When it comes to caring for our skin, we often focus only on areas like the face and forget that the skin on our body also gets dry, ages and can suffer from allergies. Here's how to choose the best body wash and what its benefits are.
Just as you have a shampoo made just for cleansing and caring for your hair or a facial cleanser to deep-clean the skin on your face, you also need a soap or body wash for the rest of your body.
What is body wash?
Body wash, or shower gel as it's also known, is a personal hygiene product designed to deep-clean the skin on your body, dissolving oil and removing the impurities that build up during the day from sweat, heat and other outside elements your skin is exposed to.
What is the best body wash?
To know which is the best body wash for you, you need to be clear about your skin type and whether you have any allergies that call for a product with special features to protect your skin.
Best body wash for oily skin
If your skin tends to get oily, the best body wash will be one without overly oily or overly moisturizing ingredients.
Choose “oil-free” body washes, which don't clog pores and work better for this skin type.
Best body wash for dry skin
The best body washes for dry skin are those with strong moisturizing power that help your skin regain its glow and feel smooth. With that in mind, you can look for a body wash with creamier, oilier properties.
You can also find exfoliating body washes for a deeper clean.
Best body wash for sensitive or atopic skin
It's always a good idea to look for products with natural ingredients and without too many chemicals that can irritate your skin or age it prematurely.
A body wash should be a product that supports the health of your skin, not the opposite.
The best body wash for sensitive skin or atopic skin, a skin condition marked by excessive dryness, is one without too much soap, since soap can cause immediate sensitivity.
How to use body wash
Finding the best body wash for your body doesn't help much if you don't apply it correctly. You can apply your body wash with your hands or use a soft sponge to work it over your whole body.
A few tips:
- Use soft, gentle sponges to apply your body wash, to avoid irritating your skin.
- Massage in circular motions while you apply your body wash, so the product's active ingredients can do their job on your skin.
- Rinse your body well with plenty of water and avoid high temperatures that can irritate your skin.
- Dry your skin well before getting dressed, since damp skin can cause unnecessary irritation.
Types of body wash
When looking for the best body wash for your body, keep in mind the types available, depending on their ingredients and makeup and whether they're formulated for sensitive or normal skin.
For sensitive skin, a body wash with little or no fragrance and less soap is recommended, since these ingredients can cause allergic reactions.
You'll find water-based body washes, which use water as the base and are called hydrogels, while those known as organogels are organic body washes, which use an organic solvent instead of water as the base.
What's the difference between body wash and liquid soap?
Although both products do a similar job, body wash has a thicker, gel-like consistency, while liquid soap is thinner and clearer.
Free of parabens and sulfates
When choosing the best body wash, you can also consider other very important factors, like whether it's free of parabens and sulfates.
When a body wash is paraben-free, it's free of the preservatives used mainly in cosmetics, hygiene products, food and medicine. They work well to prevent the bacteria and fungi that spoil products, but they can also have toxic effects on people and aren't kind to the environment.
A sulfate-free body wash, meanwhile, is a body wash without salts. Sulfates are used to thicken products, and you can also find sulfate-free shampoos for your hair.
The best body wash for the whole family
If you have babies and young children at home, it's important to be careful when choosing the best body wash for the whole family to use.
Little ones' skin is much more sensitive and can easily get irritated when exposed to chemical ingredients and agents, causing allergies and conditions like dermatitis.
So for children, choose body washes without chemicals like parabens, dyes, allergens, organochlorines or phenoxyethanol.
Your best body wash with eva+avo
At eva+avo, we've created sulfate-free, paraben-free products that protect every skin and hair type, including color-treated hair.
We use the natural properties of ingredients like avocado and rosemary oil to create safe, effective products, like our eva+avo body wash for every skin type.
And if you want to round out your shower routine even more, you can also enjoy our eva+avo body lotion, which you can use after bathing by gently massaging it all over your body until it's absorbed, leaving your skin moisturized and soft.
Discover all the skin and hair care products we have for you at eva+avo, and start treating yourself to the best of our 100% natural ingredients.
