The Everything-Shower Routine that Brought Back my Glow

Glow, baby, glow!

After successfully sticking to a morning and evening skincare routine that, with super-consistency, brought the glow back into my face, I began to think about the “skincare-ification” of the skin on my whole body. If doing a consistent routine on my face worked, it only made sense that a consistent bodycare routine would also restore the glow that burnout and hormone imbalance brought.

There’s a term flying around right now in girl-world, and it’s the “Everything Shower.” We all know what kind of shower this is: a full-blown shower routine that includes exfoliating, shaving every square inch, doing a hair mask, scrubbing your feet, and so on. The Works, if you will. This shower is usually reserved for pre-date rituals or once a week maintenance, as many find it exhausting with its many steps. It’s hard being a girl sometimes!

I decided that the Everything Shower was something I wanted to do every single day as another act of self-care. Just like with my morning and evening skincare routines, I wanted to spend time with myself, taking care of myself, and not rush through the process. And let me tell you - it has paid off! My very dry, dull, bumpy, sun-damaged skin now has a beautiful, natural glow, thanks to the Everything Shower routine that I’ve been able to stick to consistently.

Now that I shower with this full routine I cannot imagine not doing every step every day. It feels so good. There’s something about always feeling squeaky clean, moisturized, and smooth-skinned that makes you feel ready for anything. A friend invites me to brunch? Let’s go! Impromptu pool party? I’m in! Run into an old friend at the grocery store? I’m feeling good about myself! My husband wants to cuddle? No need to say “My legs are hairy, sorry!" And please note, my husband is the kindest man who does not care if I have hairless legs, but for me, I feel better and less self-conscious when I have smooth legs and sparkling skin. And I’m sure he appreciates it, too. When you stay ready, you never have to get ready. When you do daily maintenance, nothing ever feels overwhelming.

Now, I will say that I do not wash my hair daily, so my Everything Shower is really an Everything-but-the-Hair Shower. I do my full hair routine every other day (more on that later!).

So here it is - My Daily Everything Shower Routine:

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Step 1: (Pre-Shower) Dry Brush
The first step of this routine actually starts before you even turn on the water. Dry brushing is a step that I incorporated a few months into this routine and I didn’t think it would make a huge difference. I was wrong. It made a huge difference! The benefits of dry brushing include: deep exfoliation, improved circulation, lymphatic drainage, reduced appearance of cellulite, and pore unclogging, and I noticed all of these pretty quickly after starting this step.
When you dry brush, you want to make sure you use a natural bristle brush and follow the pattern of starting at the feet and working your way up, toward your heart, using long, sweeping motions. I like to tap the lymph areas before dry brushing, as well, for maximum lymphatic drainage.
I’ve seen significant improvements in the softness of my skin and visible cellulite. It only takes a few minutes to do and actually feels really nice!
If you’re looking for a recommendation for a good dry brush, I got the Metene Dry Brushing Body Brush from Amazon for $9 and it works great.

Step 2: Cleanse with Brightening Soap
Once dry brushing is complete, I step in the shower and lather up with a skin-brightening soap. I use the Valitic Kojic Acid Dark Spot Remover soap bar for this step, and again, have seen significant improvements, particularly in the sun-damaged parts of my skin. As a first cleanse, this not only makes you feel super clean but works on those areas of hyperpigmentation.

Step 3: Exfoliate
Next, I exfoliate pretty much every inch of my body with an exfoliating body scrub. I really love the Kopari KP Body Bumps Be Gone scrub because it has 10% AHA, a liquid exfoliant, along with Volcanic Sand, Coconut Shell, and Pumice, which gives the scrub some really decent “grit.” Incorporating this step was key to sloughing off dead, dry skin, and after the very first use, I was hooked. My skin felt so smooth! Any stubborn, little bumps (both KP and sun damage spots) quickly went away, and now I feel truly dolphin-levels smooth. I will say, to all of my sensitive-skinned friends, this scrub may be too strong for you to do on a daily basis. For my dry, damaged skin, I had no issues whatsoever - only great results! It also works incredibly well for dry, calloused feet. I will be a forever-fan!

