We’re still wary of AHAs for the face – no matter what we’re told about them being ‘buffered’, or ‘gentle’, or 'lighter'. Certainly, we avoid them in leave-on products, having been burned (um, literally) by early-generation AHA face products.

But bodies? Bodies are different. Tougher. And that’s definitely true right now, having been hidden under heavy winter clothing for way, way, way too long. (Did we say it was way too long?)

This is a brilliant pre-summer treatment that we’ve started using right now, to set skin back on the path to bareability. And this is where AHAs can come into their own: lightly exfoliating with lactic acid and hydrating Xylotol, it improves skin tone while softening, smoothing and leaving skin both velvety and glowier. Use it day by day, and the effects are cumulative (and there’s no ‘body dandruff’, we promise). There’s a probiotic extract in there to help reinforce the skin’s barrier, too.

Now, REN Clean Skincare AHA Smart Renewal Body Serum clearly calls itself a serum on the sunny orange flip-top tube – but actually, we’d say it’s more like a light cream-gel. It’s lightly citrus-scented – we get a bit of mandarin and grapefruit. (Actually, the weird thing is that if you blindfolded us and told us to try this for the first time, we’d SWEAR it was by Origins. It’s got an Origins-y aroma – which is just fine by us, because we love how that range smells!)

We most definitely aren’t ready to peel off our kit anytime soon, thanks. But when the time comes, thanks to this, we will be.

£35 for 200ml – buy here

Prize Draws