U Beauty's New Resurfacing Body Compound Will Give You Baby-Soft Skin

As the warm weather approaches, we’re all but ready to chuck our puffer coats and clunky boots and swap them out for breezy skirts and our tiniest tank tops. Our skin, though? Not so much. Post-winter skin is notoriously dry, flakey, and lackluster, which is when exfoliating treatments can come in handy to reveal a glowing complexion. If you have your facial exfoliation locked down but need something that will smooth out the skin on your body, U Beauty is dropping its Resurfacing Body Compound ($128) today. Ahead, the brand's founder, Tina Chen Craig, fills us in on the new launch.

The Inspiration

In 2005, Craig founded one of the OG fashion and lifestyle blogs, Bag Snob, which was the place to learn about all things luxury. Although the blog’s name may suggest that Craig only ever wrote about the difference between a Birkin and a Kelly, the site also went deep on beauty, which led Craig to eventually launch her own skincare brand, U Beauty, in 2019.

U Beauty launched with a single product, the Resurfacing Compound, a state-of-the-art exfoliator that the brand says replaces up to eight products in your routine to brighten, improve texture, and reveal clear and smooth skin without irritation. The Resurfacing Compound contains a patent-pending Siren Capsule Technology to help deliver active ingredients exactly where you need them—and not where you don't—and U Beauty created the Resurfacing Body Compound with the same technology for a glowing complexion from head to toe.

"We came out with the Resurfacing Compound in November 2019," Craig tells Byrdie. "It was our first-ever launch and it changed everything for me. After seeing the incredible results on my face—among them, instant tightness, gentle exfoliation, and the glowiest, most glass-like skin—I started applying it all over my body in hopes of achieving the same smooth, resurfaced, silky glass skin everywhere."

Craig adds that although she was enjoying the results of using the exfoliator all over, she knew it could be improved to be specifically for body skin, including a stronger formula and better slip for full-body application. "The body also has thicker, tougher skin with its own challenges, so I wanted to make sure the Resurfacing Body Compound addresses textural issues specific to the body, like keratosis pilaris (KP) and the strawberry-like bumps that occur after shaving or waxing," she says.

The Formula

"Just because it’s for the body, I didn’t want to compromise on novel formulation, super-strategic ingredients, and most importantly, our double patent-pending Siren Capsule Technology," says Craig. "This is our most expensive product to date, and it’s worth it: the Resurfacing Body Compound provides the same results on the body you see on the face, while penetrating the deeper layers of the skin."

Before understanding how this product works, it’s important to understand desquamation, which occurs during the skin’s renewal process. Desquamation happens in the stratum corneum (AKA, the outermost layer of the skin) and is the time when dead skin cells naturally flake off, and are replaced by newer skin cells. For someone with peak skin regeneration, this process happens about every 28 days—however, as the skin ages, this renewal process slows down, which means that dead skin cells are left on the skin for longer, creating a dull and dry complexion that’s prone to breakouts and developing lines.

Think of the Resurfacing Body Compound as a (kind-hearted) personal trainer: it kicks skin back into high gear to reveal a smoother, clearer complexion. "It’s truly a groundbreaking exfoliating treatment that provides transformative results, without the risk of irritation," says Craig. "It doesn’t just transform the way our skin looks but how it feels: smoother, polished, and baby-soft with a radiant glow. By the next morning, you’ll notice a significant difference."

This formula contains a whopping nine active ingredients that all work in tandem for clearer skin. First up is a blend of AHAs like mandelic, glycolic, and lactic acids, to renew the skin and decongest clogged pores. Next is a biomimetic peeling peptide to reactivate the skin’s desquamation process, and flower acid to minimize roughness and hydrate the skin.

Papain is also present, which is an enzyme that eradicates dead skin cells while conditioning the surface, while phytic acid helps minimizing keratosis pilaris (AKA, chicken skin). Salinicoccus lysate filtrate is a ferment that also reduces keratosis pilaris as well as redness, and finally, another ferment and peptide complex helps cells communicate with each other during the renewal process, and even diminishes the appearance of stretch marks.

If that’s not all, the Resurfacing Body Compound also helps to minimize post-shaving sensitivity and ingrown hairs. "I’m especially proud that we are able to offer the same luxurious U Beauty experience, and undeniable results that come with it, for the body from head to toe as we were for the face," Craig tells us. "We never compromise on safety, efficacy, quality, innovation, and our commitment to creating hero products that are purposeful—and otherwise unavailable."

"I’ve never experienced body-skin resurfacing like this before," she finishes. "It’s like going back in time 20 years, and I can’t wait for others to see (and feel) it for themselves."

Shop the Resurfacing Body Compound for $128 on ubeauty.com or violetgrey.com.