Why Most People Are Using the Wrong Thing on Their Skin — And What to Switch To

Most people use body lotion because it's what their parents used. That's the whole reason. Lotion was the default in Western households for fifty years, and defaults are hard to question.

Body oil is better for most people's skin. Here's why — and how to know if it's better for yours.

How lotion works

Body lotion is an emulsion — water and oil combined with emulsifying agents into something spreadable. The water content is what makes it feel immediately cool and "refreshing" when you apply it.

The problem: most of the "moisture" you feel right after applying lotion is the water evaporating off your skin. The actual moisturising ingredients are there, but they're diluted, wrapped in emulsifiers that need to be broken down before they reach your skin barrier. You're doing more work to get less result.

How body oil works

Body oil skips the water. Skips the emulsifiers. You're applying the active ingredients — the lipids, the fatty acids, the vitamins — directly to your skin, where they absorb without intermediaries.

Applied correctly (to damp skin, right after the shower, before you pat dry), a good body oil absorbs in under three minutes. No greasy residue. The myth of oily body oil is almost entirely an application technique problem, not a product problem.

When to use which

Use body oil if: your skin is dry, you want deep moisturisation, you prefer fewer ingredients, or you want a product that absorbs quickly.

Use lotion if: you prefer the texture, you're applying to very limited areas and don't need full-body coverage, or you have specific active ingredients (retinol, AHA, etc.) that are best delivered in a water-based emulsion.

Use both if: you want the immediate feel of lotion and the lasting moisture of oil — apply oil first, let it absorb, then lotion over the top for extra hydration.

Our body oil is formulated to absorb within 90 seconds on damp skin. Start there and see what you think.