You use dedicated serums, oils, and moisturizers on your face, but what about the rest of your body?
It’s no secret that taking care of skin below the neck plays second fiddle to caring for our faces. It’s even easier to forget lotioning your body during the final days of colder weather when winter allowed you to retreat to cozy loungewear and it was easy to pretend that your legs weren’t getting drier by the minute. However, spring is officially here and your limbs deserve just as much love as your under-eyes. A few minutes of daily maintenance is a lot less stressful than trying to revitalize every inch of your body with moisturizer the night before an event where your dry elbows might be exposed.
To help us get started on our treating-our-chest-like-our-face journey, we reached out to skincare expert Marcia Kilgore, founder of Beauty Pie, for her advice on all things body care. And if you’re unfamiliar with Beauty Pie, the direct-to-consumer brand offers high-end skincare, makeup, and more at amazing value, thanks to its membership model. Translation: You get access to luxury formulations without the designer sticker shock when you become a Beauty Pie member (with memberships priced at $10 per month or $59 for the entire year). Beauty Pie makes it simple and relatively inexpensive to upgrade your beauty routine from head to toe, and Kilgore’s recommendations make it even easier.
Katie Couric Media: Why do you think we pay so much more attention to the skin on our faces than the skin on the rest of our bodies?
Marcia Kilgore: We neglect our bodies mainly because they’re hidden under clothes (until summer arrives or we have a vacation on the horizon). Also, your body can seem like a huge project: You need something for your hands, feet, chest, arms, and legs. It can feel overwhelming. But even just grabbing a good body scrub and a great daily moisturizer can go a long way.
How can we shake that “out of sight, out of mind” attitude when it comes to body care?
For pretty much anything — people, plants, parts of your body — the more attention you give it, the more rewards you will reap. Find products you love using, and you’ll be more inclined to apply them every day. Our Super Healthy Skin™ Deluxe Body Crème is always one of our top sellers because it’s indulgent and makes your skin feel soft as silk
What are some of your favorite ingredients to incorporate into your body care routine?
The secret to body care is that it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. You can just be smart about using products that contain the same kind of powerhouse ingredients you’d use on your face. For example, our self-tanning mousse contains hyaluronic acid, so it hydrates as it bronzes. Some other ingredients to look for are retinol to firm, smooth, and minimize signs of aging; niacinamide to soften age spots and clarify; glycolic acid to smooth skin; and vitamin C to brighten.
Retinol is such a buzzy ingredient right now, but it’s also quite powerful and can be irritating for some people. What are some things to keep in mind when using a retinol product on your body?
To put it simply, the same rules for using retinol on your face should apply when using retinol on your body. A few things to keep in mind:
1) Start slowly (two to three times per week) and build up gradually.
2) Retinol can cause sensitivity to UV light, so wear a broad-spectrum, high-factor SPF everywhere you’re using the retinol. Don’t debate whether you’re going to be outside or if it’s sunny — just do it.
3) Never use retinol if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.
Should people with sensitive skin or skin conditions like keratosis pilaris or eczema be cautious about introducing active ingredients into their body care rotation?
If you have sensitive skin, you should be cautious about all new products that you use. With that being said, we’re always trying to make our products as high-performance-yet-gentle as possible. For example, our Youthbomb® Body 360 Repair Concentrate contains 5 percent niacinamide, which strengthens the skin’s barrier while the retinol gets to work on those signs of aging (including firming, brightening, and boosting elasticity).
If you’ve used retinol and other ingredients on your face without issue, chances are your body will be fine, too. And if you’re prone to redness, I’d recommend trying our Happy Face™ moisturizer, which contains cooling, soothing Centella Asiatica (CICA). It makes a great targeted treatment for patches of irritation or sunburn, too, whether on your face or elsewhere. Happy face, happy body.
Marcia Kilgore’s Body Care Picks
Best Retinol: Youthbomb® Body 360 Repair Concentrate
Beauty Pie
“For our newest body treatment, Youthbomb® Body 360 Repair Concentrate, we collaborated with renowned dermatologist Dr. Andrew Markey, who felt strongly that we needed to create a really great retinol body lotion. There just aren’t very many targeted, collagen-supporting, and sun-damage repairing body products out there, and retinol (also known as vitamin A) is the gold standard for smoothing, renewing and making the skin look visibly younger. Ours is formulated with an exclusive, bioavailable retinol complex for intensive renewing and visible smoothing, firming, brightening, and elasticity support. Use two or three times a week in the evenings on your chest, hands, feet — anywhere you see signs of sun damage — and follow with SPF in the day.”
Best Niacinamide: Uber Youth™ Neck & Chest Super Lift Serum-Spray
Beauty Pie
“Our Uber Youth™ Neck & Chest Super Lift Serum-Spray, which contains 5 percent niacinamide, is like a powerful neck- and chest-firming cream, but in a spray-on serum. It helps lighten the look of sun and age spots while supporting the skin’s natural barrier. The before and after pictures we’ve received from members on this? Incredible.”
Best Glycolic Acid: Dr. Glycolic Soft Feet 7-Day Peel Socks
Beauty Pie
“Glycolic acid is in the family of alpha-hydroxy acids, which help exfoliate the skin. This ingredient is made from sugarcane and is a total wizard when it comes to smoothing dry, neglected skin. We have a whole Dr. Glycolic™ line, but when it comes to a body blitz, the winner has to be our Dr. Glycolic™ Soft Feet 7-Day Peel Socks. Just pull on the socks, tape them around your ankles, wait 90 minutes, wash, and — seven days and some very impressive exfoliation later — you’ll have feet so soft I promise you’ll want to show them off.”
Best Vitamin C: Superdose Vitamin C Bio-Vitamin Brightening Body Lotion
Beauty Pie
“This one is easy: Our Superdose™ Vitamin C Bio-Vitamin Brightening Body Lotion. It’s a high-tech, radiance-boosting body lotion that’s loaded with tranexamic acid, hyaluronic acid, firming brown algae and stable vitamin C. It’s really effective on sun-damaged skin. You can use it daily for the fastest brightening, firming, and rejuvenating effects, or two to three times per week to help prevent signs of aging.”
