Why Your Body Might Need a Skin-Care Routine

As tempting as it could be to use your favorite antioxidant serum on your hands and chest or your facial moisturizer on your arms and legs, there is a reason body care exists. And it’s not just because you would run out of that beloved potion in one use. “Facial skin has more density of sebaceous glands compared to the body so facial products tend to be formulated lighter [in texture],” says Dr. Ryan Turner, a board-certified NYC dermatologist and co-founder of TRNR Skin, adding that thicker creams and lotions are typically required to adequately moisturize it.

The skin on the body is also more sensitive to the dryness and irritation that can be caused by some active ingredients, like acne-smoothing salicylic acid or line-smoothing retinol. “An active ingredient would be modified for skin on the body versus facial skin,” says Dr. Turner. “The skin on the body cannot typically tolerate the same strength or type of retinol [for example] as the face.”

Brands like Nécessaire, Dove, and Soft Services have introduced body care products that are formulated with gentle, body-specific active ingredients to smooth things over on your legs and arms — without causing irritation. 

For more targeted discoloration, like scars, Tanné Snowden, founder of Tronque, was dissatisfied with the scar reduction products on the market. “I started to mix my own, clean alternative to help erase my scars,” she says of the brand’s inception, including the Scar Concentrate, which utilizes ingredients like pink algae — Dr. Zeichner explains that this has soothing and antioxidant effects to soothe and brighten the skin — tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (an oil-soluble vitamin C), and New Zealand mamaku fern to fade scarred tissue. “If you are left with any brown blotches, consider a vitamin C serum [to] brighten dark spots and block production of abnormal pigmentation,” says Dr. Zeichner.

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