The Best Body Care Routine for Healthy Skin
Written by Lauren Arent (Lo Clark)
Owner of Bewitched Esthetics & Licensed Esthetician since 2013
Hello my darlings,
Everyone knows they need a skin care routine, but how much do you need a body care routine for healthy skin? Only a lot!! Have you forgotten how important your skin is? It does us no good to have a face like a 20 year old if the body doesn’t fit with it. This means you need to be taking care of everything from your neck and your chest to your fingertips and toes! Let’s discuss what an ideal body care routine for healthy skin would look like.
What are we trying to achieve with our body care routine? Healthy skin! Right, well what does that mean. Ok so first – we want to keep our skin glowwwwing. Total body glow. Easy and simple, I’ll give you the details on this. Next, let’s keep the signs of aging to a minimum while we are at it right? This means diminishing fine lines and wrinkles most certainly but also maintaining firmness and elasticity. And a very, very important one – we want to protect our skin from age spots and reverse any of those sun spots we already have. This one takes so much more dedication but I am going to tell you how to do it best! We are also going to talk about cellulite, hair removal, sculpting and more!
Dry brushing in Your Body Care Routine for Healthy Skin
Typically, I would recommend doing your body care routine for healthy skin before you step into the shower or before you take a luxurious bath. I’ll explain why in a minute.
Step one begins before we even turn on the water. The first thing you will want to do is create a dry brush routine. Dry brushing is a very important step for taking care of the skin and your body for it aids in moving the lymphatic system (if you want to learn more about this, please read this article). It is also excellent as a total body exfoliation! Exfoliation is a key element in your body care routine for healthy skin. When dry brushing, we remove old, dead skin with the firm bristles of the brush.
Cleansing the Body with Affirmations
This is personally my favorite step, especially in my postpartum body. Obviously, the most basic part of every shower is when you cleanse your body right? Well we are going to take this step to the next level.
Spiritual Affirmations
This works with both spiritual and physical affirmations. Let’s talk spiritual first. If you are struggling to let go of stress, a good way to release this stress that is tied to the mind, as you wash your hair, say affirmations for release: “I release what no longer serves me, I wash away the stress of this day.” Then as you rinse your hair, you can imagine all that stress leaving your body in the rivulets of water that disappear down the drain.
If you are struggling in a relationship for example, which is a matter of the heart, you might say this affirmation as you wash your chest: “I am worthy of love and open to love’s pure embrace.” As you rinse away the soapy bubbles, imagine all the insecurities, the arguments, the doubts sliding off of you and sinking down the drain. As you can see, you can apply any worry or any desire in this way. Correlate the affirmations to the part of the body that best fits and focus your affirmations in this area.
Physical Affirmations
This works so well for me, I am very happy to share it with you. You can use the same concepts from above to manifest physical changes within the body. Looking to shrink your stomach? Visualize your stomach shrinking as you massage it with soap and repeat affirmations like “I am tone and strong, my skin is tight and supple on my abdomen.”
Your touch will also direct blood flow into that area, which will send healing and focus from the body to that area. If you want to get rid of acne, one of the best ways to do this is to have your specific products in the shower for this step. I personally love using either my Eight Greens Phyto *Hot masque or the Turmeric Energizing Treatment in the shower because they are activated by the steam. As I apply them, I visualize my beautiful and radiant skin saying affirmations like, “I have perfect, glowing skin free from blemishes.” Focusing your energies to your skin in this way will produce results.
You may wonder what affirmations have to do with healthy skin. I believe the body and the mind are closely connected. Stress and other negative energies can appear on the skin caused by the internal struggle. In particular, stress can cause many different reactions varying from rashes to acne due to the inflammation it causes in the body. Not to mention, if it causes you to stress eat junk foods or lose sleep. Overall health is important in so many ways for healthy skin. What you see on the outside is often a reflection of the condition on the inside. It’s why I always say, healthy skin begins within.
There is also so much scientific evidence that our thoughts manifest our reality. Specifically, when you turn your focus to something – like healthy skin – it moves to the forefront of your thoughts, which isn’t magic or mumbo jumbo. It becomes a focus for you everyday making the process of achieving healthy skin come that much swifter. Not to mention the placebo effect, if you believe it enough, it works.
Body Scrubs in Your Body Care Routine for Healthy Skin
Another method of exfoliation is using a body scrub – this can be a sugar scrub, a salt scrub, ground seeds, etc. I prefer to use a very fine material so as not to scratch my skin. There are some scrubs out there that use rather large particles and I find it quite difficult to get a proper body polish with these. Finer particles – refined polish. It is also important to pay attention to the ingredients in your body scrub depending on your needs. If you want a hydrating body polish, look for a scrub containing shea butter or oils.
However, these are not good if you want to apply fake tan afterwards. For this, you will want a cleansing scrub. Look for ingredients like castile soap. Cleansing scrubs and scrubs containing light oils like almond oil or jojoba will also be good for a smooth shave. Ingredients like castor oil or shea butter will actually gunk up your shaver too much and make a close shave difficult to achieve.
Now that your body has been cleansed and polished, it is time to moisturize! This is a key step to avoid dry skin. A mud puddle with no moisture will dry out, wrinkle and crack. So will your skin.
I personally love to use a combination of whipped beef tallow (my favorite is from Lady May – their vanilla bean scent) and the Apricot Body Oil. It gives my body such a beautiful glow and keeps me feeling hydrated all day long! Plus, just like drinking a healthy smoothie, I feel so good knowing I have layered nutrient rich products on my skin. If you want to learn more about the benefits of beef tallow for your skin, read this article!
*Pro tip that comes with a word of caution. Another thing you can do to take your body care routine for healthy skin to the next level is by adding in ingredients for stimulation. Cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and paprika are spices just about everyone has at home. These ingredients will draw blood flow to the surface of your skin, feeling warm to hot depending on how much you use. This can be AMAZING for reducing cellulite and toning the skin. However, it is not for everyone. Please, PLEASE use a tiny amount to start so you can see what your skin can handle. If you have sensitive skin, you might even just stick to one ingredient at a time, just in case you do react to one or more. This way, you’ll know which is the problem.
Sculpting the Body in our Routine
I’m sure most of my readers and clients have heard me talk about gua sha stones and other tools for sculpting the face. These tools (and others made specifically for the body) can be used to tone the body in specific areas. Here is a link to my favorite body sculpting tool. Applying pressure to the muscle causes it to tighten and release lactic acid. Sculpting the body is like giving yourself a workout. Which does mean it needs to be consistent and it probably won’t feel good during the process in order to see results. Sculpting or contouring doesn’t just tone the muscles, it can also reduce sagging skin and cellulite! So very good for healthy skin. Click here to see an example of body sculpting.
I often finish my body care routine for healthy skin with more affirmations while looking in the mirror. Taking the time to love yourself with words of encouragement is crucial. Again, we want to consider that mind and body connection. Affirmations can help focus and ground you, direct you on the path you want to follow. They can help set a beautiful, positive tone for the day.
“I am beautiful.”
“My skin is radiant.”
“I am aging gracefully.”
“My muscle tone improves daily.”
“I am glowing.”
“My skin shows no pores.”
“My skin is the healthiest it has ever been.”
And do not forget to show gratitude. Finding things to be thanful for is another positivity booster for you and can turn a negative day into a positive one. What are your favorite beauty affirmations? Please share them in the comments below or tag me on Instagram @bewitchedskinandsoul.
Wishing you a life full of beauty and blessings!
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