An after-shower ritual that is an absolute must for me is moisturizing my entire body, head to toe. Well, for the face, I obviously use facial products, and for the body, body products. The reason is a quarter comfort, a quarter health, and the rest vanity.

No matter how moisturizing my body wash claims to be, I must put on some kind of moisturizer or else I feel incomplete. I am uncomfortable without it – my skin feels tighter, even rubbery feeling. As for the health part, like your face, your body needs moisture too. I am a firm believer that healthy skin is moisturized skin. Not grand scientific reasoning, I know. And the vanity part – who wants dry looking skin? Even if you don’t want anyone to touch your skin, it’s not such a bad thing to have soft, touchable skin. And moisturizing all over now will pay off in the future, when you are that 65 year old still looking great because you’ve moisturized everyday!

Whether it’s body lotion, cream, or oil, I apply it all in the same fashion. After showering (or a bath, if you are so lucky to do this luxury), I lightly towel off just so I’m not soaking wet. I leave my skin damp so that whatever I am applying will glide on much easier and will lock in the moisture from the water on my skin. Plus, I use less product this way, which is always nice. And of course, I moisturize all over.

My favorite body oil is Neutrogena Body Oil, Light Sesame Formula. It’s truly a light oil, smells nice, and you can find it everywhere. I mainly use oil when the weather is warmer, because oil feels lighter than lotions and creams, and my skin can breathe a bit when it’s warm out. As for lotions and creams, they are more humectant and really lock in moisture on your skin when the air is drier when the weather is cooler – especially in the winter. I like Kiehl’s Crème de Corps and Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion. In fact, I discovered the Jergens lotion through Hakim. When we started dating, I remember thinking that he really had beautiful skin (!) for a guy (not saying I don’t think men normally have nice skin, but he really did), and then wondering what he used. After finding out he used the Jergens lotion, I bought some too, and still include it in my rotation of body moisturizers.

Speaking of Hakim, he now uses Vaseline Men Cooling Hydration Body Lotion. I picked it up for him after he told me that his skin felt overheated after taking a shower, especially in the summer months. Isn’t it the worst after you still feel hot after showering? Anyways, the lotion has a faint men’s cologne scent and subtle cooling effect (not this weird menthol feeling), plus absorbs very quickly. And Hakim still has his beautiful skin.