Body love is the always the goal. As we count down the final weeks of winter, we look at the 10 most common beauty questions and find the solutions, to get you loving every bit of your bod.
To smooth, tighten and tone, we’ve rounded up at-home treatments, the latest in-clinic tech and plenty of can-do products. These days you barely need to worry about blocking out your calendar, because most of these products and treatments come with zero downtime. So just pair them with an intentional diet and lifestyle, and body love will be yours.
10 Body Care Treatments To Take You From Winter To Summer
Tackle Fuzziness
While the choice to go with or without hair is entirely yours, if you want to be hair-free there are a number of ways to de-fuzz both at home and in-clinic. Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) directs strong pulses of light into the melanin of the hair follicle, damaging the cells that grow hair. After several treatments, you can have long-term hair removal.
At-home devices get best results with regular use in the first eight to 12 weeks, while in-salon IPL can be spread out to about eight sessions every four to eight weeks because the intensity is greater. New-to-market in-clinic treatment Soprano Titanium by Alma Lasers (alma-sporano.com) is loved by the A-list as it can be used on tanned, self-tanned and dark skin (usually a laser hair-removal no-no). Bonus points: it’s fast and pain-free.
Go Bare IPL Hair Removal Handset, $269 at The Iconic
SmoothSkin Pure Fit IPL Hair Removal Device, $499 at Current Body
Get That Glow
Maintain a year-round summer glow with transeasonal self-tanners, specifically formulated to deliver natural-looking colour (and hydrate skin) through the changing seasons. Tanologist founder and self-tan guru Lottie Tomlinson shares three tips for foolproof results.
Prep: “Think about applying self-tan as you would makeup. You would never apply on top of yesterday’s base and without a primer, so remove your old tan [with Tanologist’s Self Tan Eraser + Primer] to create the perfect base for a new, long-lasting tan layer.”
Skincare First: “Think of your self-tan as an extension of your body- care routine for maximum results with minimal products. Tanologist has a range of dermatologist tested and approved products packed with your fave skincare ingredients – hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and aloe vera – to hydrate and prevent patchiness.”
Tools: “They can make a huge difference to your results. I love to use the Tanologist blending Body Brush to tan tricky areas like the hands, feet and face. It allows me to get a seamless blend without the dreaded orange hands or hairline.”
Tanologist Self Tan Water Light, $22.99 at Amazon Australia
Tanologist Kabuki Body Brush, $24.99 at Amazon Australia
Bali Body Body Highlighter, $29.95 at Chemist Warehouse
Descale Yourself
Winter or summer, the body can suffer from dryness and dehydration. If you have subscribed to the “skin-flooding” beauty trend (it involves misting the complexion and layering it with fast-penetrating hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide) and loved the results, treat the rest of your skin to “body flooding”.
With this, devotees ditch oil-stripping body cleansers in favour of cleansing oils and hydrating creams. Simply apply nourishment to your body in the shower, then lightly rinse and hop out. Next, add a hydrating oil or body cream while skin is still damp. The process helps to maintain the skin barrier and prevent scaliness.
Epzen Unwind Shower Balm, $16 at Coles
Clarins Contour Treatment Oil, $78 at Adore Beauty
Beauté Pacifique Enriched Moisturising Body Lotion for Dry Skin, $68 at Adore Beauty
Smooth Radiance
There’s an array of formulas designed to reduce the appearance of cellulite and smooth skin texture. Start with lightweight oils, such as those by Moroccanoil and By Rosie Jane, which use sunflower, argan and olive oils to nourish and improve tone. La Mav’s potent Ayurvedic Body Oil includes the whole herb.
In the shower, invigorate skin with scrubs such as Bangn’ Body’s, which contains arabica coffee seeds, kaolin clay and jojoba oil. Smooth skin while you sleep with super hydrators such as Augustinus Bader’s The Body Cream – apply with a circular massage to help boost circulation. To get blood flowing better, try adding at-home tools such as dry body brushes and gua shas into your routine.
For stubborn cellulite, in-clinic treatments can get results. Sydney’s Contour Clinics (contourclinics.com.au) offers a bells and whistles approach with skin needling, radiofrequency (RF) skin tightening, and Tempsure heat therapy. Tailored and with little downtime, you can see a reduction of up to 50 per cent in the look of cellulite.
BANGN’ BODY Smooth Skin Scrub, $42 at Sephora
Lamav Ayurvedic Body Oil in Uplift, $49 at Lamav
Augustinus Bader The Body Cream, 200ml, $279 at Mecca
Moroccanoil Night Body Serum, $96 at Sephora
Sol de Janeiro Lymphatic Massage Tool, $32 at Mecca
Tighten And Tone
There’s plenty of new technology to help firm up loose skin post-baby or post-weight loss. Radio frequency body-sculpting treatment NuEra Tight is designed to help with issues such as skin laxity, wrinkles, cellulite and pockets of fat. This targeted, no-downtime treatment heats different layers of the skin for results in just one session.
