Squeeze Self Care Into a Tight Schedule With In-Shower Moisturizers
I am busy and stressed out. The first thing I abandon when I feel like I need dramatically LESS on my plate? Self-care. I will stop cooking, I will avoid washing my hair, I will not do the things I know will help me feel more human, because I just don’t think it’s worthwhile. I could be using that time to panic! I’m now actively trying to take better care of myself, and do things solely because they will be nice for me, but I still struggle with the TIME it takes to keep this body and brain feeling good. This is all to say, i’ve been experimenting with in-shower moisturizers.
I was vaguely aware of so-called wet skin lotions, but I didn’t really get it. I imagined washing your body twice, which does not seem like the time saver it’s advertised as. I did a little research (a great opportunity to stop my doomscrolling and stress Googling), and the world of wet skin moisturizers is vast. Okay, not vast, but it’s bigger than I imagined. There are basically two types of in-shower lotions: Wash off and… well I guess keep on. I ended up trying one wash off (accidentally, more on that in a minute) and two keep on (there HAS to be a better phrase. I guess non-wash-off? Clunky!) And now for my review and ranking:
Nivea Nourishing In-Shower Body Lotion is the first wet skin moisturizer I tried. I picked up another one on the shelf at Target, read that you have to wash it off after application, put it back, and grabbed this bottle of Nivea without looking at the directions. You have to wash this one off too! They didn’t have non-wash-off version in my Target anyway, so I ordered two more (after triple checking you didn’t wash them off) and used Nivea Nourishing In-Shower Body Lotion until they arrived.
Pros:
You don’t have to think about how much you apply, because you’re just going to wash it off
It smells good
Because you have to wash this lotion off, you may be chilly while you apply, but you get to be back under the hot shower stream again before getting out
It’s available at my local Target (this pro only really applies to ME, but access is important!)
Cons:
You either need to turn off your water flow (one of these comes in very handy) while you apply the lotion, or move the spray of the shower away from your body. Are you going to be cold AND waste water? Or just be cold? Both bad choices, TBH
When you wash off the lotion, your shower floor can become very slippery, so you might also need to spray down the floor, or at least be careful
The bottle design is terrible. As you apply more lotion, the bottle gets slipperier and slipperier. Plus, you can’t keep the lid open and set the bottle down upright. You end up wasting product
FInal verdict: I wouldn’t’ repurchase, but it’s fine.
Jergens Wet Skin Shea Oil Body Lotion is very similar to the Nivea in terms of packaging, but this one you don’t have to wash off. With the non-wash-off lotions, you apply when the water is turned off, but you haven’t toweled off yet. I apply standing in my shower, but depending on your setup this may or may not work for you.
Pros:
No rinsing off
Smells lovely
The scent and moisture seems to last longer than Nivea, but I may just be thrown by the washing off vs keeping on aspects
Cons:
Bottle design is terrible. Same issues as with Nivea, although the Jergens bottle does not get as slippery throughout application
Scent is strong(ish), so if you’re sensitive, this may not be the one for you
Have to order online (at least I do), which requires forethought I am not always capable of
Hard to apply the right amount, have to eyeball and hope for the best
Final Verdict: Easier than having to wash off lotion after application, but the bottle sucks and is an absolute pain to use. Probably won’t repurchase, but only because I found something better…
Curel Hydra Therapy Wet Skin Moisturizer, to put it in Three Bears terms, just right.
Pros:
Unscented, so it won’t fight with any other scents you may have in your routine. (If you are super sensitive to scent, this does have a faint scent, but no added fragrance)
The PUMP! Super easy to apply, bottle won’t get greasy and slippery, and you can easily control how much product you use
Product is almost gel-like, so it absorbs super fast and moisturizes without leaving that lotion-film all over your skin
Cons:
Not sold in stores, at least near me, so I have to (gasp) plan ahead
It’s not glamorous. No scent, doesn’t feel rich like a body butter, a no-nonsense product, but sometimes you want nonsense.
You have to stand in the shower, still dripping, while you apply, and that can get chilly
Final Verdict: This one is my favorite, and I will be keeping it stocked at all times. The pump, the gel-like almost immediate absorption, the clinical Asian beauty aesthetic that always gets me. I love it
Some final thoughts! I haven’t tried any of these in the winter, or even in cool temps, so I don’t know how the whole stand in the shower dripping wet while applying lotion thing will go once it’s chilly. I also don’t use these as my only body moisturizers - I still apply extra, non-shower lotion to my hands and feet and elbows and anywhere else super dry, but this is a great solution for whole body moisturization. I was also worried about the lotion making my bath towel weird - like if I was toweling off excess moisturizer, then would my towel be all lotiony and unable to fulfill its towel duties after my next shower? But it’s been fine. I switch out my bath towel approximately twice a week, more if needed, and it’s never felt weird or residue-y. Overall, this has been a great way to make sure that I’m taking care of my bod without also feeling like I’m wasting time on myself. (Someday I will overcome this current stress and get back to thinking there is no such thing as “wasting time on myself,” but until then, I have in-shower moisturizers.)
