Part 3 - Body Prep

Taking inventory of your body after it has been tucked away and bundled up all Winter long, can be an eye-opening experience.  Once we acknowledge our dry - flaky - pale skin, unattended body hair and callused feet - baring our limbs and getting ready for our skin revealing wardrobe can feel overwhelming.  Take a few simple steps and you can enjoy silky, smooth and radiant skin, just in time for your warm-weather reveal.

Key steps to Spring ready skin

1. Exfoliation -  Remove the oldest dead skin cells on the skin's outermost surface. Exfoliating once or twice a week is usually enough to achieve improved texture and smoother skin; however, people with oily skin should exfoliate more often than those with dry skin.
    
2. Moisturizing-  Apply skin nourishing emollients to the external layers of the skin, to aid the skin in feeling softer and more pliable.  This helps to increase the skin's moisture content by reducing evaporation.  Moisturize daily, preferably after bathing (while skin is still damp) to maximize moisture in the skin.
    
3. Protection - Limit sun exposure.  Wear sunscreen and avoid being in the sun through the peak-damage times (usually 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the northern hemisphere). Using skincare products that offer ultraviolet protection is one of the best ways to help keep your skin looking and feeling youthful and fresh.  Use sunscreen SPF 30+ every day and reapply regularly whenever you're outdoors for extended periods. You can also cover skin by wearing long-sleeved shirts, pants, and wide-brimmed hats, when outdoors. 

Solutions to common Spring skin challenges

Do you have red or white bumps on your arms, legs or buttocks that look similar to goosebumps?  This can be due to keratosis pilaris, a genetic condition that causes extra skin cells to build up around individual hair follicles, giving you a bumpy texture and a polka-dotted appearance. 

Tip:  Application of a skin-nourishing daily moisturizer can help to soften the bumps and use of an exfoliating body scrub or polish (1-2 times per week) can help further inhibit their appearance - leaving nourished, smooth skin.

Nourishing Body Creme 

Coffee Body Scrub

 

 

Do your knees and elbows resemble a dry, ashy desert area?  Many people suffer from dry, ashy skin on their limb joints.  It can be helped with exfoliation and deep moisturizing.  Use an exfoliating scrub 1-2 times per week, when bathing, and follow with a deep moisturizer.

Tip: Before going to bed at night, apply a nourishing body butter to the affected areas Purple Essentials Mango Body Butter is especially nurturing for sensitive skin areas like this. Cut the toe area off of an old (clean) cotton sock - shimmy the remaining band of the sock over the body buttered area, to keep the Body Butter on your skin and off of your clothes and sheets. Remove in the morning.

Mango Body Butter

 

 

Do your feet make that "scratchy noise" when they slide against the sheets? Before you break out the sandals, you may want to book yourself a pedicure or do one at home.   Pay close attention to your heels and toes.  Are they dry, callused, even cracked?  Once again, the key to getting them silky-smooth is exfoliating and moisturizing. 

 

 

 

 

Looking a little pale?  A faux-tan can warm up your pasty colour.

Tip: Be sure to exfoliate 2 days prior to faux-tanning, to achieve even coverage, colour and avoid streaks.  You can also use a natural bronzer and mineral makeup to create a sun-kissed glow.  *Remember that you will still need to protect your golden skin with SPF 30+.

 

Please drop by our studio for a visit and ask how we can help prep your skin for your most fabulous, Spring skin yet!! Happy prepping :)

Live Purple!