BEAUTY: How-To have Smooth Legs All Summer

Hi MBG readers Allie here from ALLIE NYC. Summer is finally here and we all know what that means: hitting the beach. And of course we all want to look our best, right? Some of you may be blessed with naturally smooth legs, with a barely there down of unwanted hair, but for the rest of us, read on… I was blessed with a condition that my grandmother would lovingly refer to as “chicken skin”, the correct medical term for it is Keratosis Pilaris.

Keratosis Pilaris is described as a genetic follicular condition, lovely huh. The body produces too much of a protein called keratin which then builds up around the hair follicle and clogs it, resulting in the bumps that characterize “chicken skin”.

It is surprisingly common and effects 40-50% of the adult population and is even higher in teens and effects women more then men. I suffered with this for years until I finally found a solution that works.  If you suffer from Keratosis Pilaris or just want super smooth legs, this routine will give you touchable legs you will want to show off for sure. The first step is physical exfoliation, before you shower use a body scrub and make sure to keep up with this everyday. Look for one with a pumice like consistency—the lighter scrubs will not be effective.

This scrub from LUSH smells amazing and it does the job. If you are on a budget Trader Joe makes a great lavender body scrub for $6.00. The next step is shaving. Make sure you are shaving with a gel that is made for sensitive skin, or at least one with a more creamy texture like this one from Shave Works. Traditional shaving creams are too resistant and do not provide enough glide. If your skin is sensitive and has bumps this is important—the more glide a shaving gel has the less likely it will be to cause nicks from an uneven surface. Then once you are out of the shower you will hit Keratosis Pilaris with a double whammy of exfoliation and use a body lotion formulated with alpha hydroxy acids. The acids in the lotion help to break down the bumps and keep the excess keratin from accumulating.

 Look for a lotion that is thinner in consistency, the heavier greasier lotions do not work for this particular problem. I like this one from St Ives, but I have also used Suave’s smoothing lotion.   And now that your legs are primed they are ready for that self tanner you have probably been avoiding. Bare Minerals makes a wonderful self tanner which does not streak. And I just love the bronzy-gold packaging, so cool right?  And make sure to get your bronze on as well, finish off with a swipe of a bronzing shimmer lotion like Victoria’s Secret Instant Bronzing Shimmer Lotion, and your legs will be all sorts of sexy!


- Image from Beach Bunny, be sure to check out their site for more sexy swimwear. So are you ready for the beach? What is your routine? 


-ppost by alicia mackin