I’ll admit, I’m a tad excited to call it quits on summer. It’s not that I don’t love the warm weather, casual beach weekends, and relaxed atmosphere that the summer months bring—it’s just that I live in New York City, and fall is where the magic happens. I’d happily trade muggy subway rides for crisp autumn strolls and sweaty makeup days for worry-free glam. So when I felt that first chill in the air this past week (ahem, a 70-degree morning amid a sweltering East Coast summer), I wasted no time before initiating my seasonal beauty transition.
Now, I won’t be so bold as to tell you to start stowing all your lightweight, SPF-packed products now—we have several weeks of warm weather left to spare. But as we wean off summer, the one category that Who What Wear beauty editors will tell you to re-evaluate as we enter a new season is your bodycare routine. If you haven’t been extremely diligent about sunscreen (which, let’s be honest, most people aren’t), you’re likely leaving summer with a few new sun spots, possibly some hyperpigmentation, and general dehydration. That is precisely why my editor colleagues and I are initiating our autumnal skin-renewal efforts ahead of time—and below, we are revealing the exact formulas helping us do so.
Keep reading for the bodycare products sloughing, hydrating, and replenishing our skin ahead of cozy season.
11 Post-Summer Bodycare Products to Try Right Now
Body wash is one of the easiest yet most impactful bodycare changes you can make as summer fades into fall. WWW senior beauty editor Jamie Chevron has recently been relying on this active-spiked body wash for her late-summer cleanses not just for its gently exfoliating and deeply hydrating properties, but also for its moody fragrance. “It’s very invigorating and feels fall-coded with its spicy ginger scent,” she remarks, noting the warmth of its peppery, woody, and citrusy sillage. It’s a must-have for fall fragrance enthusiasts.
Cooler temps automatically mean thicker moisturizers (in my beauty brain, at least), and this body cream from Salt & Stone is like soft cashmere for the skin. The hydrating butter blends smoothly into the skin, leaving the skin replenished after a summer full of salty seawater and burning sunshine. It wraps your skin in a warm, woody aroma that inspires images of fiery fall foliage.
Hydration is something we all need a boost in when the weather cools off, and Osea’s body oil is the one I reach for when my skin is feeling extra dry. Packed with moisturizing seaweed and fortifying botanicals, this oil acts as the last step in your hydration routine to seal everything in place. It doesn’t hurt that it smells divine, too.
This drugstore moisturizer is beloved for many reasons: It’s deeply hydrating, extremely cost effective (a little goes a long way), and can be used on both your face and body. I love using this moisturizer when my weather-related skin concerns start to flare—eczema, cracked skin, flaky spots, all that jazz—with just a small amount being enough to quell the patches on my face and the rough spots on my heels. (Gross, I know. Just being real!)
Beauty editor Kaitlyn McLintock is a true Cyklar stan, but the Vanilla Verve Vitamin C Body Oil is her product of choice as we inch closer to fall. “It’s so rich and smells so cozy,” she says of the delectable formula, which restores moisture and radiance to the skin while leaving an amber-y vanilla scent behind. “I love vitamin C-spiked bodycare in general for post-summer sun damage,” she adds. This powerful antioxidant works hard to neutralize free radicals and even out sun spots by preventing skin cell breakdown caused by UV rays—which we’re exposed to lots of in summer.
Keeping with the Cyklar theme is McLintock’s next recommendation: the Vanilla Verve In-Shower Body Oil Balm in that same autumnal scent. She jokes that this is her go-to when she’s “too lazy to moisturize after the shower,” but brings up a good point—that this cushiony formula is ideal for the chronically dry. Whether you’re using this balm-to-oil formula as an all-day moisturizer or relying on it as a first step in a regimented post-shower routine, you can expect a suppler and stronger skin barrier with every use.
I don’t know about you, but my skin usually needs a good sloughing after sweaty summer days and open-toed shoes in the city. I’ve been relying on AKT’s Foaming Body Scrub for these gentle exfoliation sessions, though this scent is on my fall wishlist. Both green and amber-warm, this scent bottles the last whispers of late summer nights—priming my skin for the transition ahead.
Another vitamin C body oil that McLintock is incorporating into her post-summer bodycare regimen. This supercharged antioxidant formula is lightweight and supremely comforting on the skin—absorbing quickly while offering generous moisture, radiance, and elasticity. But most importantly, it works hard to even the skin tone and course-correct sun damage, making it a great option for late-summer bodycare.
You’ve likely already incorporated a retinoid into your skincare routine, but there’s no better time than summer’s end to add bodycare into the mix. After a season spent under the sweltering sun, body retinol serums like this pick from Nécessaire are great for keeping fine lines, wrinkles, and crepiness at bay—things that are, famously, exacerbated by the sun. Just don’t forget to wear your SPF after using!
If you experience keratosis pilaris (KP), or “chicken skin,” meet your new best friend. First Aid Beauty’s KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub is an AHA-packed exfoliant that blasts away tiny bumps and rough patches with its effective combination of physical and chemical exfoliants—sloughing away dead skin cells on the surface while improving the brightness, glow, and feel of the skin. After a summer of chafing, grime, and sweat, your pores will need a good cleanout, and this scrub is here to do the dirty work.
If you prefer your retinol products sandwiched (or with more hydrating properties), meet the Drmtlgy Retinol Body Lotion. I’ve started implementing this nourishing cream into my routine every other night for its sun spot-fading and elasticity-boosting benefits, targeting both dark spots and stretch marks alike. It’s gentle enough for morning and evening use, but I’m taking things slow due to my sensitive, eczema-prone skin. But so far, so good—smooth skin all around.
