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For most of us, beach days are not low-maintenance. Unless you’re a Victoria’s Secret model, the thought of putting on a two-piece in front of people you know is at best mildly confrontational, and the thought of doing it in broad daylight where people are taking Instagram pics is even worse. But some very clever people at some very clever brands have spent considerable time realising that everything we do to our faces, we can do to our bodies too, and that a lot of the things that make us hesitate before reaching for the bikini are entirely addressable.
If you have dry patches, crepey skin, KP bumps, or body acne, none of it is anything to be ashamed of and, more importantly, none of it is unfixable. If you treat your body routine with the same rigour as your face routine, a lot can be achieved in a surprisingly short amount of time. These are the active ingredients doing the work, and the products delivering them, that will have you glowing on the sand at golden hour without a single hesitation before snapping a selfie.
Bodycare Chemical Exfoliators
Chemical exfoliants dissolve the dead skin cells and buildup that create rough, bumpy, uneven texture on the body. No scrubbing required, and no redness afterwards. AHAs like glycolic and lactic acid work on the surface, BHA gets into the pores, and together they address everything from KP bumps and strawberry skin to ingrown hairs and dullness. Your knees, your elbows, your upper arms all deserve more than moisturisation.
First Aid Beauty’s KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub pairs 10% combined AHAs with pumice for a physical and chemical hybrid approach, which makes it the most immediately satisfying entry point if you want results the first time you use it. For something more targeted and travel-friendly, The Inkey List Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick is exactly what the format sounds like. Glide it directly onto areas with KP bumps, ingrown hairs, or rough patches, leave it on, and move on with your evening. No rinse, no fuss, and it fits in a wash bag. L’Occitane’s Almond Resurfacing Body Serum takes the AHA approach into serum territory, combining 5% AHA with prickly pear extract and hyaluronic acid in a featherlight formula that exfoliates while simultaneously hydrating. Apply it three times a week to dry and bumpy areas and it does what most body scrubs can’t do—exfoliating without irritation. Drunk Elephant’s T.L.C. Glycolic Body Lotion goes broadest of all, using glycolic, lactic, and salicylic acid in a lotion format designed to be applied all over and left to work overnight, making it the whole-body resurfacing option for anyone ready to commit. Then there is Biologique Recherche Lotion P50 Corps, the body adaptation of the most cult exfoliating toner in the beauty industry. Known in the skincare community as the product that fixes everything, the P50 formula here is recalibrated for the thicker skin of the body, targeting hyperpigmentation, back acne, KP, and ingrown hairs while rebalancing the skin’s pH and preparing it to absorb everything applied afterwards. The insider’s pick, and the one nobody is telling you about yet.
Bodycare Retinol
Retinol on the body does the same thing it does on the face, just to skin that has been mostly ignored for years. It accelerates cell turnover, builds collagen, and over time addresses the crepey texture, fine lines, and uneven tone that accumulate quietly on the arms, thighs, and décolletage. The good news is that body skin is generally more tolerant than facial skin, which means you can start stronger and see results faster than you might expect.
ARAX Retinol 365 Body Milk is the Japanese option, from a medical brand founded in 1853. The formula uses retinyl palmitate, the gentlest and most stable form of retinol, which converts gradually to become active in the skin. It’s the one to reach for if retinol is new to you or if your skin leans sensitive. Advanced Clinicals’ Retinol Advanced Firming Cream moves up in directness, combining retinol with vitamin E, green tea, and aloe vera in a rich but non-greasy formula that targets crepey skin, wrinkles, and loss of firmness. Paula’s Choice Retinol Skin-Smoothing Body Treatment takes a more clinical approach, with a stabilised retinol formula at a concentration designed to produce visible results with consistent use. Chantecaille’s Rose de Mai Body Cream with Retinol is the most luxurious body retinol available, pairing encapsulated retinol with Marine Extract, Avocado Extract, and the brand’s signature Rose de Mai essence from Grasse in a formula that is 96% ‘natural’ origin, vegan, and an absolute pleasure to apply. Then there is the Murad Retinal ReSculpt Firming Body Cream, which is worth understanding before you buy because retinal and retinol are not the same thing. Retinal is one conversion step closer to retinoic acid than retinol, which means it is faster-acting and more potent. Murad’s encapsulated retinal formula also targets the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks alongside firmness and crepiness, making it the most comprehensive body retinoid on this list.
Bodycare Acne Solutions
Body acne is just as annoying, if not more so, then face acne because it appears in places you cannot see or treat easily. BHA, or salicylic acid, gets inside the pore and clears it from the inside out, which is the only way to actually address a blocked pore rather than just clean around it. A normal body wash won’t do this, but these products do.
