Our best overall pick is L’Occitane’s Almond Smoothing and Beautifying Supple Skin Oil
If body oils are not yet a part of your daily skincare routine, we suggest changing that sooner rather than later. We’re not saying you should eliminate lotions and creams from your line-up entirely, but rather that oil can be an excellent and useful addition and/or occasional substitute in your moisturizing M.O. “Lotions are formulated to hydrate, moisturize and sometimes heal the skin,” explains New York-based esthetician, Drew Jones. “But, I find using body oil enhances [these] results. I like to tell my clients it seals the deal. After applying, the skin will become more supple and just look better, [overall]. There’s so much emphasis on taking care of the face that clients often forget their body skin is just as important.”
Essentially, an oil gives your skin something that other moisturizing products can’t – namely that healthy glow everyone and their mother crave. And, of course, it’s an excellent way to knock out dryness, whether you use it solo or with a lotion or cream. (FYI, if you’re using body oil on its own, apply while your skin is still slightly damp post-shower to lock in moisture. If you’re pairing it with a lotion or cream, use the oil last, as a final step to seal in all the moisture from the other products.) If the idea of putting oil on your skin still has you concerned about the potential for an unwanted, greasy after-feel, don’t stress. Today’s body oils are more lightweight and fast-absorbing than ever, sinking in so quickly that you can even slip on your skinny jeans right after.
We conducted hours of research on the best body oils, evaluating them on active ingredients, how easily they absorb, skin feel, and how well they hydrate. After consulting with an esthetician and a skin expert, and considering dozens of options, we landed on these top-rated choices.
Best Overall: L’Occitane Almond Smoothing and Beautifying Supple Skin Oil
There are a host of reviews giving L’Occitane’s product 10s across the board and with good reason. Made with more than 50% almond oil to hydrate and nourish, its body oil is formulated to leave your skin feeling satiny smooth to the touch. What’s even better is that it melts into the skin almost immediately, which means little to no wait time before getting dressed.
Best BudgetBio-Oil Skincare Oil
Good luck finding something this oil can’t do. Various plant extracts and vitamins are suspended in an oil base, in a formula that is ideal for use on stretch marks, burns, and even hyperpigmentation (as well as dry skin, duh), giving you even more bang for your buck. It has a slightly powdery scent and silky feel and comes in several different sizes, all at wallet-friendly prices.
Best Drugstore: Vaseline Intensive Care Cocoa Radiant Body Gel Oil
As the saying goes, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it and the same can be said when it comes to Vaseline’s body gel oil. Its intensive-care cocoa radiant formula can be found at your local drugstore, making it an accessible option that’s as beneficial to your skin as it is easy on the wallet. Make note of the gel-like consistency as it could potentially clog the pores of someone with oily or sensitive skin.
Best For Dry Skin: Versed Skin Keep It Supple Moisturizing Body Oil
From the easy-spray application to the cruelty-free formula, Versed Skin’s Keep It Supple Body Oil is worth having on your radar. It features a host of natural oils and vitamins that work together to hydrate and nourish the skin. As a rule, be sure to apply it when you get out of the shower, while your skin is still a bit damp to get the most out of its moisture. The light floral scent that envelops your body post-use is a nice finishing touch.
Best With Shimmer: Tom Ford Soleil Neige Shimmering Body Oil
If you’re looking for a luxurious body oil with a hint of glimmer, Tom Ford’s Soleil Blanc formula is an absolute must-have. It’s available in a range of shimmery tints to offer all shoppers a natural-looking glow 365 years around. One note: the aesthetics or appearance of this body oil on your skin is the main appeal so it may require multiple applications for a fully moisturized feel.
Best Multi-Tasker: Everyday Oil Mainstay
The blend of organic, cold-pressed plant oils (coconut, olive, argan, jojoba) can be used on the face, body, hair—you name it. Also nice: There are two options to choose from, one that’s infused with all-natural essential oils for an uplifting yet calming scent, and a variant that’s completely unscented.
Best Spray: One Love Organics Gardenia Tea Antioxidant Body Serum
Keeping your skin happy is one of the keys to ensuring it’s healthy. So when it comes to calming down agitated skin, One Love Organics Gardenia Tea serum is a great place to start. For the best results, spray directly onto your body right out of the shower. The nutrient-rich formula helps rejuvenate tired skin, making it great for combatting irritation.
Best Anti-Aging: Tata Harper Skincare Revitalizing Body Oil
This oil is a staple for Byrdie’s Former Editorial Director Faith Xue. “I use it to lock in my body lotion before bed, and it’s my favorite part of my nightly ritual,” she says. It’s a squeaky clean formula that also has plenty of youth-boosting benefits, thanks to a wide array of protective antioxidants and vitamins from the plant-based oil. It’s pricey, yes, but a little goes a long way, so one bottle will last quite a while.
