Five Fast Steps To A Summer Ready Bod

By BR Amelia

It's coming. I can feel it. The sun has heat in it. The blossoms on the trees are being replaced by green leaves. And daylight saving is here. Summer, come at me. Actually, hold off for a bit, because my bod's not ready. And by 'not ready' I don't mean I haven't been sweating it out at the gym on the daily so I can fit into an itty bitty bikini, because that's never going to happen. The bikini will, but not the sweaty gym stuff. Have a body? Put a bikini on. There goes your bikini body. When I say I'm not ready to bare my body I'm talking about the forest on my legs, the scales on my arms, and the terrible state of my nether regions... aka my toes (heads out of the gutter, people!).

So what's a woman to do to get her bod summer ready if her current situation bothers her? ...(and if you like hairy legs/scales/chipped polish, then more power to you. You do you. I'll do me. Everyone's happy.) I reckon these five easy steps should do the trick... 

Get your defuzz on. Find your preferred method and go to town. After a good four months of being encased in pants with a razor nowhere in sight I find I need to have a few shower sessions with the razor, because one leaves me with random bushy patches. After two sessions there are always a few strays. But three does the silky smooth trick. Of course you may be a fan of the grip it and rip it waxing method. Or depilatory cream. And that works too. Oh, and I know I said to get your head out of the gutter, but actually now's a good time to tend to the euphemistic nether regions... especially if you don't want to look like you're hiding a cat downstairs when you slip into your swimming togs. 

Next? Get your scrub on. Coffee, sugar, salt, loofah, dry brushing. Whatever your favourite method of exfoliation, now's the time to really get into it. Remove the dead skin cells clinging to your bod. Rid yourself of that skin like a shedding snake. 

Soon as you step out of that shower? Moisturise. Then moisturise some more. Infuse that exfoliated skin with skin-plumping goodness. I'm rather fond of Thursday Plantation's Macadamia Oil - it leaves skin silky soft and the oil is easily absorbed into the skin so you're not left wandering round in the nick for an hour waiting for the tacky feeling to disappear. 

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Have your tootsies seen better days? If you're shoving your feet into sandals or jandals then it's always nice to look down and admire your toes - so a pedi, whether in a salon or at home, is a must! Especially if like me you haven't removed the last of the summer polish and you're currently rocking three quarter nude toenails with a splash of hot pink.

Our sun can see a person burn in minutes and New Zealand (along with Australia) has the highest incidence of melanoma in the world - so finally we implore you as part of your summer bod routine to slap on the SPF. We can't bang on about this enough. If you're heading out into the sun always, always, always apply sunblock. And don't forget all those easy to miss spots, like your ears, around. your armpits, the pits of your knees, your feet if you're wearing sandals or jandals. 

And there you have it, my five fast tips to getting a summer ready bod. So do tell... are you already up with the play and ready to hit the beach or pool? Or are you still in hibernation mode? Any other summer ready bod tips we need to know about? You know what they say... sharing is caring!