TV's Friends has a lot to answer for. A fair percentage of the population will spend the rest of their lives thinking of one thing only, should anyone mention being 'on a break', 'not sharing food', or simply the word 'pivot'.
I say this because I recently had a spray tan (the best self tan in my book - the crème de la crème are by Sienna X, with olive undertones and iron-clad streak-resistance) and boy, did Ross' mahogany disaster cast a long shadow over that beauty treatment.
If it put you off, know that getting double dipped in an automated booth is as far from reality as owning that Manhattan loft on Rachel and Monica's salaries. What I'm really trying to get to here is that, before tanning, exfoliation is everything - and I've rediscovered an absolute doozy of an exfoliator. Right I'll stop the references now because, honestly, could I be any more elder millennial?
Why this everlasting exfoliator is my beauty buy of the week
Of course, body exfoliation isn't only a good idea if you're self-tanning. It's a brilliant skin smoothing, circulation-boosting and glow-inducing practice, full stop. But the reason I was exfoliating was tan prep, and that comes with stipulations - you can't use a scrub with an oil or rich cream base, as it'll interfere with the tanner's active ingredients.
Therefore, out came my old dry body brush. Full disclosure - it had been in retirement, moonlighting as a chic bathroom accessory while my sexier, nicer-smelling best body scrubs got all the action. But, reader, it was a revelation.
Body brush, why had I forsaken thee? This thing, obviously, will never run out; therefore is financially and ecologically unimpeachable. Sweep it up, down, around and across to whisk away dead cells and rev your circulation up just like a good massage.
The skin tone improvements are instant and obvious; between the shifting of dry skin and the enlivening blood flow boost, it's a double whammy of glow. Dry brushing is also satisfying in the extreme if you like to really feel and see things working (further examples: tingly skincare acid toners, those weird foot peeling masks.)
(l) my, shall we say, very well-loved body brush and (r) scrubbed up and ready to glow after using it
Now, my trade secrets - I've tried very expensive and very cheap body brushes and they are, to my mind, exactly the same. By all means, spend a lot if you like luxury; otherwise, don't bother. Even budget ones perform well and look good in an austere Scandi way.
I also don't think you have to do it dry, which for many people seems to be the blocker. If scrubbing away while you wait for the shower to warm up sounds inhumane, just do it in the shower. I sometimes do - either way, my skin is smooth, bright and perky afterwards.
My Sienna X spray is now long gone (oh, it helps shift tan remnants too), but I'm hooked on the brush and can't believe it was right there, in front of me, this whole time. I'd reference a certain Geller-Bing love connection here, but I'm a woman of my word so I'll leave you to it. Sounds good? Great! Let's chat next Sunday.
