Our skin is the largest organ in our body and it also breathes and cleans impurities. It also makes us look good. It flushes toxins through sweat from our body and is beneficial on all aspects. The skin in our body is thicker than skin on our face; but it also needs equal attention like the skin on our face. Preserving our skin health is an important thing to do and should be followed as a daily ritual with a facial skin care routine. Daily cleansing is not enough for our skin to make it look healthy and glowing. There are several steps we should do in our daily life routine to make our skin appear radiant.
Here goes our 10 basic skin care natural body care hacks:
10. Neck Care
Our neck is also as important as our face; they are prone to hyper pigmentation, wrinkles and dryness. Whenever you apply moisturizer or cleansing mask on your face apply some on your neck. Your neck also shows signs of aging as your skin, so apply the anti-aging serum on your neck too.
9. Nail Care
Our nails are same as our hair and need the same attention as our hair and it’s the mirror of our bone health. Include a vitamin rich food which help with your nail growth and keeps them healthy. Take a small container filled with mixture of warm water and 6-7 tsp. of coconut oil. Soak your hands well and rinse it off. Do not forget to moisturize after the process.
8. Show Some Love to Your Heels
Having cracked heels is the indication that we take less care of our body. Soak your feet in a bucket of water and pour 1 cup of olive oil. After soaking your feet, scrub your feet using pumice stone and rinse off. Olive oil soak will help your feet become soft and pumice stone will remove any dead skin cells around your feet.
Tips: If you don’t have time to soak your feet, here is a simple step you could follow. Apply olive or coconut or any vegetable oil on your feet and slip a pair of socks on your feet before sleeping. The next morning when you take shower rub your feet using pumice stone which will remove all the dead skin cells. Repeat the process for two weeks to see the results.
Smelly feet hack: To get rid of smelly feet soak your feet in salt water for 15 minutes. Add half cup of salt in the feet-soak tray, mix well and soak your feet. Rinse your feet after soaking your feet; you can also rub your feet with pumice stone to get rid of dead skin cells in your feet.
7. Shaving Routine
Like skin care routine keeping your shaving routine simple and effective is important. Exfoliate before shaving and make sure you moisturize your legs and hands after shave. Change the razor after two-three uses for hygienic shaving and to avoid ingrown hair and cuts. Before using any cream for shaving do a patch test beforehand.
Hack: Mix 2 tsp. of coconut oil and 2 tsp. olive oil with sugar; mix them well and use the scrub to remove any dead skin cells in your legs and hands for smooth shave. This is a simple and effective scrub for smooth shaving. Exfoliating before shave will remove any dead skin cells and leaves your skin ready for shaving. We are using two different oils for shaving here to get that extra moisturizing effect after shave.
Tips: Always shave from both directions i.e., down and upward direction is the key for smooth shaving. Start with down stroke and then with upward stroke. After every stroke wash or dip the razor in cold water to remove the clogged hair in razor. Best time to shave is immediately after shower as our hair will be weak and soft which gives a closer shave.
6. Tooth Care
You could use your activated charcoal for teeth whitening. Just wet your brush and take ¼tsp. charcoal powder and brush your teeth normally. This will clean your teeth so well that you would start seeing the results in a week.
Hack: Mix few drops of clove oil and half tsp. coconut oil with turmeric to make a paste which will have a thick but not runny consistency. Clove oil is best for tooth problems where as turmeric with medicinal properties will remove all the germs. Apply this mask on your teeth and leave for 5 minutes and wash them off. This will cure any teeth related problems and you could also use this paste as a toothpaste replacement. There you have an “all-natural tooth paste” for your teeth problems. If you cannot use turmeric use activated charcoal instead.
5. Elbow and Knees
Our elbows and knees get dry easily as they don’t have oil glands. Mix charcoal and honey into a thick paste consistency which should not be runny. Charcoal removes absorbs all the impurities on our skin, hence reducing darkness and dullness in the skin. And honey is a natural cleanser which brightens the face. Apply the mixture on the elbows and knees for 20 minutes and wash it off. Repeat for few weeks for visible results. You could add extra step with exfoliating your elbows and knees while you are on your shower with any scrub or with wet loofah. Also, apply baking soda and milk mixture paste on the areas for five minutes and rinsing will also be effective if you don’t have time for 20 minutes charcoal honey routine. Don’t forget to moisturize those areas after shower and in the night, use any body lotion of your choice.
4. Underarm Mask
Hack 1: Take 1 tsp. of charcoal powder with 1 tsp. of honey and mix well to make a paste like consistency which should not be runny. Apply it on your underarms and leave it for 20 minutes. Rinse with warm water after it gets dry. Charcoal removes any darkness in our underarms and honey is a natural cleanser which brightens the area.
Hack 2: There are several masks to whiten underarms, however applying a mask and waiting for that to dry is time-consuming. Do these simple 3-step routine to get rid of darkness in your underarms. When you are showering use your wet loofah to exfoliate your underarms for 30 seconds each. Then you could skip this step totally: Use a deodorizer which has zero alcohol in it. Nivea whitening talc touch deodorant with licorice extracts will help you with feeling of freshness all day on your underarms. Before sleeping wipe your underarm with clean wet cloth and moisturize the area with any lotion you have. You can see visible results within two weeks.
Hack 3: Sweating and stress cause bad body odour which will reduce your confidence. Grab a cut lemon and apply directly to your underarm and leave it for 10 minutes and wash with warm water.
3. Exfoliate
Sugar and honey scrubs are not just effective but quick to prepare and use. Honey will moisturize your skin and while sugar exfoliates your skin well. All your dead skin cells will be gone in just few minutes. After scrubbing the skin, the skin feels soft and supple. This remedy is to get smooth skin and to reduce cellulite in your skin.
Take equal parts of coffee and sugar with 2 tbsp. of olive oil; mix well and scrub your body before shower. Olive oil will moisturize your skin and coffee rejuvenate and reduces cellulite from the skin. Sugar will exfoliate our skin and removes any dead skin cells. You can also store this mix in a container for one month without worries.
2. Body Care
First and foremost step is to clean your skin well with a good soap or shower gel. Avoid long hot showers because staying in the shower for a long time might strip off the moisture from your skin and always use warm water to take shower. Use loofah while showering to remove dead skin cells if you don’t have time for exfoliating those areas. If you have extreme dry skin avoid using soaps and shower gels that contain sodium laureth sulphate in it. Use soap that doesn’t have too much deodorant which might strip the moisture from your skin. Use mild soap or fragrance free soap which will be gentle on your skin. Your face needs powder to matte your skin and control oil. Your body needs powder where ever there is more friction like under arms and inner thighs. Applying baby powder on your underarms and in between thighs where skin meets would reduce the friction and is also gentle on your skin.
1. Moisturize
Our skin around legs and hands need regular exfoliation and moisture. Always apply moisturizer immediately after shower to lock in the moisture for a longer time. Exfoliate twice a week to remove dead skin cells on your skin which will help you to keep your skin healthy and smooth.
Bonus Tips: Dry Brushing
Dry brushing is the greatest thing you can do to your body. Invest in a wooden body brush and you need to brush your whole body before you hop on to your shower. Brush in upward strokes towards your heart in a sweeping motion. Try to brush all areas for three times for detoxification and removing any dead skin cells on your skin. It will be hard when you start over but once you finish you will have a tingling sensation in your skin; which is very healthy and beneficial for your skin and body.