This shower-themed post is sponsored by my pals at Brooklinen! Their big Fourth of July sale is now officially live, so if you’re in the market for new towels, robes (or sheets of course)… get involved.
Some people love showering. I don’t.
In fact, if I’m being 100% honest, I used to hate it. De-robing always struck me as a whole to-do, and I was rarely ever in the mood to be, how shall I say, wet. And then add on the post-game moisturization obligations? No thank you.
Aside from these physical deterrents, I had a couple of mental gripes to add to my showering shit list, too. I’ve noted in previous posts that I have a strange, borderline unhealthy relationship to the word productivity, and showering was admittedly a trigger. To think: I could get so much more done in a day if I didn’t have to deal with washing — and subsequently grooming — my body and hair. I know, toxic. But if I was to really therapize myself, as I’m wont to do (albeit usually in private), we’d be able to unearth some deep-rooted anger towards the patriarchy and the fact that men don’t spend nearly the same quantity of money, effort, time, and most presciently, brain space, considering the plethora of self-care components baked into their psyches, a slow drip of societal programming and targeted ads *exhales deeply*. That was cathartic.
I could spiral more about the inequality in self-care expectations among genders, or the energetic exertion required for the modern beauty regimen, but I’m trying to incorporate some more Buddhist principles in my life and therefore I will detach. Plus, I’m aware of how incredibly privileged I am to bathe myself in clean water and potentially overpriced soaps. Just putting that out there.
This isn’t a hit piece, after all.
Like I said, I used to hate showering. Key word: used. After a quick internal temperature check, I can now say that I feel neutral-to-positive about the activity now. How did I come to like showering? you might be wondering. Even if you’re not, I’m obviously about to tell you. There are a few factors that make showering less of a chore and more of — brace yourself — an act of self-care.
High quality products
I don’t mean to suggest you should be spending an arm and a leg on what are basic utilities. However, if you can shell out a bit more for the fancy stuff, it makes showering a hell of a lot more fun. Give yourself the spa-like bathroom experience you deserve.
Audio entertainment
There’s something to be said about using the shower as mental processing time. It’s a rare moment in our days of forced separation from our devices, when the thoughts suppressed by the constant barrage of stimuli come to the surface. It’s also an opportunity to feel joy through escaping from reality, courtesy of good music or an interesting podcast. I used to force myself to do the former, thinking I’d become more enlightened, or whatever, but these days I allow myself the pleasure of the latter.
A pretty (enough) bathroom
Let me be very clear, I live in a rental apartment in New York City. It’s not actually pretty. But because I live alone and have autonomy (with limits) over my space, I’ve done what I can with the place, primarily through accessorization. Here is where I bring it back to Brooklinen (you knew it was coming!) and their very plush towels, robes, and — highly underrated — bath mats.
Reframing
If I can be a little millennial cringe for a second, I’d like to credit reframing as the single most impactful tool in my mental toolkit. That’s a rather dramatic thing to say as it pertains to the topic at hand, but by shifting my view of showering as something I have to do and woe is me as a low-to-mid maintenance woman and blah blah (valid), I try to remember it’s something I get to do and use it as an opportunity to show myself love and care. It sucks that it’s true.
What’s more, like all of my favorite parts of wellness, the shower is another arena with which to showcase personal style and expression. Perhaps not as much as a fridge or a nightstand, but I do think our bathing setups say a lot about our taste, our personality, or at the very least, the type of week we’re having.
For me, the shower is not only my self-care zone, but also a place of experimentation. It’s where I can try out new products and smell new smells and, per usual, be a little bit of a human guinea pig in a highly controlled setting. Within it, you’ll find a mix of products and practices that have stuck with me for years, as well as newer characters auditioning for a recurring role.
And with that, behold the items in my pre-, post- and intra-bathing routine. In other words: the anatomy of my shower.
Dry Brush
Dry brushing solidified its place in my body care routine years ago due to its multi-faceted benefits. It gives me a slight boost of energy, it helps slough off (ew) dead skin cells, and it encourages the flow of lymph (fluid) throughout our bodies which is important for circulation and detoxification. The best one I’ve tried is from Tronque — it’s firm enough to do its job, but soft enough to be gentle on the skin.
Exfoliation
As someone with rather sensitive skin, I err on the side of caution in the exfoliation department, often forgoing it altogether. So you’ll be as shocked as I am to find that using something called a “Resurfacing Instant Peel” is now a thrice-weekly mandate.
Helen, the founder of Lilis, created this product to help her mother, born with a rare dry skin condition, feel luxurious during her cancer treatments, by relying on Korean spa culture and new innovation. This product is genuinely mind-blowing. As the shower water heats up, I rub this into my skin as if it were a lotion, and I can feel the dry skin instantly flake off. It’s equal parts gross and satisfying, and the rough patches on my chest were gone in a week. I love this stuff.
