SubscribeLogin
SubscribeLogin

How To Build a Bodycare Routine for Smooth Skin in Every Season

How To Build a Bodycare Routine for Smooth Skin in Every Season
How To Build a Bodycare Routine for Smooth Skin in Every Season
How To Build a Bodycare Routine for Smooth Skin in Every Season
How To Build a Bodycare Routine for Smooth Skin in Every Season
How To Build a Bodycare Routine for Smooth Skin in Every Season
How To Build a Bodycare Routine for Smooth Skin in Every Season
Photo: Courtesy of By Katia
Care for the skin on your limbs is just as important as care for your face. From lustrous body oils to sculpting tools and dry brushes, we’ve broken down a six-step routine worth adding to your shelf.

· Updated on 30 Jun 2026 · Published on 30 Apr 2026

You might have your facial skincare routine down to a fine art, but what happens below your neck? Rough elbows, ashy arms, body breakouts and scaly post-shave legs are all common complaints, and shifting seasonal temperatures can make every one of them worse.

Reframe bodycare as part of your broader wellness routine, and practices like dry brushing or daily moisturising start to feel less of a chore and more like a ritual. Add any (or all) of these products and tools to your routine for smoother, healthier-looking skin.

Step 1: cleanse

Ikkari Green Mandarin & Neroli body wash

$69
Ikkari Green Mandarin & Neroli body wash
Most body washes are built for one job: stripping the day off. Ikkari’s is built for a second job too – not putting all of the hydration work onto your moisturiser. The soap-free, magnesium-laced formula leans on wakame and sea buckthorn to leave skin soft rather than tight, and the scent of green mandarin and neroli provides the right kind of wake-up call for sluggish mornings.

Ukoo cleansing body wash

$35
Ukoo cleansing body wash
Melbourne-based body care brand Ukko specialises in microbiome-friendly, vegan and cruelty-free products made for everyone from toddlers to mature skin. Its soap-free cleansing wash is formulated with postbiotics, millet seed extract and niacinamide to help balance, protect and calm the skin. Long after you step out of the shower, notes of citrus, lavender, pine and green tea linger on the skin (and in the bathroom).

Step 2: exfoliate

By Katia Dry and Wet brush set

$85
By Katia Dry and Wet brush set
A few minutes of dry brushing before your shower sweeps away dead skin cells, boosts circulation and supports lymphatic drainage, helping shift fluid that tends to build up after a day of sitting or travelling. This set from Melbourne label By Katia comes with two interchangeable heads – one for dry brushing, one for the shower – so a single tool covers both.

Salt Lab Magnesium body scrub

$56
Salt Lab Magnesium body scrub
Salt Lab built its name on magnesium flakes for the bath, so a scrub was the logical next step – and it shows in the formula. The salt does the exfoliating, but magnesium chloride is doing double duty underneath, easing tense muscles and an overstimulated nervous system as well as smoothing rough skin. A blend of jojoba, macadamia and sunflower oils stops it tipping into scoured territory, so you come out the other side smooth rather than stripped.

Step 3: treat

Ere Perez Papaya SOS Marmalade

$56
Ere Perez Papaya SOS Marmalade
Every bodycare routine needs one product that isn’t trying to be luxurious – it’s just trying to fix the problem in front of you. Dry elbows, razor rash, insect bites, random patches of redness: the stuff that doesn’t ordinarily fit neatly into a single product, but Ere Perez has filled the gap with its “SOS” balm. True to the brand’s natural ingredients approach, calendula extract works on inflammation, while chia, coconut and hemp oils bring antibacterial and antifungal properties to the mix.

Pure Mama Belly Hydration mask

$24
Pure Mama Belly Hydration mask
This mask is worth a special mention for anyone pregnant and dealing with skin that’s stretching faster than a regular lotion can keep up with. The New Zealand label suggests using it as an occasional, more intensive step a couple of times a week, when tightness or itchiness around the belly becomes noticeable. It delivers deep hydration, while also helping to reduce the appearance of stretch marks.
Buy at The MemoBuy at Mecca

Step 4: sculpt

Biotyspa Body Sculpt kit

$135
Biotyspa Body Sculpt Kit
This Tiktok-famous tool mimics the “palpate and roll” French massage technique, which is thought to encourage the movement and elimination of fluid, toxins and water retention. The kit’s hydrating shower gel, packed with hyaluronic acid, is worth calling out on its own merits – buy the kit for the tool, but don’t be surprised if the gel becomes the part you repurchase. You can buy a kit to use at home, or experience it at this Sydney salon.

Kit Gua Sha body tool

$48
Kit Gua Sha body tool
Facial gua sha had its moment a few years ago; this is the same tool, scaled up for shoulders, calves and everywhere else that holds tension. The stainless steel stays cool against skin, which is part of the appeal after a long day at a desk, an overly intense workout or a niggle that needs some relief. Pair it with an oil, lotion or whatever hydrating product you prefer.
Buy at KitBuy at Mecca

Step 5: hydrate

Osea Undaria Algae body lotion

$30
Osea Undaria Algae body lotion
This is the lotion for people who find body butters too heavy but standard lotions too thin. It absorbs almost immediately – no waiting around in a towel for it to sink in – while still delivering enough hyaluronic acid and Undaria seaweed to back up its claim of visibly firmer skin. The scent (grapefruit, lime and cypress, with mango and mandarin underneath) leans energising rather than relaxing, which makes this more of a morning product than a wind-down one.

