Written by Sara Salsbury, The Great Skin Company

Facials are considered a vital step towards healthy skin, but it is important to remember skin does not stop at our chin! The skin is the largest organ of the body. It protects us from environmental aggressors and excretes harmful toxins. Just as we cleanse, tone, exfoliate, and moisturize our face it is important that we provide the same care for our body’s skin. It needs to be nourished and protected to stay healthy and stop premature aging.

Body treatments are the perfect way to give the skin the care it needs. Using the correct products, the body is nourished and hydrated. Afterwards, you will feel soft, silky, and completely revitalized.

Natural form loofah

Following the cleansing and exfoliation, a rich Shea butter, infused with revitalizing citrus extracts, is massaged into the whole body. Shea butter is known  for its highly moisturizing qualities, but it also has rich vitamin content and improves cell metabolism. This divine body treatment provides the perfect winter cocoon where you can escape this season, from all of life’s stressors and seek the perfect oasis of rest and relaxation, and restore your mind, body, and soul.

Homecare is equally important to extend and maintain the skin’s softness after a body treatment. Different options are available as far as body products go. Starting with exfoliation, there is a chemical approach using Alpha and Beta Hydroxy acids. These ingredients dissolve away dead skin cells that our epidermis clings to. Manual exfoliation is also an option.  These products include scrubs, using grains or beads to manually slough off the build-up of dirt and debris. It is recommended to stay away from anything with ground kernels, for the jagged edges can actually cause small abrasions to the skin and damage the cell membrane.

Jan Marini Skin Research offers body products which will deliver both mediums of exfoliation in one product, resulting in completely cleansed and rejuvenated skin. This is the perfect option during winter when our bodies tend to hold on to more dead skin cells for a longer period of time. Incorporating an exfoliante in a daily regimen will eliminate clogged pores, ingrown hairs, and dry, flaky skin.

Now the skin is ready to be hydrated. When you cleanse and exfoliate first, moisturizers are able to penetrate deeper into the epidermis, resulting in better absorption for softer skin. Not only do moisturizers hydrate, but good quality moisturizers, such as Sothys Thalassothys Hydra Nourishing Body Cream, will remineralize and nourish the stratum corneum. They also neutralize free radicals which are damaging to the cell membrane. And most importantly, in this step of skin care, the protective layer is being strengthened and the skin’s barrier function is dramatically improved to seal in moisture and protect against winter’s dryness and summer dehydration.

Give the skin below your chin the care it needs this winter. Between deep cleansing body treatments and simple homecare products, you will begin to see and feel a healthy improvement, and experience a total sense of well-being.

Healthy Skin Cell Layering