Body Care Routine Order: Wash, Scrub, Shave, Moisturize, Scent
An hour before every ball, the royal bath steward stands at the door of my bathing chamber with a scroll and reads the order of service aloud. "Wash. Scrub. Shave. Moisturize. Scent." The one winter I ignored him, my perfume faded before the first dance.
He was right. A good body care routine goes in this order: wash, then scrub (on scrub days), then shave, then moisturize while your skin is still damp, then deodorant, then perfume last. The first three happen in the shower. The last three happen once you step out. Each step prepares the skin for the next.
- The order is wash, scrub, shave, moisturize, then deodorant and perfume. Each step sets up the next one.
- Wash, moisturize, deodorant and perfume are daily. Scrubbing is one to three times a week, and shaving is whenever you like.
- Put moisturizer on within a few minutes of stepping out, while your skin is still a little damp.
- Deodorant goes on fully dry underarms. Perfume goes on last, over moisturized skin, so it has something to hold on to.
- Matching scents across your wash, cream and perfume makes the fragrance read as one story instead of five arguments.
The body care routine steps, in order (and why)
- Wash. Start with lukewarm water, not hot. Hot water can leave you tight and itchy. If you wash your hair in the same shower, do your shampoo and conditioner first, then wash your body, so any conditioner that slid down your back gets rinsed off. Wash first because everything that follows works better on clean skin.
- Scrub (one to three times a week). After washing, your skin has had a few minutes of warm water to soften. That's the moment to exfoliate. Massage a scrub in gentle circles on your legs, arms, elbows, knees and anywhere that feels rough, then rinse well.
- Shave. Shave near the end of your shower, when the hair has had the longest soak and your skin has just been smoothed. Dead skin is out of the way, so the blade glides instead of dragging. Use a shave oil or cream, go with light pressure and rinse the razor often.
- Moisturize. Step out, pat (don't rub) with a towel, and put on your body cream within a few minutes while your skin is still slightly damp.
- Deodorant. Once your underarms are completely dry, swipe it on.
- Perfume. Last of all, once your cream has sunk in and you're dressed or nearly dressed.
The logic in one sentence: clean, then smooth, then hair-free, then sealed, then fresh, then scented. Anything you rinse off belongs in the shower; anything you keep on belongs after it.
Why scrub comes before shave
This is the step people swap most often. A scrub lifts away the dull, dry surface layer of skin. When you shave afterward, the razor meets smooth skin and the hair underneath, not a crust of flakes that clogs the blade. You'll usually get a closer shave with fewer passes.
Scrubbing after you shave is a different story. A razor already takes off a thin layer of skin along with the hair, so going over freshly shaved legs with sugar or salt can sting and leave you pink. If your skin is on the sensitive side, you can also scrub the night before and shave the next day. If you get ingrown hairs often and they stay sore or keep coming back, see a dermatologist.
For the full technique, I've written up how to exfoliate your body and how to shave your legs step by step.
Daily vs. weekly: what to do how often
Not every step happens every day. Here's how my week looks.
| Step | Where | How often | Why it sits here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wash | In the shower | Daily, or after workouts | Clean skin takes everything else better. |
| Scrub | In the shower | 1 to 3 times a week | Skin is soft from the water, and it preps the shave. |
| Shave | In the shower | Whenever you like | Hair is softest at the end of the shower. |
| Moisturize | Out of the shower | Daily | Damp skin holds on to the cream and the water. |
| Deodorant | Out of the shower | Daily | It needs dry skin to go on cleanly. |
| Perfume | Out of the shower | Daily | Last on, so nothing rubs it off or covers it up. |
If your skin runs dry, scrub once a week and see how it feels. Oilier skin, or legs that get bumpy, can usually handle two or three sessions. Don't scrub every day; your skin needs time in between.
In the shower vs. out of the shower
Inside the shower: the rinse-off steps
Wash, scrub and shave all happen under the water, and they all get rinsed away. Keep the shower to around five to ten minutes if you can. Long, steamy daily soaks pull moisture out of your skin.
A quick note on body washes that already exfoliate a little. Mine has jojoba beads and pumice in it, so on scrub days I'm gentle with the scrub and don't go over the same spot again and again. You want smooth, not raw.
Outside the shower: the leave-on steps
Everything after the towel stays on your skin, so it goes on in order from heaviest job to lightest. Cream does the most work, so it goes first. Deodorant has one job on one small area. Perfume is the final flourish, like a tiara. If it went on first, everything else would bury it.