Tronque Firming body butter

$130
Tronque Firming body butter
At the other end of the spectrum is this heavy-duty butter, with 22 active ingredients in a single tub. Shea, cacao and mango butters form the base, biotech ceramides and niacinamide do the repair work, and a roster of marine extracts (Atlantic Ocean kelp, New Zealand red seaweed and red maple bark) handle the firming claims the name promises. It’s rich, thick and worth the investment.

Papermoon Sandalwood body oil

$30
Papermoon Sandalwood body oil
Technically a balm in a twist-up stick, this design solves the main problem with most body oils: the mess. Shea and cocoa seed butters do the hydrating, but the ingredient that shines here is the sandalwood – a scent with a long history in aromatherapy for taking the edge off stress. It’s small enough for a gym bag or carry-on, and made vegan- and cruelty-free in Australia.

Step 6: glow

Mecca Cosmetica Sunless Goddess self-tanning drops

$34
Mecca Cosmetica Sunless Goddess self-tanning drops
Winter skin and a healthy glow are not natural allies, which is where these drops come in. Rather than committing to a full self-tan (and the maintenance schedule that comes with it), mix a few drops into your regular body moisturiser and build colour gradually. It’s also safe for use on your face, despite being listed here as part of a body care routine.

We hope you like the products and services we recommend on Broadsheet. Our editors select each one independently. Broadsheet may receive an affiliate commission when you follow some links.

More like this

Five Colour Trends To Weave Into Your Spring Wardrobe, From Tobacco to Royal Purple
Five Colour Trends To Weave Into Your Spring Wardrobe, From Tobacco to Royal Purple
24 To Shop: Wedding Guest Dresses To Wear (and Rewear) This Spring/Summer
24 To Shop: Wedding Guest Dresses To Wear (and Rewear) This Spring/Summer
31 Australian Clothing Brands Our Editors Love – and New Styles To Shop for Spring
31 Australian Clothing Brands Our Editors Love – and New Styles To Shop for Spring

MORE FROM BROADSHEET

Recipe: Lucy Tweed Turns to This Thai Green Curry with Lamb for Easy Winter Entertaining
Recipe: Lucy Tweed Turns to This Thai Green Curry with Lamb for Easy Winter Entertaining
Food & Drink
For Lucy Tweed, winter cooking is all about dishes that deliver maximum flavour with minimal fuss. In partnership with Valcom, she shares her recipe for a rich, fragrant Thai green curry with lamb made for sharing.
Recipe: Attica Chef Caleb Baldwin’s Rich, Comforting Massaman Has a Time-Saving Shortcut
Recipe: Attica Chef Caleb Baldwin’s Rich, Comforting Massaman Has a Time-Saving Shortcut
Food & Drink
When he and partner Nat Thaipun get home after working long kitchen hours, this rich Thai curry is their go-to. In partnership with Valcom, Baldwin shares how to make it at home.
Recipe: Miriam Al-Noah’s Thai Prawn Laksa Packs a Midweek Punch
Recipe: Miriam Al-Noah’s Thai Prawn Laksa Packs a Midweek Punch
Food & Drink
Whether you’re cooking for a group or need to liven up your weeknights, this punchy, aromatic prawn laksa with a Thai twist is sure to hit the spot. In partnership with Valcom, Al-Noah shares how to make it at home.
A Wine Writer and Sommelier’s Tips for Collecting Wine – From Selections and Vintage to Storage
A Wine Writer and Sommelier’s Tips for Collecting Wine – From Selections and Vintage to Storage
Food & Drink
Just buying your first bottles? Or already have a few, but don’t know where to keep them? In partnership with Liquorland, Cyndal Petty shares five tips for your collection.
Meet the Finalists Representing Australia and NZ at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition
Meet the Finalists Representing Australia and NZ at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition
Food & Drink
These 10 chefs under 30 – from Restaurant Botanic, Anchovy, Icebergs and more – will be cooking against each other for a coveted spot at the grand finale in Italy. In partnership with S.Pellegrino, here’s who’s competing.
Five Singapore Neighbourhoods To Get Lost In
Five Singapore Neighbourhoods To Get Lost In
Travel
Like all the best cities in the world, Singapore is a tapestry of unique neighbourhoods. In partnership with Singapore Airlines, here are five of the best areas worth exploring.
Singapore’s Best Kid-Friendly Spots for a Family Stopover
Singapore’s Best Kid-Friendly Spots for a Family Stopover
Travel
Including massive water parks, the world’s first nocturnal wildlife park, a chocolate factory and more. In partnership with Singapore Airlines, here’s how to turn your stopover into a family adventure.
Five Ways To Make Your Make-Up Last, From Morning to Night
Five Ways To Make Your Make-Up Last, From Morning to Night
Fashion
If your make-up looks perfect for one hour but then a mess for 11, something’s up. In partnership with Clarins, here’s our routine for long-lasting looks.