Speaker
The water bottle is my emotional support object for outside of the home. But when I open the door to my apartment, the speaker taps in. I carry this speaker around with me like it’s my baby, and the shower is no exception. Usually it’s playing whatever podcast I had queued up (most recently, this Benito Skinner + Owen Thiele crossover because I binged both Overcompensating and Adults way too quickly), but sometimes I have to get Sabrina Carpenter in there. Short n’ Sweet may just be the best shower album of all time, and I’m prepared to fight about it.
Shower Filter
I’m going to be real, I have no idea if this Jolie does anything. I like the way it looks aesthetically though, and that’s enough for me to keep it installed and replace the filters at random when I remember.
Body Wash
Obviously. I love everything Nécessaire makes, but this has to be my favorite product in their lineup. Soft Services’s Comfort Cleanse is another unscented favorite, and if I’m feeling like taking a gamble on fragrances, I love Salt + Stone’s Neroli + Basil and Bergamot + Hinoki.
Buffing Bar + Soap Home
Sometimes I get self conscious that I sound like an ambassador for this brand but I promise I’m not being paid and it really is just that good. Aside from providing a solution to my keratosis pilaris and an aesthetically pleasing ceramic object to my shower respectively, this duo makes for an excellent gift.
Razor
I don’t feel partial to a razor so I don’t have much to say here other than the fact that I use one. Carry on.
Shampoo + Conditioner
I feel pretty loyal to Roz’s Foundation Shampoo and Conditioner, which is slightly unfortunate because of its price point. I do believe it’s worth it though. That said, I’m currently experimenting with this new one from Sans[ceuticals], so we’ll see how that pans out. So far so good.
Body Serum
This is by no means mandatory, but if I have one on hand, I’m going to use it. I’m admittedly a retinol novice, although I like the feeling of both Nécessaire’s and Software Update from Soft Services (I’m a case study in brand loyalty as you can see).
Lotion
Similar to body wash, I have a few favorites in this category that I tend to rotate between. These include: Soft Services Carea Cream, Nécessaire’s Body Lotion, and EvolveTogether’s Monaco Cream. If I forget to open a new one, which I did a couple weeks ago, the SIDIA hand cream is being used all over. The only body oil I can really get behind is the Undaria Algae one from OSEA.
Honorable Mentions in the Showering Department
They may not have dedicated shower real estate, but these items still have a place in my bathing routine.
Good Bath Linens
One last time for Brooklinen! Given this is the second sponsored post we’ve done together, I think it’s clear that I’m a genuine devotee to their products. Like your sheets, it’s important to make sure the materials that touch your body are free from suspicious chemicals (don’t take that in a MAHA way). BTW, when they say their bath towels and robes are super plush, they mean super. plush. The whole site is 20% off right now, so…
Hair Towel
I didn’t want to believe that a specific towel would improve my hair’s air drying abilities, and yet, here I am, telling you it does. The Crown Affair Air Dry Towel is their best product, in both my and my mom’s opinions.
Hair Brush
When I use my La Bonne Brosse brush, I feel like an American Girl Doll. I probably get it wet more often than I should, but I think we have bigger problems on our hands.
Leave-in Hair Treatment
I use leave-in conditioner a few times a week, mostly as a function of pure laziness since it allows me to forgo rinsing yet another thing out of my hair. The K18 mask completely revived my hair after a bad bleach job a few years ago, although these days I lean heavily on Crown Affair’s Leave-in and Roz’s Hair Milk.
Face Mask
Another holy grail product that I try to do pre-shower a couple times a week. The Activist Manuka Honey mask is so soothing, it smells like honey (yum), and I’m convinced it makes my complexion brighter. On days when I remember, I’ll slather this on my face about 20-30 minutes before I shower and make myself a juice (I love sounding like a meme) so I can rinse it off along with my body in one fell swoop.
Candle
Ok I did this once. But in an ideal world, I’d light a candle during my showers all the time. I’m mourning the loss of my DS+Durga Portable Christmas Tree at the moment, but I can’t be sad for too long since Diptyque’s Baies is next in the candle queue.
Red Light Mask
This may or may not have been an honorable mention in my nightstand post, but sometimes our routines change in a matter of months. I started to get real sick of getting up from my bed to complete the rest of my skincare for the night, and being that I work from home, there’s no reason why I can’t just use this mask in the morning while I answer some emails. You can take the girl out of the productivity, but you can’t take the productivity out of the girl. Sure.
Last thing. I know I complained a lot in the beginning of this piece about what a drag showering is, but I promise, I currently, and always have, showered 1-2X a day. I smell good. I just had to make that clear.
Big thank you again to Brooklinen for sponsoring this post. In case you’re interested in my picks from their site wide 20% off (!) sale, I’d recommend the Tufted Bath Mat, or at the very least, a Super-Plush Robe. As a very wise man once said, treat yourself.
I will sing Brooklinen's bedding praises to anyone who will listen, but TOWELS?! A new must-try!
this article made my nervous system relax