Clarins’ guide to exfoliating your body

The road to beautifully soft and supple skin starts with exfoliation. Your skin is an incredible organ that constantly changes and regenerates itself, all while providing your internal organs with protection from the outside environment. The skin is composed of several layers – for example, the epidermis (the outermost layer of skin) and the dermis (the layer beneath). New skin cells are continually pushing their way up from the lower dermis to the epidermis. As these cells become weathered by the environment, they create a new layer of dead skin cells called stratum corneum. Over time, these cells slowly break away from the epidermis and fall off, allowing newer cells to continue growing up from below – a process which takes roughly one month. Regularly exfoliating your body helps to speed up the process of removing these dead cells. Why is this important? Because your moisturiser will absorb deeper into skin that’s free from flaky, dead skin cells. So for your body to look and feel its best, regular exfoliation should be top of your beauty list. From how often to exfoliate your body to the best way to exfoliate your legs, our guide will tell you everything you need to know.

What is a body scrub?

A body scrub is a beauty product used for exfoliating and hydrating skin. Body scrubs contain exfoliating granules – anything from Sea Salt or Sugar to Bamboo – which, when massaged onto the skin, gently removes dry cell particles. This process allows new, youthful skin to come to the surface, leaving you with a body that feels soft to the touch and super nourished. Scrubs are great for gently removing toxins from the body and priming your skin for moisturiser, allowing serums and lotions to absorb deeply into the skin’s surface. So, if you’re looking for even, silky-smooth skin, adding a body scrub to your weekly routine will help you get there.

What are the benefits of using a body scrub?

You’ll be glad to know there are countless body scrub benefits, but here are our favourite four:

Benefit 1: Rejuvenated skin

Our body sheds dead skin cells on a regular basis – gently removing these cells is essential for maintaining fresh, healthy skin. Adding exfoliation into your weekly routine will also work wonders for evening out your skin tone, as it banishes flaky skin cells that can cause discolouration and patches. For skin just like yours, but better – get exfoliating.

Benefit 2: Hydration station

Freshly exfoliated skin is the perfect base for moisturising. The deep, cleansing nature of a body scrub means moisturiser is better able to absorb and therefore, hydrate your skin. So, make sure you always follow an exfoliating session with a moisturiser – your body will love you for it! Clarins’ replenishing Moisture-Rich Body Lotion – with natural extracts of Peach Milk, Shea and Orange Blossom – is a firm favourite of ours. Your skin will soak up the goodness, be soft to touch and smell divine

Benefit 3: A peaceful mind

Exfoliating yourself from head to toe has soothing benefits for your mind, too. Practice mindfulness as you gently scrub, allowing yourself to be captivated by the sumptuous smells and divine textures. The experience can be an instant mood lifter, so take your time and get in tune with your body. After all, you’ve got to nourish to flourish.

Benefit 4: Get the glow

Our final favourite benefit? Self tan holds better to freshly exfoliated skin. So if you’re looking for a golden glow that echoes a lazy, sun-soaked weekend on the Côte d’Azur – you’ll want to bring out the body scrub before you get started. Wave goodbye to a patchy tan and say hello to a natural, even-looking glow and a holiday state of mind.

How to use a body scrub

Want to know how to exfoliate your body? You’ve come to the right place. Prepare to make dry, dehydrated skin a thing of the past – follow our five-step exfoliating routine for the best way to exfoliate your body from top to toe.

Step 1: Choose a nourishing body scrub

Our favourite is Clarins Exfoliating Body Scrub which uses Bamboo extract to exfoliate the skin and Shea Butter to pack in moisture.

Step 2: Run yourself a hot bath or jump in the shower

Hot water helps to open up your pores, ensuring your body is perfectly primed for exfoliation.

Step 3: Apply body exfoliator in small, circular motions

For the silkiest skin, apply exfoliator all over your body – use a hand mitt or body brush to improve circulation and invigorate your skin. Focus particularly on your knees, feet and elbows as the skin around these areas can be tougher.

Step 4: Rinse

Once you’ve exfoliated your skin from shoulders to toes, step into the shower to rinse. Wash away any leftover product with warm water and bask in the smoothness!

Step 5: Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise

Following exfoliation, you might like to use a body wash to clean the skin. Some bath and shower gels can cause dryness, with humidity in the air sometimes worsening cracked or rough skin, so it’s important to follow up with a moisturiser . The good news? Your skin is at its most absorbent when freshly exfoliated, so make sure to lather on the good stuff as soon as you’re done. For total luxury, let our Wonder Fig Body Lotion melt onto your skin. With its heavenly, outdoor scent, this lotion will leave skin feeling silky soft to the touch.

How often to exfoliate your body

We recommend using a body scrub to exfoliate your body two to three times a week. This will make sure that dead skin cells are removed on a regular basis, allowing new, younger ones to move up to the surface. As well as helping promote cell regeneration, exfoliating this regularly perfectly primes skin for the rest of your beauty routine.

When to exfoliate your body

Wondering when to exfoliate your legs, hands and the rest of your body? We say do it in the evening. This gives you a chance to remove any dirt that’s built up during the day, plus following up with a moisturiser before bed allows your skin to soak up all the goodness while your cells regenerate overnight. Say yes to waking up to velvety skin. Next, find out how to exfoliate your face.

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