Step 4: Cleanse with a Moisturizing Body Wash
Some may think it’s overkill to cleanse again, but I do highly recommend this step. After the first few steps, it’s a good idea to bring some moisture back into the skin, and double-cleansing is a staple in all effective skincare routines. Plus, even though I give myself a good rinse after exfoliating, I always find that I missed a little spot (usually my armpit or between my toes, ha!), and bringing in one last cleanse makes sure to get any remaining scrub out of any nook or cranny. For this step, I love, love, love the Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Play Moisturizing Shower Cream Gel. It’s extremely hydrating and smells absolutely divine.

Step 5: Shave
Here’s where I may lose some of you, I know. But I do shave my legs and armpits every day. But hear me out! When you shave every day, this step truly takes maybe three minutes, max, because every day is a maintenance shave, and not a huge event, shaving off a week’s worth (or longer!) of leg and pit hair. Plus, doing all that exfoliating in the previous steps to leave leg hair on means you never get to feel super smooth. We all know that freshly-shaved feeling when you slide into your pj’s is so rewarding. Why not feel that every day?
For this step, I like to use a shave oil like the Tree Hut Moisturizing Shave Oil (my favorite scents are Vanilla and Tropic Glow), and a fresh razor. I subscribe to Billie and change out my blade every week for the closest shave.

Step 6: (Post-Shower) Apply Toner
After shaving, I dry off and apply a toner to my whole body, just like I would for my regular morning and evening skincare routines. I alternate between the Anua Heartleaf 77% Soothing Toner and the Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner, depending on my skin’s needs for the day.

Step 7: (Post-Shower) Apply Lotion
After toning, I apply lotion from neck to toe. Any moisturizing lotion will do, but I have enjoyed cycling through lotions that have different active ingredients. My usual rotation includes:
- Advanced Clinicals 10% Glycolic Acid and Lactic Acid Exfoliating Body Cream
- Advanced Clinicals Retinol Firming Cream
- Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Cream
So in the span of one week, I will have used each lotion twice. This step was one that I always skipped before I had a solid routine going, because I would get too hot. I would take super hot showers, come out like a lobster, and then roast in my bathroom trying to put on any post-shower lotion, and inevitably start sweating. Again, it’s hard being a girl! So when I started this routine, I knew that moisturizing was super important and I had to figure out a way to do it so I wouldn’t sweat and I would stick with it. My solution was very simple:
First, toward the end of my shower, I turn the water to a cooler temperature (not cold, but just not scalding hot). This helps bring my body temperature down a little bit before exiting the shower.
Second, I had my husband install a ceiling fan in our bathroom, and I put that on as high as I need post-shower, to stay cool. Even in the winter!
Third, I give myself a moment to let the lotion sink in before I get into my pajamas. Again, no rushing through the routine, I just take my time.
And it works! No roasting from the inside out and I can wear thick, moisturizing lotion with no problem.

Step 8: Apply Body Oil
This last step is another that I would for sure never do before this routine was put in place, again, due to the post-shower sweats. Body oil always made me feel like my skin couldn’t breathe, and then putting clothes on afterwards was so annoying, as my skin would stick to everything. The key for this step, again, is to just give it a minute to let it sink in. Now that I’m not rushing through my routine, this step is no problem at all, and my skin feels amazing. I love, love, love the Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Firmeza Oil for this step. It smells incredible and visibly firms and moisturizes the skin.

As always, though this routine takes a few more minutes than my previous routine, it is well worth it. My showers take about 15-20 minutes (depending on if it includes hair washing or not), and every step is well worth the results that come. I always shower in the evening, after work, dog-walking, and working out, and because I’m not pressuring myself to shower in the morning on a tight schedule, I can take all the time I need and enjoy that time with myself. I highly recommend creating a daily everything-but-hair shower routine that will work for your own personal skin needs. Your body will thank you!

Get your glow on,
- L