As someone born and raised in the Caribbean, it’s comical how much I despise hot weather. Everything about me changes when I have to trudge through a humid summer day: my mood, sanity, and patience, for starters. My beauty routines also tend to undergo a switch-up.
Just like how I change the products in my makeup routine to combat sweltering temperatures, my body care regimen also gets completely upended. From my pre-shower rituals to the items that I use in the shower, my aim is for my body to feel invigorated and refreshed, without having to sacrifice soft, moisturized skin.
It's a big task, particularly because I'm someone who doesn't like the feeling of things sticking to my body. So those heavy lotions I used a few months ago? Gone. The four-step post-shower routine, inclusive of body serums and topical exfoliants? You guessed it—it's just one step now.
Still, as a beauty writer, I get to try products that work for me, not the other way around, and I've found quite a few that are helping me survive what feels like a never-ending heat wave in New York City. From the sauna blanket that kickstarts my routine (sounds counterintuitive, but trust me on this), to the one item that I never thought I would admit to loving out loud, keep reading for the products that have made my summer body care feel more like a luxurious experience and less like a chore.
It Starts Before the Shower
I’ve been attempting to get my body to sweat more, as it's vital to regulate body temperature, and it also (shockingly) provides hydration benefits to the skin. After a good sweat session, I pre-exfoliate (more on this to come).
I’ve been obsessed with my sauna blanket to help encourage my body to sweat a little more, and it’s one of the most relaxing wellness practices I’ve incorporated into my routine. I always leave that blanket feeling clearheaded, invigorated, and very sweaty.
After I’m done with the blanket, I dab off any excess sweat and immediately go to town with a dry brush all over my body. I’ve noticed that it makes my skin feel even softer and, honestly, just feels incredible. The type of dry brush I use also matters, as I like one that isn’t too abrasive on my skin. I adore this one from Keys Soulcare and have been using it for years.
Rinse It Off
Writing this, I realize that this may be an excessive amount of exfoliation. That said, I don’t do this full routine every single day, and if my skin feels super sensitive, I swap my products as needed (and you should, too).
I use an African mesh exfoliator daily, and this one from Luv Scrub is my absolute favorite. Again, it’s not extremely abrasive, but it gets all the nooks and crannies feeling squeaky clean.
I have a plethora of body washes that I love (like the ones from Cyklar), so it has to be a great scent to get me to switch it up. In warmer weather, I want to smell fresh but still unique, and that starts with my Nécessaire body wash in Santal. As you can likely expect from the name, it smells woody and fresh with notes of sandalwood, black pepper, iris, and suede. Plus, it has ingredients like epsom salt and magnesium to help replenish and enhance the skin’s barrier function.
Oil Me Up, Scotty
Post-shower, I’ve become a stickler for making sure my skin is moisturized, but I want to do so in one step. This is where my favorite body oils come into play.
I recently saw a TikTok where someone mentioned that they apply their body oils on still-wet skin post-shower. As many may know, oil and water don’t mix, so I went through quite a few formulas before I found one that actually sunk into my skin and didn’t just separate and sit on top of it. This gem from Augustinus Bader does the job. Aptly named The Body Oil, this formula is quickly absorbing and has ingredients like squalane and vitamin E for long-lasting moisture, and once it sinks in, there is zero leftover residue.
Whenever I don’t do the still-wet skin hack, I use this oil from Natura Bissé before I get dressed. It’s one of those formulas that doesn’t mix well with a ton of water, but I must say—it doesn’t need it. A combination of ingredients like grape, chia, and sunflower oils results in skin that is not only glowy but also ridiculously soft. I’m talking running around the house and forcing people to touch my legs, soft. This is a sensory experience I recommend everyone partake in because I have truly never fallen in love with an oil this quickly before. Plus, all the scents in the line smell like something out of a spa (my favorite is the Energizing option).
My Shiny Teeth and Me
I’m brave enough to admit on the internet that I wasn’t the best flosser in the past. Turns out, the type of floss that I was using had everything to do with getting me to look forward to this part of my routine.
I randomly discovered this floss brand in a Walmart while on a trip to the Outer Banks, and I have not stopped using it. I hate the feeling of regular floss wrapping around my fingers, but this little device has a string that’s connected to two finger grips. This means that I can get in between every tooth without having to re-wrap the floss around my fingers a million times. It’s honestly been a game-changer.
In that same vein, I’ve also been trying to get better at flossing in the mornings, as I’m usually trying to rush out the door. To help with that, I've started to keep my Waterpik flosser right on my counter and just fill it up with some water and mouthwash before going to town. It feels like a form of oral habit stacking. If that’s not already a thing, you heard it here first.
Fragrance Is a Non-Negotiable
It doesn’t matter what I’m doing or where I’m going, I will have on a fragrance. It’s become a non-negotiable part of my body care routine that puts me in the right headspace before bed.
Something about Victoria's Secret's Bare Sueded Vanilla perfume just screams comfort. It’s likely because it's a combination of some of my favorite fragrance notes of all time (saffron, sandalwood, and vanilla milk), but even the bottle looks like something my mom would’ve had in her perfume basket growing up. It’s sweet, nostalgic, and smells divine—perfect for getting me into a cozy headspace before I drift off to sleep.
When I want something a little lighter, I reach for Josie Maran’s Vanilla Vibezzz body mist. It’s not an overwhelmingly gourmand scent profile, but the combination of juniper berries and vanilla bean somehow comes across as creamy, yet a little citrus-like on my skin, and I can’t get enough of it.
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