Most bathroom shelves I see in client homes are crowded with lotions. Half-used bottles of seasonal products. Promotional samples. Specialty creams bought for one purpose and never replaced. The shelf is full and the body is not, somehow, much better cared-for for it.
I have moved, in my own bathroom, to a small shelf of oils and balms. Three or four jars. Each one chosen for a specific use. The shelf is mostly empty now and the body is, by every measure I can think of, better looked-after.
The three I would keep
Sweet almond oil. It is the workhorse. It absorbs reasonably quickly, it suits almost every skin type, and it is inexpensive enough to use generously. I keep a litre bottle under the sink and decant into a smaller dispenser on the shelf. This is what I use after every shower in the warmer months, applied to damp skin with a few minutes of slow attention.
Jojoba oil. Not technically an oil — it is a liquid wax — but in practice it behaves like an oil with extra staying power. I use it on the face, on the lips when they crack, on any patch of skin that needs something that will sit on the surface longer than almond will. A small bottle lasts a long time.
A shea butter balm. Just shea, sometimes whipped with a small amount of oil for spreadability. This is the winter tool. It goes on the elbows, the knees, the heels, the hands. It is greasier than the oils, but the staying power is what you want for skin that is being chapped daily by the cold and the dry indoor air.
What I have stopped buying
Anything with an active ingredient in a body lotion. Anti-cellulite creams. Firming lotions. Lotions promising to brighten the skin. None of these do anything that a daily oil and a good night's sleep do not do better. I am not against the existence of active skincare — there is a place for it in serums for the face — but on the body, plain oil applied consistently does almost everything.
Scented body washes that promise to moisturise. They do not. Soap is soap. Wash the body, rinse, and apply the oil to damp skin afterward. The oil is what moisturises. The wash is just for getting clean.
On the ritual of application
The oil should go on while the skin is still slightly damp from the shower. The film of water on the skin gets sealed in by the oil, and the result is much more hydrating than oil applied to bone-dry skin. Three minutes, working from the feet up, paying small attention to the elbows and knees and the back of the neck.
I have started to think of this as the most important three minutes of the day for the body. It is the only point in twenty-four hours when the entire surface is being attended to. The day after a day when I have skipped it is, slightly, a less good day for the skin.
A small shelf, used daily, beats a crowded one used occasionally. That is the only rule.
