I reach for body oil after a shower, every time. A good oil with a short ingredient list, like my Verde Body Oil, sinks into your skin and keeps it soft, with no water, fillers or synthetic preservatives in the bottle. If you love your lotion, keep using it. Just know what's in it, and who made it. Below I'll show you how to check both in under a minute.
Why I stopped using lotion
In 2004, in Austin, I picked up a book called A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients. I started checking the labels in my bathroom against it, and I didn't like what I found: long chemical names I couldn't pronounce, and oils that had been through heavy processing before they ever reached the bottle.
I went looking for something truly natural and couldn't find it. I tried organic unrefined coconut oil first. It absorbed a little, but my skin felt icky and the oil had a certain "smell." Then I remembered a sesame oil treatment I'd had in India in my early twenties, and how unbelievable my skin felt afterward. That's how Kiwi Glow started.
I'm self-taught, not a scientist. What I share here comes from 20 years of blending sesame oil and using it on my own skin, a lot of reading, and more rabbit holes than I can count.
What's in a typical lotion
Most lotions are mostly water. Harvard Health notes that water is often the first ingredient on a moisturizer's label, and under EU cosmetics rules, ingredients are listed from the most to the least.
Anything made with water needs a preservative, or bacteria and mold can grow in it. A 2018 review in the journal Molecules explains that any cosmetic containing water has to be protected against microbes, for safety and for shelf life.
To keep that water on your skin, lotions add ingredients that sit on top of it. Harvard Health lists common ones: mineral oil, paraffin, petrolatum, and silicones such as dimethicone. Petrolatum is made from petroleum, which I dug into in my post on what's really in Vaseline.
Some people don't mind any of that. I do. What goes on your skin can be absorbed, even if it's only a little. Would you drink a little poison because it's only a little? That's how I've always looked at it. More on that in what goes on your skin can go into your body.
How to read a lotion label
If oils aren't for you, that's fine. Here's what I'd check before buying any lotion:
- Count the ingredients, and pick the shortest list you can find.
- Read the first few closely. They make up most of what's in the bottle.
- Look up any name you don't recognize. The European Commission's free CosIng ingredient database tells you what an ingredient is and what it's used for.
- Find out who made it. Under US labeling rules, if the company named on the label didn't make the product, the label has to say so with words like "Manufactured for" or "Distributed by."
That last one matters a lot to me. Plenty of brands never make their own products. They hire a factory and put their name on the bottle. Some people don't mind. I wanted to know exactly who made what I put on my skin, so I make mine myself, by hand, in small batches in Asheville.
Body oil vs lotion: how they compare
- What's in it: Verde has three ingredients: organic cured sesame oil, citrus oil and cardamom essential oil. There's no water in it, so there are no synthetic preservatives. A lotion is mostly water, plus preservatives and ingredients that hold the water on your skin.
- Damp or dry skin: body oil works on both. Lotion works on both too.
- How much: 1 to 2 pumps of Verde covers arms and legs.
- How it feels: Verde absorbs in seconds, is non-greasy and won't stain clothes.
Should body oil go on damp or dry skin?
Either works, and damp skin gives the best results. I put Verde on straight after a shower while my skin is still a little damp. Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Elaine Kung told NBC Select that body oils absorb better on damp skin.
You don't have to be fresh out of the shower, though. Unrefined sesame oil absorbs on dry skin too, so I use it any time my skin feels tight.
Why I use sesame oil
Every Kiwi Glow oil starts with unrefined, cold-pressed sesame oil that comes to me certified organic. I cure it myself with low heat and gentle movement, an Ayurvedic practice, and it stays unrefined. A 2018 review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Lin et al.) describes sesame oil's anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and a possible effect on skin barrier repair. In more than 20 years, it has never clogged my pores, and my customers, including people with acne-prone skin, tell me the same. More in cold-pressed sesame oil for skin.
Verde comes in an airless pump. Air and fingers never touch the oil inside, so it stays fresh and clean from the first pump to the last, and every press gives the same small amount.
Verde is vegan, and Kiwi Glow is Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free.
Sesame is one of the FDA's major food allergens. If you're allergic to sesame, citrus or cardamom, don't use Verde. If you're not sure, patch test on a small area first.
Got tattoos?
Tattoo care is where Kiwi Glow got its start, and healed tattoos love Verde too. For a new tattoo, use Kavai Tattoo Oil and follow my tattoo aftercare guide.
"I'm never going back to lotion again. You have a consumer for life!" Michele, 5-star Verde review
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Body oil vs lotion FAQ
Should I use body oil or lotion after a shower?
I use body oil. A short-ingredient oil like Verde keeps skin soft with no water or synthetic preservatives. If you prefer lotion, choose one with the shortest ingredient list you can find.
Can body oil replace lotion?
Yes. A good body oil moisturizes on its own, so you don't need lotion underneath it.
Do you put body oil on wet or dry skin?
Either. Damp skin straight after a shower gives the best results, and unrefined sesame oil still absorbs on dry skin.
Will body oil make my skin oily or stain my clothes?
Not Verde. Use 1 to 2 pumps. It absorbs in seconds and won't stain clothes.
How can I tell if a brand makes its own lotion?
Check the label. In the US, if the company named didn't make it, the label must say "Manufactured for" or "Distributed by."
What if my skin stays cracked or itchy?
If your skin stays cracked or itchy no matter what you use, see a board-certified dermatologist.
Keep reading: Cold-pressed sesame oil for skin · Toxic skincare ingredients to avoid · The Kiwi Glow story