Q. I’m getting married soon and have chosen a beautiful strapless and backless dress – the wedding is in a hot country…. I tend to suffer from dry skin and would be grateful if you could recommend a routine and products so that my back is smooth and glowing on my big day. 

A. First of all, many congratulations. We both had the most wonderful wedding days and wish you happiness on the day and ever after.

If the problem is dry skin rather than any blemishes, we suggest starting by exfoliating your back with a lovely body scrub, which will slough off the dry skin - well, get someone to do it for you - and moisturise it after.

In terms of products, you could try Temple Spa Sugar Buff, which won a Beauty Bible Award/£23 for a big pot. (Actually, you get it for free with their new Dare to Bare collection, which you might like. Find it here.

Leading skincare expert Abigail James, author of Love Your Skin, also recommends looking at scrubs from brands including REN, Neom and Rituals, also Elemis, which offers a Sea Lavender & Samphire Scrub and matching Body Cream/£38 and £28 respectively. 

Just one caution here from Abigail: be careful about using too much rich moisturiser to avoid increasing the risk of spots.

Another simple shift Abigail suggests for dry skin is to reduce the heat of baths and showers and opt for a targeted dry skin shower gel. For particularly dry skin she recommends Aveeno Dermexa Daily Emollient Body Wash/£9.99 for 300ml, which is formulated with soothing colloidal oatmeal. They offer a matching Aveeno Emollient Cream Moisturiser/£10.50 for 200ml.

You could also apply a mask weekly but you really will need someone to help with this. You’ll need a lot to cover your back so probably best not to use your most expensive face mask – or a sheet mask for obvious reasons. Something like Avène Soothing Moisture Mask, £11.50 for 50ml, would do nicely. We’re also fans of natural Aussie brand Sukin; shop their range of masques here.

Finally, if your budget permits, we’d be tempted to find a local beauty salon that can kickstart the process with a targeted treatment, usually listed as ‘back facial’ or ‘body scrub treatment’.

Find a guide to what to expect and salons near you, which offer this treatment: treatwell.co.uk/treatment/back-facials/

Abigail also adds that ‘LED within a back facial is great for helping cell renewal and promoting collagen production’, which will make your back look super-supple.

STOP PRESS!!! We’ve just got our mitts (well, fingertips…) into Pro Body Glow, a 100 per cent natural natural skin balm to gloss up your skin for special days - just like your wedding day! Pro Body Glow was developed by our friend Armand Beasley, super-talented make up artist and natural cosmetic devotee in tandem with ethical beauty brand BuzzBalmBeauty. The organic and natural ingredients in the honey-gold tin include bee pollen, olive oil and frankincense. You only need a tiny bit for a delicious subtle shine that, as Armand says, would look really gorgeous to define the contours of your back and leave a sheen on your bare shoulders and arms.

Order Pro Body Glow online at probodyglow.co.uk or call 0800 093 5003, £24.99 per 85g tin - which will last you through the party season.

Photo by Tom The Photographer on Unsplash

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