If you want to tighten up at home, try radiofrequency device TriPollar, which has 24-carat-gold-plated electrodes to enhance efficacy and help reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles, improve skin texture and stimulate the skin’s healing response. Keen for low tech? Body needling can help enhance collagen production and reduce the look of skin crepiness.
Lonvitalite Microneedle Derma Roller Face & Body Kit, $149.95 (with body adaptor) at Adore Beauty
TriPollar Stop Vx Gold 2 Radio Frequency Device, $1209 at TriPollar
CurrentBody Skin RF Radio Frequency Skin Tightening Device, $530 at Current Body
Biotyspa Body Sculpt Cup, $59 at Biotyspa
Pigmentation
Pigmentation is one of the leading skin concerns in Australia. Thankfully, tech in this area is getting really good. The San Lueur Advanced LED Light Therapy Facial mask has wavelengths of blue, red and near-infrared light to get to skin at optimal depths.
Use it for 10-30 minutes a few times a week on the face – or other body parts – to help clear, smooth and boost glow. Or leave pigmentation removal to the experts with Candela’s laser treatment (at clearskincareclinics.com.au). It can target freckles and sunspots anywhere on the body. Skin will look clearer after 3-4 treatments, 4-6 weeks apart.
Current Body Skin LED Neck and Dec Perfector, $445 at Current Body
San Lueur Advanced Led Light Therapy Facial Mask, $795 at San Lueur
Bumps And Roughness
Pesky and persistent, small bumps and “chicken skin” (aka keratosis pilaris) are prevalent in up to 40 per cent of adults. To treat: buff away dead skin with physical scrubs, such as First Aid Beauty’s KP Bump Eraser and Kora Organics Invigorating Body Scrub. Both feature antioxidants that’ll work to clear pores and reduce bumps.
If you are prone to irritation or micro tears, a chemical exfoliant packed with AHAs (glycolic and lactic acids) and BHAs (namely salicylic acid) will help address acne and smooth skin. Or, try the Mary Grace Crystal Hair Remover, which uses super-fine, nano-crystalline glass technology to painlessly remove unwanted hair and exfoliate skin (and one tool lasts up to three years).
Kora Organics Invigorating Body Scrub, $80 at The Iconic
First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser, $50 at Sephora
Firming Exfoliant Wash, $16.99 at Body Blendz
Dig The Digest
Attack tummy inflammation from the inside with high-performing ingestibles. Swiish’s Gut Fibre Cleansing Powder is made of maize dextrin, a plant-based dietary fibre made from cornstarch. With no added nasties, consider your digestive system cleansed, with added support for a strong gut microbiome. Similarly, Nutra Organics Super Greens + Reds elixir is packed with 23 superfood ingredients to help replenish good bacteria and balance gut microbiome.
Swiish Gut Fibre Cleansing Powder, $39.95 at Swiish
Nutra Organics Super Greens + Reds, $30.95 at Woolworths
Reduce Stress
With rising stress levels, being kind to your body and mind is paramount. The ritualistic practice of bathing allows a moment to completely zone out (and practise mindfulness), with the warm water helping to ease muscle tension and encouraging the skin to release endorphins.
Enjoy a bespoke treatment or two at endota spa for an ultimate day of relaxation, or dip your toes into a float-therapy tank (at Sydney’s Bionik Wellness). The unique sensory experience uses high levels of magnesium in the float pool to help regulate cortisol (your body’s stress hormone) which – paired with the sensory deprivation component of floating – has been shown to help reduce stress.
Susanne Kaufmann Oil Bath for the Senses, $105 at Mecca
Black Chicken Remedies Garshana Dry Body Brush, $34.95 at Adore Beauty
YŌLI Towel Set, $349.95 at YŌLI
Sluggish System
The centuries-old use of heat to invigorate the body is having a revival thanks to the boost in popularity of infrared saunas. Loved for their ability to warm the body without warming the surrounding air (making the session more comfortable), regular infrared saunas are said to help detox the body, speed up post-workout recovery and ease aches and pains. Try Slow House in Sydney (slowhouse.com.au) or Pure Wellness Studio in Melbourne (purewellnessstudio.com.au). If you want to get hot at home, the Heat Healer Infrared Sauna Blanket boasts 96 jade and tourmaline stones, which produce negative ions to help calm the mind and body.
Better You: Fitness expert and nutritionist Amelia Phillips has partnered with drop bio health to create the innovative 8-week inside out challenge. It combines at-home blood testing and personalised online lifestyle coaching. ameliaphillips.com.au
Heat Healer Infrared Sauna Blanket, $598 at Heat Healer
