Beauty / Get Aunty-Proof Confidence With These Pre-Spring Skincare Tips For Your Brown Skin

Get Aunty-Proof Confidence With These Pre-Spring Skincare Tips For Your Brown Skin

Beauty Feb 26, 2025

by Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

An unjust aspect of South Asian culture is how some aunties get away with body shaming South Asian beauties of all shapes and sizes. No matter how old we get and how many achievements we accumulate, the dreaded phrases uttered by far too many aunties, including but not limited to:

gain kya (Did you put on weight?);
khati nahin ho (You do not eat (enough));
khaane peene mein jahan rukho (Watch how much you are eating and drinking); or
kitne putli ho tum (You are so skinny!),

These still sting, and diminish the pride we have in our bodies. What worsens the sting, is that these aunties are protected by the cultural norm of respect for elders, so when they utter such cruel, uncalled for sentences, they are tolerated rather than rightfully chided.

We cannot control these aunties but we have the power to beautify our bodies, regardless of shape or size, so that when spring returns and with it wedding season (and the unfortunate opportunities for these aunties to unsheathe their passive aggressive fangs), each centimetre of our lovely brown skin between the neck and ankles, and every curve will be smooth and gleaming. More importantly, you will be so proud of how your body looks, that if an aunty attempts to make a comment, you will continue to dazzle on your own terms with people admiring your brown skin.

To achieve dazzling skin from neck to ankles, there are four verbs that you should integrate into your routine:

Cleanse
Moisturise
Treat
Exfoliate

It is easy to trick ourselves into thinking that since we are covered in sweaters and parkas, that the skin between the neck and ankles are unseen and hence require a minimal amount of care. The illusion is quickly shattered when the thermometer touches 10 degrees Celsius, and people are pulling out their spring wear which tend to be tighter and lighter. Suddenly, the parched state of our skin is apparent and loading on a heavy cream will not automatically infuse it with bounce, as you need to address months of neglect.

Cleanse

Take off the illusion start right now by using cleansing products that are soft and designed to hydrate the skin. In the winter, I avoid cleansing products that tend to be frothy because I find that they strip the skin. I focus on labels that state that the product is designed for hydrating the skin because after a day of working indoors and being exposed to electrical heating; walking outside through Arctic winds; and working out, my skin has expelled a lot of water and its natural mositure barrier has been pushed to the limit.

Renpure Coconut Milk & Vitamin E Body Wash, is a great example of a calming cleaning product that soothes the skin during the harsh winter. Coconut oil is renowned for its ability to moisturise the skin and vitamin E prevents the skin from losing moisture and lightens scars. Renpure, which is made in Canada, is also formulated with zero sulfates, which means that they do not contain stripping ingredients such as sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate.

**Get your Beautiful Brown Body Now. Renpure Coconut Milk & Vitamin E Body Wash.** Photo Credit: www.renpure.com

I also recommend trying oil-based cleansers such as the legendary L’Occitane Almond Shower Oil. This product contains both almond and grapeseed oils, which contain rich fatty acids and vitamin E, which comfort and heal. I love adding a half tablespoon of oily product to my puffy eyes, which creates a soft lather and then I pass it all over. I am always pleased with how my skin feels softer and the heavenly scent softens the sharpness of winter. I never feel stripped after a shower using this mighty oil.

Moisturise

After the shower, I dab the water off my body, and then plunge into my moisturisation routine, because I want to seal the water into my skin. Regardless of the product, I always apply at the base, for example the ankles, the wrists and lower belly and then massage the product upwards using broad strokes. I repeat the strokes twice over each area to ensure that the product has been absorbed and that my body has received a mini massage which relaxes me.

I was intrigued by OMY Lab, a Canadian brand that uses urea in its soft, odourless Smoothing Body Cream to regenerate the moisture barrier and infuse instant calm to the skin. Urea is a power ingredient because it helps to gently break down dead skin cells and moisturise the skin. The former is of particular interest because darker skin tones tend to look ashen due to dead skin build up, so it is important to integrate ingredient that gently remove it. I am impressed by how one dollop of the cream spreads easily across the planes of my body, and my skin feels soothed.