Best for A Massage: Ellis Brooklyn Marvelous CBD Massage and Body Oil
Infused with maritime pine bark extract, this body oil is relaxation in a bottle. As the name suggests, Marvelous Massage’s formula is well-suited for your next rub down, whether you’re decompressing or prepping for your next workout session at the gym.
Best Splurge: MUTHA Body Oil
The price tag may be steep, but this luxurious formula is worth it for so many reasons. It boasts seed oils that are sourced from, wait for it, the plant’s reproductive parts, where they’re in their purest form. It makes for a whopping dose of essential fatty acids, antioxidants, and other skin-loving vitamins that will make your skin look better both immediately, and over time.
Best Shower Oil: Kopari Beauty Hydrating Vitamin C Shower Oil
Shower oils are the gateway to body oils—you’ll get similar hydrating benefits, but because you’re ultimately rinsing it off, it can feel less intense than a straight-up dry oil. Try using one instead of your standard body wash and be prepared for a major difference in how silky smooth your skin feels. This one, made with coconut, passionfruit seed, and avocado oils starts as oil but transforms into suds as you mix it with water. It’s a great choice for anyone who still wants that more soap-like experience.
Best Antioxidant-Rich Formula: Free and True Body Prophet All Over Creamy Serum
Packed with antioxidants and essential oils, this fortifying formula is a choice for protecting the skin against free radical damage. Inside you’ll find olive leaf extract, sea buckthorn berry, pumpkin seed oil, aloe vera juice, comfrey extract, geranium oil, and rose flower extract. While it’s best applied before or after sun exposure, this divine-smelling blend can be used year-round.
Best for Sensitive Skin: Osea Undaria Algae Body Oil
Osea’s best-selling body oil is infused with seaweed extracts as well as a carefully-curated selection of natural seed oils, such as passionfruit, sunflower seed, sesame seeds, and many more. We love the non-greasy and light formula which makes it perfectly suited for everyday use should you so choose. And per the brand, This oil is especially effective after dry brushing your skin, which stimulates lymphatic flow. Plus, it helps highlight colors in body art and tattoos.
Best for Face and Body: Josie Maran 100 Percent Pure Argan Oil
With almost 8,000 positive reviews on Sephora, Josie Maran’s pure argan oil can be used for just about any part of your body – including your face. Labeled a multitasking moisturizer, it’s made from the highest quality argan oil for visibly smoother, healthier, and more hydrated skin, hair, and nails.
Best Fragrance-Free Product: Necessaire Body Oil
Everyone loves Necessaire’s aesthetically-pleasing products and its highly-rated body oil is absolutely no different. From the mild, scent-free formula to the sleek and sophisticated packaging that looks good on any bathroom shelf, this is a luxury oil that delivers. Pro tip: If you have trouble getting enough product into the dropper, consider pouring gently into your hands for ease of application.
Best for Body: Glossier Body Hero Dry-Touch Oil
Glossier’s Body Hero mist is a cult favorite for a reason. Packaged with the brand’s instantly-recognizable logo, this body oil is made from three antioxidant-rich oils – sunflower seed, grapeseed oil, and oat – to nourish and hydrate. Another standout? As the name implies, it absorbs quickly onto the skin to prevent staining your clothes, furniture, or other soft surfaces.
Best for Eczema: Naturopathica Gotu Kola Intense Repair Balm
Jones cites Naturopathica’s balm as a favorite amongst her clientele. “This isn’t exactly in an oil form but it has been life-changing for some of my clients. Especially the ones with psoriasis and eczema.” Upon application, the formula melts into your skin and transforms into an oil consistency that helps soothe and repair.
Best Lightweight Oil: Oui The People Featherweight Hydrating Body Gloss
One thing that separates Oui The People’s Featherweight body oil from the bunch is that it has an intensely hydrating formula that also disappears almost immediately upon application. Designed to bring dry skin back to life.
Best Dry Finish: Avène Skin Care Oil
If a greasy residue gives you pause about buying body oil, this one’s for you. Avène Skin Care Oil boasts quick absorption, a dry finish, and a touchable feel that lasts all day. It’s formulated with a blend of plant oils, plus the brand’s signature thermal spring water, which has healing properties that help repair stressed, irritated, or inflamed skin.1
Best Luxury: Chanel Coco Mademoiselle The Body Oil
This luxury elixir from Chanel drenches your skin from head to toe with a blend of plant oils, then leaves the signature Coco Mademoiselle scent in its wake: musky amber with floral notes and a hint of citrus. The price is steep, but that’s often part of the appeal with Chanel—and you’ll definitely smell “expensive.”
