The Best Shower Oils of 2023, According to Dermatologists
By Lauren Dana Ellman and Jennifer Hussein | Beauty & Health Editor at Allure
The best shower oils always come through when your skin needs a thorough (but still nourishing) cleanse. Like any hydrating skin-care routine you might follow for your face, these moisturizing, oil-based formulas wash sweat, sebum, and daily grime down the drain while providing much-needed conditioning benefits. Unlike denser gels, shower oils are developed with intensive moisturizers like jojoba oil and glycerin, “leaving [skin] feeling nourished and hydrated,” according to Los Angeles-based board-certified dermatologist Divya Shokeen, MD. TL;DR: bring one of these washes into your shower routine for your softest, smoothest skin yet.
Best Shower Oil Overall: L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil
Why it's worth it: Featuring fatty acid-rich sweet almond oil and a pleasant almond scent, the L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil is a long-time Allure editor favorite. Senior beauty editor Paige Stables previously wrote, “By the time I step out of the shower and into my robe, my skin feels like satin.”This Allure staff-beloved shower oil can also be spotted in dermatologists' body care routines. Dr. Shokeen told Allure she loves how the shower oil “transforms into a silky foam, leaving skin soft and supple.”
Key ingredients: sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil | Scent options: almond
Best Brightening: Kopari Beauty Hydrating Vitamin C Shower Oil
Why it's worth it: Kopari Beauty's Hydrating Vitamin C Shower Oil starts as an oil before transforming into a bubbly lather to cleanse, brighten, and hydrate the skin. Key ingredients include hibiscus seed and coconut oil—rich in moisturizing antioxidant vitamin E—along with antioxidant-packed, vitamin C-loaded passionfruit seed oil and moisture-boosting squalane. This combination of skin-brightening antioxidants can help minimize the look of any post-bacne dark spots, scars, and other forms of hyperpigmentation, while glycerin and avocado oil round out the conditioning formula to leave your skin feeling nothing short of smooth and silky post-shower. P.S: According to Kopari, you can also use this silky shower oil as a shaving oil.
Key ingredients: hibiscus seed, coconut oil, passionfruit seed oil, squalane, glycerin, avocado oil | Scent options: Kaanapali Coast scent (coconut milk, vanilla, spice)
Best Exfoliating: Verso Body Oil Cleanser
Why it's worth it: Dry skin needs exfoliation, too (How else are you going to get rid of dry patches and flakes?) and Verso’s Body Oil Cleanser provides pore-unclogging properties without further drying out the skin. As sunflower oil plumps and conditions, salicylic acid sloughs away dead skin and pore-clogging sweat to reveal more radiant, bump-free skin after each wash. To keep exfoliation-induced irritation at bay, this shower oil contains soothing oat kernel oil.
Key ingredients: sunflower oil, salicylic acid, oat kernel oil | Scent options: Earthy Grape (grapefruit, moss, herbs)
Best Solid: Kate McLeod The Pebble Solid Bath & Shower Oil
Why it's worth it: We love lathering up with Kate McLeod's The Pebble Bath & Body Oil so much that it won a 2024 Allure Best of Beauty Award for its skin-conditioning formula. Each kit comes with 20 single-use bath pebbles that coat your skin in a soothing, moisture-replenishing mix of cocoa butter, jojoba oil, and baobab oil. This solid shower oil also contains citric acid, a light chemical exfoliator that sloughs away dead skin. Social director Kassidy Silva says she grabs one little pebble as her second step in her everything shower routine “so I can luxuriate in its lavender scent for the entirety of my shower, which is embarrassingly long." It's also available in energizing eucalyptus and woody hinoki scents.
Key ingredients: cocoa butter, citric acid, jojoba oil, baobab oil | Scent options: Sleep (lavender), Breathe (eucalyptus), Forest (hinoki)
Best Milky: Glossier Body Hero Daily Oil Wash
Why it's worth it: Glossier’s Body Hero Daily Oil Wash feels like a classic body oil upon initial skin contact, but as you rub it in, you’ll notice its formula transform into a velvety, moisturizing milk. Its scent profile, Glossier’s signature Orange Blossom Neroli, is as dreamy as its rich, moisturizing texture (powered by hydrating glycerin and vitamin E).
Key ingredients: glycerin, vitamin E, sunflower seed oil | Scent options: Orange Blossom Neroli
Best Dual-Phase Formula: Kiehl's Creme de Corps Smoothing Oil-to-Foam Body Cleanser
Why it's worth it: Kiehl's Creme de Corps Smoothing Oil-to-Foam Body Cleanser is delightfully sensorial. This dual-phase formula—meaning it consists of an oil and an aqueous phase—feels like a rich, moisturizing oil once it’s applied to skin, but as you lather, it puffs up into little clouds of foam that gently cleanse and condition. This foaming formula, which effuses notes of warm vanilla and decadent almond, gently cleans the skin with a cocktail of nourishing oils, including castor, grapeseed, avocado, coconut, and sunflower seed for a healthy dose of antioxidants, vitamins, and fatty acids. New York-based board-certified dermatologist Brendan Camp, MD credits this shower oil with leaving skin feeling smooth and hydrated.
Key ingredients: castor oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, sunflower seed oil | Scent options: vanilla and almond
Best for Sensitive Skin: Eau Thermale Avène XeraCalm A.D Lipid-Replenishing Cleansing Oil
Why it's worth it: According to Dr. Camp, the Avène XeraCalm A.D Lipid-Replenishing Cleansing Oil is an “excellent choice for atopic dermatitis-prone skin” thanks to its gentle formula, which can be used on the face and scalp as well as the body. This shower oil “helps protect the balance of the skin microbiome and prevent the formation of dry skin with its skin-soothing blend of calming thermal spring water and conditioning ceramides,” he says. This shower oil is also fragrance-free ,making it an excellent pick for sensitive-skinned folks.
