Body Care for Summer

Warm weather is fast approaching, and we couldn’t be more excited. The entire team at Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare HQ is planning to spend long days in the great outdoors (under a generous coat of Dr. Dennis Gross All-Physical Dark Spot Sun Defense Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50, of course!) While you may spend most of the year paying minimal attention to what’s happening below your neck, when summer calls, the response typically involves putting more of the body’s largest organ (i.e., the skin) on public display. At that point, you may realize you shouldn’t have spent all those months ignoring your body skin. But don’t worry – it’s not too late to remedy some of summer’s most common skin issues. 

Summer Bummer: Keratosis Pilaris (KP)

What causes it: The small, painless bumps signaling KP typically crop up on the arms and thighs. They’re formed when a buildup of keratin clogs the hair follicle. Friction, the climate, skin dryness, and existing skin conditions can all make KP worse.

Summer Bummer: Body Breakouts

What causes them: backne, buttne, and all the other -nes that occur from the neck down can usually be traced to at least one of four things: inflamed hair follicles; hyperactive oil glands; a buildup of dead skin cells; or P. acnes bacteria (yep, the same one that affects your face).

Summer Bummer: Ingrown Hairs

What causes them: When a hair growing out of the skin becomes trapped and curves back into skin, inflammation, bumps, and sometimes pain ensues. Ingrown hairs are most likely to be an issue in the beard area, neck, underarms, pubic area, and legs. A hair’s structure and natural direction of growth can make it more predisposed to developing into an ingrown.

How to Fix All Three

Heavy-duty chemical exfoliation two to three times a week will go a long way to diminishing KP, body breakouts, and ingrown hairs. Alpha and beta hydroxy acids, such as glycolic, lactic, and salicylic, sweep away the cells plugging a pore or trapping a hair. Add in an exfoliating enzyme like bromelain (which comes from pineapple) that exclusively dissolves dead cells, and you end up with a significant, noticeable improvement in as little as one week. You can find all those ingredients, as well as collagen-stimulating bakuchiol and moisture-trapping hyaluronic acid and squalene, in Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Exfoliating Body Treatment. 

Summer Bummer: Crepiness and Laxity

What causes them: Blame the years before you knew enough to apply daily SPF all the way down your chest. Or just blame the years, period. As we age, we produce less collagen. That translates to a visible loss of elasticity and saggy, crepey skin—often most apparent in the décolletage.

How to Fix Them

Regular exfoliation, such as with Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Exfoliating Body Treatment, will encourage the formation of new skin-supporting collagen. But you can help amplify the process by adding a daily red LED (light-emitting diode) session to your at-home routine. Red LEDs have been clinically proven to kickstart collagen production, and LED treatments have zero side effects or downtime. Not only is Dr. Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite BodyWare Pro FDA cleared as a light therapy device, in addition to its 96 red LEDs, it also contains 68 blue LEDs, which have been shown to neutralize P. acnes bacteria—good for any latent body blemishes.

Summer Bummer: Dullness and Dryness

What causes them: Body skin is thicker than the kind on your face—plus, it has fewer pores and sebaceous glands. So it’s going to trend toward the drier end of the spectrum, even if your complexion is the kind requiring constant mattification. Dead skin cells are also more likely to pile up on the body, which can leave it looking dull.

How To Fix Them

Once again, exfoliation is your friend since it will sweep away glow-diminishing dead cells. But for a real radiance boost, add self-tanner to the mix. It will help give skin tone a more even appearance and enhance skin’s natural luminescence. In addition to encapsulated DHA (the key ingredient in self-tanner), Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pad For Body Intense Glow is formulated with cell-renewing alpha and beta hydroxy acids, hydration-boosting lactic acid and phospholipids, and antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E.

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