Here’s How (And Why) To Build The Perfect Body Care Routine

Your face makes up just four percent of your body. While niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and peptides may be common in your facial skin routine, when did you consider those in your routine for the other 96 percent of your body? We expect our skincare to work hard, and so it’s time for body care to step into the spotlight. Here’s how to start caring for your skin below the chin, says Olivia de Courcy.

Why Should We Be Paying Attention To Body Care?

The body care category is booming – and the stats speak for themselves. In January to June 2024, body care grew 32 percent more than skincare according to insights platform Circana, and for the first time body care brands were topping retail league tables: in 2024 Sol de Janeiro was Sephora’s bestselling brand across their entire offering. Plus, Pinterest reported a mega 1,025 percent increase in searches for ‘body skincare routine’ compared to the previous year.

The shift is in part due to consumers becoming smarter with their body skincare. With more access to knowledge (thanks, TikTok), we’re seeing a lot of ‘skinification’ of key categories – which is essentially to say that we are considering our broader beauty categories in the way we do our skin: targeted formulas to solve problems. In body care, that might mean Alpha Hydroxy Acids – or AHAs – for keratosis pilaris (bumpy skin on the backs of the arms) or peptides for loss of collagen.

If you’re wondering if you can slather your actives-packed facial skincare on your legs, the answer is you could – but aside from it being rather expensive, it won’t work as well. ‘The skin on the body is naturally thinner and contains fewer sebaceous glands, so it requires a more sophisticated, multi-dimensional approach, with formulas that combine multiple high-performance complexes,’ says Dr Jérémie Soeur, chief science officer at Cellcosmet.

So if it is so clear that – scientifically – we need to treat our body skin as seriously as our face, why has it taken us so long to cotton on? According to Dr Alexis Granite, dermatologist and founder of Joonbyrd, longevity culture has something to do with it. ‘Traditionally there has been a focus on the face as it’s the most visible and so much of our identity is wrapped up in its appearance and skin. Body care has often been viewed either as an indulgence or as simple hygiene – cleansing and deodorising,’ explains Dr Granite. ‘But when we think about longevity, body care doesn’t just benefit our skin, it benefits whole body health.’ Which makes total sense, given skin is our body’s largest organ and first-line of defence to the outside world.

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The Best Products For Body Skin Concerns

Joonbyrd features a body care line-up of formulas packed with active ingredients to target key skin concerns, as well as support skin microbiome, barrier function and DNA repair. If rough, bumpy skin is your nemesis, velvety Kaleidoscope Smoothing Body Serum (£78) has some impressive clinical trials on keratosis pilaris, with smoothing shikimic acid and brightening azelaic acid. Or, if it’s skin laxity, Daydreamer Firming Body Serum (£78) is clinically proven to improve the appearance of crepey skin and stretch marks thanks to its biomimetic peptide-sapphire complex.

On the firming and tightening agenda, Alpha H puts its faith in peptides, specifically Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, a targeted, oil-soluble peptide shown to prevent and minimise the appearance of ageing by inhibiting the muscle contraction involved in the formation of lines and wrinkles. You’ll find it in the new Firming Peptide Body Oil (£31.99).

For a more natural treatment, transdermal supplementation is a great way to support skin and body health. Magnesium has long been known for its health benefits on improving sleep, soothing aches and aiding digestion, and Eyeam’s Magnesium Bi-Phase Body Treatment Spray (£49) contains an innovative transdermal delivery system to deliver 45mg of pure magnesium per six sprays, alongside super-antioxidant reservatrol (in an ingredient called reservatrox) and anti-inflammatory chlorophyll.

What About Caring For Intimate Areas?

While acids can slough away dead skin cells and magnesium can pep up tired limbs, one place you don’t want to be concentrating all these actives on your body is your intimate areas. Luna Daily founder Katy Cottam created the brand with a mission to remove the taboo around women wanting care for intimate areas (that is vulva not vagina, which is a self-cleaning organ, she makes clear) while supporting our skin’s microbiome, which we know to have many effects on our overall wellbeing when it goes off kilter. Its range features washes, sprays (to replace the dreaded single-use wipes) and oils with pH levels suitable for all skin, even intimate areas.

Ingredients aside, there is something to be said about the feel-good benefits of body care too. It is a core principle for Dr Granite, who uses the ritual of a routine to switch off and connect with herself after a busy day at the clinic. ‘A body care ritual is a moment to reflect, and to celebrate the skin you’re in,’ she says. ‘Body confidence builds self-esteem, and self-esteem creates a foundation for joyful living.’ And who wouldn’t want that?