Key ingredients: thermal spring water, ceramides | Scent options: fragrance-free
Best for Eczema-Prone Skin: Mustela Stelatopia Eczema-Prone Skin Cleansing Oil
Why it's worth it: If your skin is prone to eczema flare-ups, sensitivity, or general blotches of redness and irritation, try lathering up with the ultra-gentle Mustela Stelatopia Eczema-Prone Skin Cleansing Oil. Formulated to be so gentle that it’s even safe for babies, this fragrance-free formula has a seal of approval from the National Eczema Association for its easygoing mix of sunflower seed oil and avocado perseose (a blend of hydrating sugars derived from the superfruit), which provide intensive moisture and soothe skin.
Key ingredients: avocado perseose, sunflower seed oil | Scent options: fragrance-free
Best Fragrance-Free: La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+ Anti-Irritation Cleansing Oil
Why it's worth it: For those who don’t love extra scent when they suds up, or tend to have reactive skin, Dr. Shokeen refers to La Roche-Posay’s Lipikar AP+Cleansing Oil as a “gentle, nourishing shower oil [that] is free from soap, sulfate[s], and parabens,” making it a great choice for sensitive skin. In addition to glycerin and niacinamide, this foaming shower oil also contains conditioning shea butter to combat dry skin.
Key ingredients: glycerin, niacinamide, shea butter, thermal water, ceramides | Scent options: fragrance-free
Best Face and Body: Bioderma Atoderm Shower Oil
Why it's worth it: Dr. Camp says Bioderma’s Atoderm Shower Oil has a simple, curated formula that’s gentle enough for both children and adults to use on their body and face—for all the parents hoping to cut down on bathroom clutter. The shower oil’s lightweight, non-greasy formula is packed with skin-care staples like moisturizing glycerin and niacinamide to improve skin texture.
Key ingredients: glycerin, niacinamide, coconut esters, sunflower esters | Scent options: floral
Best Scent Options: Sabon Patchouli Lavender Vanilla Shower Oil
Why it's worth it: In case your FYP hasn't informed you yet, vanilla scents are currently dominating everyone's fragrance collections. If you want to smell like freshly baked goods during all hours of the day, we recommend lathering up in Sabon's Patchouli Lavender Vanilla Shower Oil. Its scent profile is a slightly more herbaceous take on the usually sweet note, thanks to the inclusion of patchouli and lavender, but its scent is nevertheless still mouth-watering. Not only does it smell good, but it also leaves skin feeling smooth to the touch with its blend of jojoba, olive, avocado, and wheat germ oils. If gourmands aren't your thing, Sabon's shower oil is available in floral Delicate Jasmine and Green Rose scents.
Key ingredients: jojoba oil, olive oil, avocado oil, wheat germ oil | Scent options: Lavender Vanilla, Delicate Jasmine, Green Rose
Best Luxury: Diptyque Do Son Shower Oil
Why it's worth it: As you can expect from anything Diptyque, the Do Son Shower Oil smells like you're showering amongst a bouquet of roses. But the true star of this conditioning oil is its formula, which turns into a milky emulsion once it contacts water. As you massage it onto your skin, you'll notice its plumping and softening effects, all thanks to apricot seed oil. According to the brand, you can also use this as a fragrant, conditioning bath oil.
Key ingredients: apricot seed oil | Scent options: Do Son (tuberose, orange blossom, jasmine)
Best Budget: Naturium The Glow Getter Multi-Oil Body Wash
Why it's worth it: The beauty of Naturium's The Glow Getter Multi-Oil Body Wash formula is its texture. While many shower oils can feel as heavy as syrup, this particular cleanser has a light, almost gel-like feel that lathers instantly into a foamy lather. Its oil-to-gel-to-foam body wash is powered by two skin-softening ingredients: hydrating glycerin and moisture-sealing squalane. Use it like a hydrating mask for your body; let it sit for a minute or two for more noticeable results.
Key ingredients: glycerin, squalane | Scent options: Vanilla and Gardenia
What does a shower oil do?
Before you even begin browsing the best shower oils, you may be wondering what they are or how they work. Per Dr. Shokeen, shower oils are a "type of cleansing product used in place of traditional soap or shower gel" designed to cleanse the skin without stripping it of its natural oils.,
While shower oils can be used year-round, they are especially great for the colder months. During this time, explains Dr. Shokeen, the "skin is more prone to dehydration," Dr. Camp says that those with particularly dry skin can use shower oil daily; otherwise, "it can be used a few times a week as an alternative to traditional soaps or shower gels." Put simply, he explains, shower oils pull double duty as an occlusive agent and emollient, which means they provide powerful hydration while also filling “cracks in dry or damaged skin, leaving it smooth and soft.”
How do I find the best shower oil for my skin?
When narrowing down the best shower oils, consider your specific skin type. For example, Dr. Shokeen tells Allure that those with acne-prone skin should consider shower oils with jojoba or tea tree oils while steering clear of coconut oil, which is comedogenic (pore-clogging). Similarly, folks with sensitive or dry skin may opt for ones with argan or olive oil. Individuals with eczema-prone skin, on the other hand, may choose a shower oil that contains coconut oil. Also, "the inclusion of other ingredients like niacinamide and hyaluronic acid can help calm and hydrate skin, respectively,” says Dr. Camp.
Finally, Dr. Shokeen advises those with sensitive skin to "avoid shower oils that contain sulfates, parabens, and artificial fragrances, all of which can be harsh on the skin." Ultimately, says the dermatologist, “I always recommend doing patch testing with oils on your skin prior to using them over your body to avoid irritations or allergic reactions.”