barrier,” Lindsay adds.
The DeoDoc Intimate Shaving Trio ( 5 £60)
has an oil, a foam and a balm to help look after
skin as you shave, while Flamingo’s razor
subscription service ( 6 from £6) means
you’ll always have a fresh blade to shave with,
a must for preventing ingrowing hairs.
Neck knowledge
“Tech neck” is surely right up there with
“unprecedented” as one of the most over-
used terms to come out of the pandemic —
looking down at our phones all the time has
apparently given us extra lines on our chest
and necks. The pros aren’t shocked. “The skin
there is not as sturdy as the face,” says Tina
Chen Craig, founder of the skincare brand U
Beauty. “It lacks fat and sebaceous glands, so
it needs to be treated carefully.”
Most dermatologists will say that you
should just extend your usual facial skincare
to these areas: it’s all skin, after all. However, if
you’re particularly worried about looking
after the thinner skin on your neck and chest,
StriVectin TL Advanced Tightening Neck
Cream Plus ( 7 £79) is the bestselling neck
cream in America and it was recently
launched over here. Ingredients such as niaci-
namide and liquorice root help to address the
pigmentation that’s common in this area.
Meanwhile, U Beauty The Sculpt Arm
Compound ( 8 £94) sounds like scary gym
apparatus, but is actually a lotion packed with
antioxidants and retinol. It was initially
created to target arms, but fans have been
applauding it for its skin-
smoothing effect on the chest,
neck and hands. And one last
tip from Craig: try to get into
the habit of holding your
phone at eye level.Raise your arm game
More than a third of adults in the UK have the
harmless skin condition keratosis pilaris, aka
that bumpy, dry “chicken skin” that can
appear on upper arms and get worse in the
winter due to the cold weather drying out
skin. While there’s no way of getting rid of it
permanently, there are a few things you can
do if it bothers you.
Reynolds recommends avoiding products
that contain mineral oils or petroleum, as
these can clog up the skin and exacerbate
those little red bumps. Instead choose
moisturisers with nourishing, skin-softening
ingredients such as vitamin E and ceramides.
We love Augustinus Bader The Body
Cream ( 9 £140): it’s packed with shea
butter, soothing black cumin oil and the
brand’s patented tech that helps damaged
skin repair itself. Or try Eucerin 10% Urea
Lotion Immediate + 48H Dry Skin Relief
( 10 £10.50), which goes heavy on the
ceramides to moisturise dry, rough skin and
help improve the skin’s natural barrier.
Exfoliate too, but not with any old exfoli-
ator. “An enzyme exfoliator uses the
enzymes found in fruit such as pineapple
and papaya to slough off dead skin cells
from the top layer of skin,” Reynolds
says. Ameliorate Smoothing Body Exfo-
liant ( 11 £18) combines ultra-fine bamboo
granules with a chemical exfoliating
alpha-hydroxy acid to smooth those bumps.
Massage into dry skin and leave for a few
minutes before showering off.Imaxtree, Getty ImagesNENSI DOJAKAMAX MARA1159483710652 • The Sunday Times Style