Paula’s Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA is the most targeted option, a leave-on salicylic acid body exfoliant at pH 3.5 to 3.9 that works from the first application to soften rough, bumpy skin. Apply it after showering and don’t rinse it off. PanOxyl’s Acne Foaming Wash contains 10% benzoyl peroxide, the highest concentration available without a prescription, and kills over 99% of acne-causing bacteria in fifteen seconds. It isn’t glamorous, but it’s what dermatologists reach for first, and it works by simultaneously cutting down bacteria and gently breaking down keratin to unclog acne-prone skin. It’s also great for curtailing persistent body odour if you’re an exercise girly. The Kosas Good Body Skin AHA and Enzyme Exfoliating Body Wash takes a gentler angle, combining AHAs with fruit enzymes in a wash-off formula that resurfaces without the drying effect that stronger treatments can cause. CeraVe’s SA Smoothing Cleanser pairs salicylic acid with ceramides and niacinamide to treat and repair the barrier simultaneously, which matters when you are using an active that can stress the skin. The wash formats of the PanOxyl, Kosas, and CeraVe have an additional advantage: they allow you to treat body acne first in the shower and then layer any other body actives on top with leave-on treatments, so you don’t have to choose between concerns.
Bodycare Peptides
Peptides signal to your skin to produce more collagen, which is what gives it the plump, bouncy quality that tends to quietly leave as the years pass. For the body, this means firmer-looking skin on the arms, thighs, and décolletage. The results are not overnight but they are cumulative, and using peptides consistently on the body produces exactly the kind of skin that looks younger than the number of candles on your birthday cake.
StriVectin’s Crepe Control Tightening Body Cream goes straight after crepey skin with a potent peptide blend alongside ‘NIA-114’ proprietary technology and lactic acid, designed to visibly tighten and even skin tone while targeting the thin, papery texture that tends to appear on inner arms and knees first. It’s more than a standard body moisturiser, and the results make that clear. Medix 5.5’s Collagen + Peptides Firming Cream takes its name from the skin’s optimal pH level, at which actives absorb most efficiently, and delivers peptides alongside soluble collagen, shea butter, ginseng, green tea, and rice bran extract for visible firming and plumping from the neck down. Augustinus Bader’s The Body Lotion brings TFC8, the brand’s patented Trigger Factor Complex built from amino acids, vitamins, and high-performing proprietary peptides, into a lightweight lotion format that absorbs in seconds and leaves no residue. The same technology that Professor Bader spent three decades developing for wound healing, applied to crepey arms and uneven tone from the neck down. Nudestix Nudebody Peptide Body Creme rounds out the selection with a multi-peptide moisturiser formulated alongside 1% lactic acid, 1% glycolic acid, and a 1% fruit acid complex, making it the strongest option on this list that delivers peptides and AHA exfoliation in a single step to treat multiple concerns at once.
Bodycare Vitamin C
The sun your face deals with every day in the UAE is the same sun your body deals with, from the back of your arms to the tops of your thighs. Hyperpigmentation, uneven tone, and the kind of dullness that makes skin look tired rather than healthy are body problems just as much as face problems, and vitamin C addresses all of them. It brightens, fades dark spots, and protects skin from the environmental damage that causes them in the first place.
This Works Perfect Body Vit C Glow takes a face serum approach to body care, combining 2% vitamin C with vitamin B12 and hyaluronic acid in a pink-tinted lightweight formula that the brand describes as face care for your body. Advanced Clinicals’ Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Body Cream pairs vitamin C with ferulic acid, vitamin E, and coconut oil in a velvety body cream. The ferulic acid alongside the vitamin C is the same combination that makes SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic one of the most referenced face serums in dermatology. The ferulic acid stabilises the vitamin C and significantly amplifies its efficacy. Olay Vitamin C Body Lotion combines vitamin C with niacinamide, vitamin B5, and glycerin in a 24-hour moisturising formula that penetrates ten layers deep, evens skin tone, and leaves no greasy residue. Q+A Vitamin C Body Cream is the clean formula option, a straightforward vitamin C body cream that does the job without unnecessary additions.
Beach Prep
After all that work and planning, you’ll want three things to really set off your beach babe bod—glow, fragrance, and SPF. For a local glow option made from freshly pressed botanicals, The Daily Press’ Arabica & Amande Body Oil is a great way to lock in hydration and reflect light like the sun dancing on the sea. It’s fast-absorbing, non-greasy, and designed to nourish skin in humid climates like the UAE. For your fragrance fantasy, Ex Nihilo’s Lust In Paradise Body Lotion will keep you moisturised from neck to toe while surrounding you in a soft cloud of pink pepper, black currant, Petalia, and Akigalawood, as a tribute to the French Riviera. And lastly, no day by the sea should be even considered without stocking up on SPF 50. An unexpected recommendation, based solely on its texture as an actual sun serum rather than a heavy, sticky cream, is the Healthy Bright Gluta-HYA Serum Burst Lotion SPF 50 PA+++ by Vaseline. An unassuming SPF but a joy to use and wear, it won’t have sand sticking to you or trap sweat when you need it not to.
This article first appeared on GRAZIA Singapore and has been republished here with permission.