If you prefer a lighter texture, a rich lotion such as Rare Beauty Find Comfort Hydrating Body Lotion, is a great combination of niacinamide which retains moisture; extracts of ashwaganda which brightens dark spots and peach flower, which promotes glow. The product spreads easily and is rapidly absorbed by the skin. It imparts a subtle scent which starts with lemon zest and develops into jasmine and then tonka beans.

While we trudge through the nadir of winter, I always seal my body with an oil to enhance the protection against the harsh heating and cold winds. Unfortunately, when I skip this step my skin gets so dry that I am compelled to scratch until I draw blood and then I am left with a tiny scars that take months to fade. To avoid this scenario, I rely on a product like Uma Santal Silk Body Oil. You only need to drop a few millimetres into the palms of your hands and then you tap the oil on the limbs and the core, and massage it in using circular motions. The sandalwood, cedarwood, and cardamom in this product tone, brighten, and clarify skin.

Treat

In addition to an overall cleansing and hydration, use the winter as an opportunity to treat certain body parts. One key area for me is the chest area, which is prone to sagging and scarring, the whole due to the delicate skin which is easily stretched by the weight of breast tissue and prone to marks due to its thinness. I enjoy using the Clarins Bust Beauty Firming Lotion which contain Vu Sua and Bocoa extracts—two ingredients that form an invisible “natural bra” that instantly help restore firmness and tone to the bust area. I apply this lotion nightly, from the underside of the breast up to my chin. My skin is softer, and my cleavage looks smoother, and come spring I will look great and feel more body confident.

Another daily battle that comes with winter are the aches and pain that come with expertly walking over snowbanks and balancing on icy sidewalks as I charge through life refusing to bend the knee to Old Man Winter. The reality is that at the end of the day, my back and hips are sore, and if I leave them untreated, I will start to hobble which negatively affects my posture, which is an essential element of body beauty.

I recommend using a balm such as the Ghlee Muscle Recovery Balm on sore areas to soothe the muscles. Ghlee’s (another great Canadian brand) calling card is its masterful use of ghee, a South Asian staple, and in this ointment ghee is mixed with arnica extract and turmeric extract which soothe muscles. Additionally, the ointment moisturises the skin as it contains olive oil, coconut oil, and shea butter.

Exfoliate

Throughout this blog, I have highlighted products that brighten and exfoliate the skin, because when dead skin cells accumulate atop brown skin, it creates an ashen finish and also blocks pores causing ingrown hairs. One solid scrub down at the start of spring will not undo months of accumulated dead skin cells and such aggression could irritate your skin. I am a proponent of regular, weekly exfoliation sessions, and using gentle products daily to encourage soft sloughing, so that your brownness looks beautiful, not muted.

Exfoliation can be achieved through chemical and manual means. The former means using a product loaded with enzymes, urea, AHAs and BHAs that encourage the turnover of dead skin (see above for product suggestions). The manual method is massaging a cream with granules from neck to ankles to lift away the dead skin cells.

I manually exfoliate twice weekly using a granular scrub, and confirm that I do not have ingrown hairs. Moreover, my lighter coloured scars tend to fade faster, because I remove the dead skin cells and expose the fresh skin underneath. I like the Vitamin C Scrub from Vivier, a Canadian brand, because it combines the granules and vitamin C to leave the skin brighter and smoother. The product also has a gentle element as it is loaded with hyaluronic acid, which is a humectant, so it attracts moisture to the skin making it look plump.

All Brown Bodies Are Beautiful

Looking back at my youth, I am so grateful that I was mouthy and went toe to toe with some aunties, because no one has the right to make you feel uncomfortable about your physical aspect. What I do advocate is that we engage a little TLC on a daily basis during the winter months, so that when spring arrives, we emerge like butterflies from day 1, looking effortlessly elegant in our gleaming, smooth, brown skin.

Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

Author

Meena (@meenalaregina) always loved the idea of exploring the non-conventional idea of beauty. Having grown up as a pimply chubby teenager, she wanted to see the change in the world that best reflected your uniqueness as well. Her well-received collection of blogs where she tries on various beauty p...

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