Moisturize while your skin is still damp
When you step out, your skin is full of water from the shower, and it starts to lose it as soon as the air hits it. Put your cream on within a few minutes, while you're still a touch damp, and you trap some of that water underneath.
Here's how I do it:
- Turn off the water and pat yourself with a towel. Don't rub until you're dry.
- Scoop a little cream and warm it between your palms.
- Start with the driest spots: shins, knees, elbows and the backs of your arms.
- Smooth it on in long strokes, then give it a minute or two to sink in before you get dressed.
On shave days, a few drops of shave oil can go on your legs after shaving, before the cream, for extra softness. Skip any product that stings on freshly shaved skin.
Deodorant and perfume always go last
Deodorant needs completely dry underarms. If they're damp, it can go on streaky and won't sit evenly on your skin. Don't layer heavy body cream under it either; moisturize everything else and leave your underarms bare for the deodorant. If you shave your underarms, try shaving at night and putting deodorant on in the morning, since freshly shaved skin can be touchy. Natural deodorants with baking soda don't suit every underarm, so if you notice redness, give your skin a break.
Perfume comes last, after your cream has absorbed. Scent tends to last longer on moisturized skin than on bare, dry skin, which is one more reason the cream comes before it. Spray it on pulse points (wrists, the sides of your neck, behind your knees) and don't rub your wrists together.
Matching scents across your routine (layering)
Here's where a body care routine starts to feel like a ritual. If your wash smells like pear, your cream smells like coconut and your perfume smells like roses, they all compete. If they share one scent, they stack. The wash leaves a whisper, the cream adds a soft layer, and the perfume sits on top, so together they read as one fragrance.
A few simple rules:
- Keep one scent family. Same scent across steps is easiest. If you mix, keep it in the same family, like sweet with sweet or fresh with fresh.
- Unscented deodorant isn't required. A deodorant in your perfume's scent adds one more layer instead of fighting it.
- Go lighter on perfume when you layer. With a scented wash and cream underneath, two or three sprays is usually plenty.
My picks for each step
All of mine are in Happily Ever After: sparkling red pear, orange blossom, coconut milk and vanilla orchid. One scent, start to finish.
- Wash: The Princess Happily Ever After Body Wash ($20, 8 oz). It's sulfate-free and gently exfoliating, with jojoba beads, pumice, aloe, coconut and jojoba oil.
- Scrub and moisturize: The Princess Polish & Pamper Duo ($45). It pairs the Magical Sugar Scrub (sugar in safflower seed oil with vitamin E) with Body Frosting, a whipped moisturizer with shea and cocoa butter, aloe and panthenol. If you're new to scrubbing, here's how to use a sugar scrub.
- Shave: The Princess Shave Oil Serum ($27, 2 oz). Coconut, sweet almond, jojoba and argan oils, for use before and/or after shaving.
- Deodorant and perfume: The Princess Fragrance & Function Duo ($65). It pairs my aluminum-free natural deodorant with my phthalate-free perfume, made in the USA.
Frequently asked questions
Should I exfoliate before or after shaving?
Before. A scrub clears away dead skin so the razor glides instead of snagging. Don't scrub skin you've just shaved, because it's already had one layer of exfoliation from the blade.
Do I put lotion on wet or dry skin?
Neither extreme. Pat yourself with a towel so you're not dripping, then apply within a few minutes while your skin is still slightly damp. The cream spreads further and helps hold in the water that's already there.
Should I put on deodorant or lotion first?
Lotion first, deodorant second. Moisturize your body, then make sure your underarms are completely dry before you swipe deodorant on. Keep heavy cream off your underarms so the deodorant has a clean surface.
How often should I exfoliate my body?
One to three times a week suits most people. Dry or sensitive skin usually does better at once a week, while oilier skin can handle more. If your skin feels tight or stings, scrub less often.
Do I put perfume on before or after body lotion?
After. Fragrance tends to last longer on moisturized skin than on bare, dry skin. Spray it on your pulse points once your cream has sunk in.
The order of service, one last time
Before last season's ball, I beat the steward to it. I stood at the door with his scroll and read it back to him: wash, scrub, shave, moisturize, scent. He bowed, which he has never done before or since. Follow the order, and you'll walk into your own ball smelling like one story from shoulders to ankles.
Every beauty has a story.
— The Princess
