Skincare

A Full-Body Skincare Routine to Combat Dryness

January 1, 2022
A black woman doing her body care routine

Having a full-body skincare routine to practice regularly is important. We often prioritize our facial routine because that’s the first thing people see, however, your skin from the neck down deserves good skincare too!

Once I started to pamper myself and upgraded my body care routine, I noticed a difference in the overall look and feel of my skin. It also helps that this is a form of self-care for me.

As a person who struggles with dry skin year-round, I know how annoying it is to experience uncomfortable, flaky skin. If you’ve been dealing with something similar, don’t worry, I have you covered!

In this post, I’m sharing my full-body routine that keeps my skin moisturized and smooth with a subtle glow.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.


Full-Body Skincare Routine Steps

Use a Gentle Cleanser

Your body care routine should always start with a gentle cleanser that will remove dirt, sweat, and other residues from your skin. I look for body washes or bar soap that will effectively cleanse my body without leaving it stripped.

The last thing you want is to use a cleanser that leaves your skin dried out and irritated.

To combat that, I look for moisturizing ingredients in my body washes such as Shea Butter, Aloe Vera, Jojoba Oil, and Coconut Oil. Whenever I use products with those ingredients, I’m left with nourished skin.

Read this blog post: “The Best Moisturizing Body Washes for Dry Skin” to find options to use in your routine.

Exfoliate Regularly

The next step in your full-body skincare routine is using an exfoliant to remove dead skin cells. Exfoliating regularly is important if you want to achieve smooth, brighter skin and soften rough, dry patches.

Here are more benefits of exfoliating:

  • Evens out skin tone
  • Unclogs your pores
  • Prevents ingrown hairs 
  • Helps your skin to absorb products better

There are different ways to exfoliate and it depends on what works best for your skin. You can use a body scrub, dry brush, or chemical exfoliation.

I exfoliate 2-3 times per week with a body scrub. These always leave my skin smooth and hydrated. Make sure you focus on your elbows, knees, and heels while exfoliating.

Here are a few of my favorite body scrubs:

Shave Properly

Once my skin is clean and exfoliated, I shave if I need to. Ever since I started exfoliating before shaving, it has helped prevent ingrown hairs and I’m able to achieve a close, smooth shave.

Before you start, you want to grab a shaving cream and apply it to your skin. Using shaving cream will prevent your razor from tugging your hair and it’ll glide easier across your skin without causing irritation.

You also want to make sure that you’re using a sharp, clean razor.

My favorite shaving cream is the Flamingo Shave Gel. It’s very moisturizing and always leaves my skin nice and smooth. My go-to razor is the BIC Flex 5 and it comes with extra blade cartridges so you can change them as needed.

Related Post: 5 Common Shaving Mistakes You Could Be Making

Moisturize Your Skin

The most important step in your full-body skincare routine is moisturizing from head to toe. While your skin is damp, you want to apply a body cream or lotion that will provide long-lasting moisture.

I love using moisturizers that absorb easily into the skin and provide softness. Some of my favorites to check out are:

Body Oil

After you apply a moisturizer, you can follow up with body oil. This step is optional, however, it’ll make a difference with your dry skin. Body oils are nourishing and can help lock in moisture — I love the glow it provides!

Using oils also helps to reduce inflammation, provide deep hydration, and penetrate the skin immediately.

Here are my favorite body oils:

Related Post: The Best 6 Hydrating Body Oils for Dry, Flaky Skin

Fragrance Mist

Another optional step is a fragrance mist. I usually choose a fragrance that’s similar to the scents I used in the shower. I prefer fragrance mists because they’re less concentrated than perfumes and aren’t overpowering.

If you want your scent to last longer, make sure that you spray it toward your pulse points. These spots emit heat, therefore, they’ll help your fragrance release into the air.

Examples of pulse points: Behind your ear, your wrists, the base of the throat, and the inner elbow.


It’s easy to neglect our skin from the neck down, however, I hope this post encourages you to start a full-body skincare routine so you can achieve moisturized, glowing results from head to toe.

Let’s keep our skin healthy and flourishing year-round!

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2 Comments

  • Reply dianne July 28, 2022 at 6:50 pm

    I read read full body skincare routine and what I needed most is my dry flaky body..no matter how much moisturizer lotions and oils..didn’t work at all..but the ingredients you suggested I will try it..to use moisturizer as well as body oil too.

    • Reply Madisen November 5, 2022 at 1:11 pm

      Yessss using body oils has been so helpful for my dry skin. You’ll notice a huge difference.

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