Final Verdict
When it comes to finding the right body oil to moisturize your skin, we’re awarding L’Occitane’s Almond Smoothing and Beautifying Supple Skin Oil with the top spot. The satin formula, which contains a well-balanced concoction of almond oil melts quickly into the skin, preventing any downtime after application. Pricey but well worth its cost per wear, Tata Harper’s Skincare Revitalizing Body Oil helps reduce the appearance of fine lines while offering a host of other youth-boosting properties. And if you find yourself in a rush, looking for a last-minute oil at your local drugstore you can’t go wrong with Vaseline’s Intensive Care Cocoa Radiant Body Gel Oil. Affordable but packed with a powerful punch, its gel consistency is great for trapping the moisture in your skin post-shower.
What to Look For When Buying a Body Oil
Texture
No one wants to feel overly greasy or slimy post-application, so go for a lightweight body oil that absorbs quickly or something with a dry finish, like Avène Skin Care Oil. The time of day you apply can weigh in as well. If you’re putting it on in the morning, you definitely want something thinner, whereas at night, you can spend some time really working it into the skin before you slip (quite literally) into bed.
Scent
Often, one of the best things about applying body oil is the beautiful scent. Everyday Oil Mainstay has an unscented version, but if you like a more full-bodied fragrance, consider something like Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle Body Oil.
Choose something that appeals to your senses or suits your mood. Similarly, you could try a zingy citrus blend during the day, and something soothing (like lavender) at night.
Specific Ingredients
The skin on the body is lower stakes than the skin on our face, but it’s still worth finding an oil blend that works for your concerns. Facialist and aesthetician Melanie Grant breaks down a few common oils for us:
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is highly comedogenic and can trap sebum, grime, and dirt within the pores, so avoid it on the chest, shoulders, and back if you’re prone to congestion. Otherwise, it’s a nourishing, inexpensive choice. Everyday Oil Mainstay is one of our favorites containing coconut oil.
Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil is quite close to the molecular structure of our skin’s own natural sebum, making it less likely to block pores. It boasts high levels of anti-inflammatory vitamin E, as well as strengthening vitamin D and naturally occurring vitamin A. Jojoba is the main ingredient in Tom Ford’s Soleil Blanc Shimmering Body Oil.
Rosehip Oil
Rosehip oil is rich in essential fatty acids as well as vitamins A and C, making it a great option for preventing and treating scars, tightening pores, and promoting collagen synthesis in the skin. Mutha Body Oil is your best bet if you’re a fan of rosehip.
Sweet Almond Oil
Almond oil is often praised for its vitamin E content and deeply moisturizing properties, so it’s best suited to dry and dehydrated skin types. It’s a great carrier for your favorite essential oils, too.
Buriti Oil
Buriti oil is particularly beneficial for addressing tonal inconsistencies and signs of sun damage in mature skins. It’s one of the richest known sources of antioxidant beta-carotene which not only shields from free radical damage but promotes healthy cell function.
Olive Oil
Olive oil contains vitamins A, D, K, and E, as well as naturally occurring squalane that seals in hydration and prevents trans-epidermal water loss. It’s best used for normal to dry and dehydrated skins. Oui the People Hydrating Body Gloss offers a generous dose of squalane.
Mineral Oil
There is conflicting feedback around mineral oil. Though its main function is to act as an emollient, I’d recommend a more nutrient-dense option so you get more than just skin conditioning. If your skin tolerates mineral oil well, go with Bio-Oil Skincare Oil.
FAQ
When and how often should I use body oil?
Use a body oil daily for the most hydrating results. “Another way I use body oil is as a double cleanser,” skin expert Drew Jones explains. “Yes, we [do this] for our faces but we can also do so with our bodies. I do this a lot, especially after a workout, or if I am having a small breakout on the back or arm region. Oil helps break down dirt and sebum, so this method has been a game-changer for me.”
What should you look for in a body oil?
“For me, I want to get something that will give me multiple benefits like my lotions,” Jones says. “But, I really like to see an oil that has antioxidants. [They] protect the skin from free radicals, which [can] further damage and age your skin. I would say most people are not putting sunscreen on their bodies every day so, if they have body oil with antioxidants that is the next best thing. Look for these ingredients specifically: Jojoba oil, apricot seed oil, meadowfoam oil, sweet almond, apricot kernel, and hemp seed.” And she goes on to suggest avoiding “coconut oils on the skin” as the molecules are too large to penetrate the skin and are often comedogenic.
How We Researched
To compile this list, our team of editors and contributors spent hours researching the best products on the market in this category, evaluating their key features—like ingredients, shade range, or design—in addition to reviews from customers and other trusted sources. We then used this research to assign a star rating from one to five (five being the best; one being the worst) to certain products on the list.
