For many of us, showers have long been an end-of-day or early morning necessity—something we rush through to get on with our day or get in bed for the night. But, as happens often in the age of TikTok, influencers and social-media users have revolutionized the way we see showers with the rise of the “everything shower.”
The everything shower is a shower with an agenda—it has a purpose beyond just getting clean. The concept of an everything shower involves incorporating a full range of rituals before, during and after the actual shower to fully treat your body from head to toe, while showing compassion and kindness to your body and having a fortifying impact on your mental health as well. If you want to harness the power of an everything shower but don’t know where to start, here is an expert guide to curating your at-home spa routine.
Pre-Everything Shower: Setting the Mood
Eucalyptus
If you have interest in making your bathroom smell as refreshing as a cold towel from Equinox, you’ll want to get in on eucalyptus in your bathroom. First, procure some fresh eucalyptus stems—you can get them at your local market or grocery store like Whole Foods or Trader Joes—and then hang them upside down in your shower. As your bathroom gets hot and the steam mingles with the eucalyptus, a minty, pine-y, great-smelling haze is formed. If this doesn’t make you want to shower, nothing will.
Shower Steamers
Adding shower steamers to your shower floor is a great way to prepare your everything shower to be a treat for the senses. Esker’s Aromatic Shower Steamer Set ($65) are vapor- and water-activated, releasing refreshing essential oils and minerals into the stream of your shower. All you have to do is place the steamers on the shower floor away from the heavy water stream but close enough to the steam to activate the tablet and enjoy as the product fills the shower with a sensory aromatherapy experience.
Unlike traditional shower steamers, one Esker tablet lasts two to three showers, and the Esker hand-carved carrara marble holder houses the tablets in an elegant and functional base to prevent your shower floor from becoming a slippery mess. Plus, it also makes for a fabulously chic soap dish once you’re finished with the steamers.
The Everything Shower: Everything You Need
Kiehls Creme de Corps Smoothing Oil-to-Foam Body Cleanser ($35)
Skin care actually starts in the shower, and we’re not just talking about your face, but also your body. While it may seem like a no-brainer, there are a number of factors that go into taking a proper skin-friendly shower. When it comes to lathering up in the shower, shampoos and facial cleansers tend to get all the love. But seeing as the majority of your largest organ is located below the neck, it’s definitely worth designating a product to the skin on your body.
Shower oil is a soap-free cleanser made without a surfactant, which works like an emulsifier, and most are formulated with an ingredient that allows the oil to transform into a milky texture as soon as it hits water, so you can use it in lieu of soap or body wash. Though they may seem indulgent, shower oils are also a handy tool in stopping dry, itchy skin before it starts, which is especially important during colder fall and winter months.
Nakery Beauty Smooth Things Over Body Retexturizing Scrub ($24)
Shaving is a big part of an everything shower for those who incorporate regular shaving into their routing. Exfoliating before shaving gives you a closer shave, removes all the dead skin cells and any remaining self-tanner. Not your average body scrub, Nakery Beauty’s Smooth Things Over Body Retexturizing Scrub packs glycolic acid, lactic acid and pumice into a creamy base to buff away rough alligator skin with ease and help you buff you body to be as smooth as a dolphin.
Shani Darden Skin Care Signature Nourishing Facial Mask with Squalane ($58)
Did you know applying face masks while you shower can provide your skin with even more benefits than applying them outside the shower? This is because the pores are open in the shower due to the heat and therefore are ready to absorb the beneficial ingredients included in the face mask.
A nourishing clay mask inspired by the hand-whipped, post-treatment mask used in Shani’s signature facials to soothe redness and irritation, Shani Darden’s Signature Nourishing Facial Mask with Squalene is packed with replenishing squalane, calming colloidal oatmeal, and a soothing triple-tea complex, all combined into a hand-whipped, fluffy texture that leaves even the most stressed or sensitive skin—including eczema-prone—visibly replenished, re-energized and radiant.
Saints and Sinners Velvet Divine Hair Masque ($40)
What’s a face mask without a hair mask to compliment it? Saints and Sinners’ Velvet Divine Hair Masque is an intensely deep conditioning masque that eliminates damage caused by chemicals, hot tools, environmental stresses and more. Ideal for dry, frizzy, chemically treated, curly, thermally damaged, unruly, coarse, moisture starved hair, adding this product to your everything shower routine will help add brilliant shine, moisture, strength and manageability while eliminating frizz.
Post-Everything Shower: Rounding Out Your Routine
Skims Soft Lounge Robe ($90)
There are jokes on TikTok that the everything shower leaves you feeling exhausted and weak in the limbs, and it’s absolutely true, so it’s a necessity to make your post-everything shower routine easy and relaxing. Slipping into a luxe robe will make you feel as if you’re on a vacation, and if one brand truly rode the loungewear wave to unprecedented success in an incredibly beautiful way, it’s SKIMS. Perfect for lounging and layering over sleepwear, the Soft Lounge Robe is composed of super-soft modal ribbed fabric that drapes effortlessly in all the right places. This short robe features an adjustable self-tie belt and functional side pocket for maximum usability and comfort.
Saltair Body Lotion ($14)
Moisturized skin maintains a healthy skin barrier, preventing irritation and premature aging, and this smoothing body lotion works synergistically to deeply hydrate, leaving skin softer, smoother and more supple. Indulgently scented and easy-absorbing for long-lasting hydration, Saltair’s Body Lotion is the perfect way to lock in your smooth, soft skin post-shower. There are many scents to choose from with Saltair’s body lotion, each one incredible in its own right. Some are soothing and spa-like, others are bright and uplifting, so no matter what scent profile you’re drawn to—warmly woody, floral, or sweet—there’s a scent for you.
