It is undoubtedly a blessing that humans do not have a third arm jutting out of the nape of our necks. For one thing, what would happen to shirts? And how would we ever find a comfortable sleeping position?

However, like impacted wisdom teeth and abysmal night vision, the fact that we don’t have that third arm leaves the human body with a major design flaw. We can’t reach our own back—and backs are important! We have to feebly ask other people, sometimes even strangers, to rub whatever potent gloop we’re trying to get on our back on our back, which feels unnecessarily intimate and frustratingly codependent. Or, we have to get crafty and, say, straighten out a wire hanger, slide a self tanning mitt onto the hooked end, reach it up and over our backs, and shimmy up and down until the job feels done.

But while you were struggling to yank up the back zipper of a dress, a whole product category sprung up to solve this exact problem. They’re body skincare mists, and they’re fantastic. It's the same idea as sunscreen sprays, which (you’re likely familiar) propel an ultra-fine mist powerfully enough that a second human applicator is rendered obsolete. The first body skincare mists basically slapped shiny new spray tops on salicylic acid toners and were packaged to live on your bottom shelf, like Murad's. But then they got a little spiffier: Paula’s Choice, Versed, Pacifica, Megababe—the salicylic acid dissolves pore cloggages and soothes redness, and the mist works. Very cool!

Launched yesterday, Topicals’ new body mists answer the follow up question, “And then what?” Because usually, if you’re breaking out, you’ll be dealing with red and brown spots next. The original Faded and Like Butter are creamy masks the consistency of mayo that squirt out of metal tubes. Faded deals with hyperpigmentation, while Like Butter is marketed towards folks with super sensitive skin and eczema. The corresponding mists riff on fading and soothing, keeping the key ingredients but tweaking the extras so the formula, well, mists. You'll find fewer butters and oils and more hardworking plant extracts in both updated formulas.

There’s really nothing else like these mists on the market yet, though surely that won’t always be true. Imagine: a full mist body care routine! Finally, your in-the-wings back attendant can go home.

Photo via ITG