Your skincare routine is a lie (if it stops at your neck)

Let’s rewind to last night. You came home, lit a candle, double-cleansed with an oil that smells like wealth, patted in your essence, applied a carefully curated cocktail of active serums, waited exactly four minutes, then sealed it in with a ceramide-rich moisturiser. Your face? Pampered. Your pores? Purged.

Then you walked into the shower, grabbed a bottle of body wash from three months ago, and lathered it on like dish soap. Sound familiar? It’s the great beauty paradox: we’ve read ingredient lists like romance novels. We know our serums in and out. We’re emotionally attached to our toners. But when it comes to anything below the neck? Forgotten. Or worse—scrubbed violently with a loofah and called “exfoliation”.

From bagging a therapist and adding magnesium to our nightly rituals, to obsessing over circadian rhythms, we’ve romanticised self-care to death. But when was the last time you took a long, hard look at the skin on your shoulders? Your back? Your thighs? If your answer is “I don’t remember”, we’ve got news: your skincare routine is a scam. While your face is living its best, most clinically exfoliated life, the rest of your body is being treated…well, it isn’t. And it’s time to call it out.

Welcome to the 90 per cent club

Here’s a wild stat: your face is just 10 per cent of your skin surface. And yet, it gets 100 per cent of your skincare energy. The other 90 per cent? An afterthought. Which is ridiculous when you think about it, because that 90 per cent deals with way more drama: friction, clothing, sweat, monsoon humidity, forgotten sunscreen, and all those post-workout showers you promised to take but didn’t.

And the worst part? It shows. Bumps on your arms. Bacne in July. Uneven tone that refuses to leave. Dry patches that mysteriously regenerate overnight like a skincare horror story. The solution? It doesn’t require a dermatologist on speed dial or a 90-minute body peel. It just needs…a better body wash. One with actives. One with intent. One that doesn’t think your body deserves any less than your face.

Which brings us to Dove’s new serum body wash collection—three power-packed formulas featuring the same ingredients you’ve been trusting for your face, now made for the rest of you. Powered by their patented pro-ceramide technology, this new range brings skincare-level science right to your top shelf. Think AHAs to salicylic acid to Vitamin C, in an everyday format. And if you’ve ever wondered what “real self-care” looks like, it probably starts here: in your shower, covering all 90 per cent of your skin, not just the 10 per cent you show to the world.

Let’s break the cycle of facial favouritism, one beautifully packaged and expertly thought bottle of body wash at a time.

The back(ne) burner

Backne. The unsung villain of humid days and sticky fabrics. You know it well: those sneaky little flare-ups that show up mid-monsoon and refuse to leave until January. And yet you keep pretending your back doesn’t need active skincare. “Out of sight, out of mind”, right? Wrong. Especially when it’s dealing with sweat, clogged pores, and zero targeted care.

Dove’s Acne Clear serum body wash, powered by 1 per cent salicylic acid formula, is your back’s new best friend. It cuts through oil and deep cleans your pores without drying you out. And the refreshing blend of garden mint, lemon basil, and golden amber makes it a wake-up call in a bottle. Basically, it treats your body acne with the same seriousness with which you treat your chin zits.

The key to soft-launching your glow

Your face? Radiant, bright, even-toned. Your body? Asleep at the wheel. And the saddest part? You’ve been conditioned to think it’s normal. That you need to book a body polish or slather on shimmer lotion for a temporary glow. Meet the Glow Recharge serum body wash, a silky gel-to-foam formula infused with 3 per cent brightening serum with Vitamin C and exfoliating silica that gently buffs away dullness. It’s like a facial but for your shoulders, collarbone, thighs, arms, and all those places you forget about until they’re in full view. The fragrance? Blood orange, yuzu, and wild raspberry. The vibe? Fruity, energising, and too good to gatekeep.

Treat the texture

You’ve been calling it “strawberry skin”. Or “just rough arms”. Or “my body’s always been like that”. But here’s the thing: rough, bumpy, flaky skin isn’t your identity. It’s just neglected texture that needs the same love (read: exfoliants and fatty acids) you already give your face. And no, aggressively scrubbing with a loofah isn’t helping.

The solution? The Exfoliate Away serum body wash is your gentle but effective fix. It contains 4 per cent refining serum and AHA to exfoliate and smooth without stripping your skin. Dove’s signature pro-ceramide technology helps support the skin barrier, while fatty acids like stearic and palmitic acid moisturise as you cleanse. What’s more? Its warm, woody mix of mandarin and bergamot turns your shower into a moody, meditative escape.

When all is said and done, the Dove serum body wash collection doesn’t ask you to overhaul your routine. It simply upgrades what you’re already doing. You shower anyway, so why not make it skincare with substance? So, goodbye, basic shower gels. You’re in your active-ingredient era now—and your skin below the neck is ready for it.