Shower Sandwiching Promises To Provide Silky, Smooth Skin. Here's How To Do It

If there is one thing getting us all through the chilly months, it is a strict and rigorous winter moisturizing routine. It's rough out there, and it shows in the countless dewy skin trends, hydration-loving advice, and overall obsession with skincare regimens floating around social media. Clearly, no one's enjoying the flaky, dull, and lackluster look of skin commonly experienced these days. It's all seasonal and nothing to worry about. But as we wait for the blooming beauty of spring and the warm embrace of summer, we can't exactly neglect our skin while it screams for help in the cold and unforgiving winter season. It needs help.

So, what is the newest among the popular moisture-focused hacks? Shower sandwiching. And does it work? Shower sandwiching is an all-around, full-body moisturizing habit that will leave you feeling like buttered-up toast in the best way possible. The word sandwich isn't in the name for nothing, after all. Now, let's break down exactly how you can do it.

It's all in the name. Shower sandwiching (sometimes known as moisture sandwiching) is a simple and easy hack to implement in your shower routine. It consists of slathering your body with oils before and after each shower, procuring the moisturized skin of your dreams.

Here's how you do it: apply your favorite body oil all over your body before your daily shower, making sure to give some extra love to those areas most parched (for most of us, that will be our oft-ignored elbows). As counterproductive as it might sound, you then can go ahead and hop into the shower as normal. No waiting period is necessary! Once you're clean and ready to go, gently dab your body dry with a towel. As you do this, try to leave your skin slightly damp and apply a new layer of body oil.

And voilà, you have sandwiched your body in oils with your regular shower in between. The idea here is that oil is an occlusive agent and, therefore, will keep the moisture of your shower water from leaving your skin, resulting in a healthier skin barrier. No transepidermal water loss for us moisture-sandwiched people!

Good news: this hack is friendly to all and will work regardless of your skin type. If you experience dryness, patches of flakiness, cracked skin, or any of the pesky symptoms of dehydrated skin, this hack is for you. Your skin type does not need to be dry to experience these symptoms during the winter. Oily and combination skin people know the struggle, too.

Dermatologists generally support this trend and its benefits, which include a significant decrease in water loss and a visible improvement in the skin's ability to absorb and lock in moisture and other good ingredients from your skin products. However, only you know your skin best. If your skin is on the oilier side or prone to breakouts, consider your past experiences with oils and occlusive agents, which have been known to increase the chances of clogged pores. Sometimes lighter, water-based moisturizers will do the trick.