Most people apply body oil after they've dried off. Dry skin, dry towel, oil on top. It feels greasy, it transfers onto clothes and pillows, and within an hour the skin feels dry again. So they stop using it and assume body oil just isn't for them.
Here's the thing — the application method is wrong, not the product.
There's a better way to use body oil that locks moisture into the skin, leaves no greasy residue and gives you that soft, comfortable skin feeling that lasts all day. And in winter when dry, tight skin is at its worst — it changes everything.
THE RIGHT WAY TO USE BODY OIL
The secret is wet skin and open pores.
When you're in the shower, your pores are open from the warm water and steam. Your skin is at its most receptive — ready to absorb. That's the moment to apply your body oil, not after you've towelled off and closed everything back down.
Here's the method:
Step 1 — Shower as normal. Cleanse, wash your hair, do what you do.
Step 2 — Before you turn off the water or step out, apply your body oil directly onto wet skin. Massage it in — arms, legs, stomach, anywhere that feels dry or tight in winter.
Step 3 — Turn off the shower and step out. Pat — don't rub — with your towel. You're removing the water but leaving the oil behind, now locked into your skin.
The result — skin that feels deeply moisturised, not greasy. No transfer onto your pillow. No tight feeling two hours later. Just comfortable, soft skin that holds moisture through the day.
This is how body oil is supposed to work. Most people never find out because nobody tells them.
WHY OLIVE OIL BASED PRODUCTS WORK DIFFERENTLY
Not all body oils are equal — and the base ingredient matters more than most people realise.
Vasse Virgin's Chamomile & Lavender Skin Rejuvenating Treatment is built on Australian extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil is structurally similar to the skin's own sebum — which means it absorbs rather than sits on top. It's rich in oleic acid, squalene and natural antioxidants that penetrate deeply and work with the skin's natural barrier rather than coating over it.
This is why the wet skin application method works so well with olive oil based products specifically. The warm water opens the pores, the olive oil penetrates at exactly the right moment, and the result is genuine moisture retention rather than surface level coating.
Synthetic oils and mineral oil based products don't behave the same way — they sit on top of the skin regardless of when you apply them. That's where the greasy feeling comes from. Australian extra virgin olive oil doesn't do that.
THE CHAMOMILE & LAVENDER WINTER SKIN ROUTINE
The Rejuvenating Treatment works hardest as part of a complete routine. Here's how to build a simple winter ritual around the Chamomile & Lavender range that takes less than ten minutes and makes a visible difference within a week.
In the shower: The Chamomile & Lavender Skin Rejuvenating Treatment — applied to wet skin before you step out. Your daily moisture foundation.
After the shower: The Chamomile & Lavender Facial Moisturiser — rich olive oil, chamomile and lavender for your face and neck. Apply while skin is still slightly damp for maximum absorption.
To cleanse without stripping: The Chamomile & Lavender Facial Cleanser — gentle enough for daily use on sensitive skin, removes the day without disrupting the moisture barrier winter skin depends on.
For hands, heels and dry patches: The Chamomile & Lavender Soothing Skin Balm — concentrated balm for the areas that suffer most in winter. Hands, elbows, heels, cuticles. Apply before bed and wake up to noticeably softer skin.
The overnight treatment: On particularly dry or stressed skin days, apply a few extra drops of the Rejuvenating Treatment to your face after your moisturiser as an overnight treatment. The olive oil, shea butter and chamomile work while you sleep to repair the skin barrier and restore comfort by morning.
WHO IS THIS ROUTINE FOR?
Anyone whose skin changes in winter — gets tighter, drier, more reactive or more sensitive in the cold months. Particularly effective for dry skin, sensitive skin and mature skin where moisture retention becomes more challenging as the skin's natural oil production slows.
The Chamomile & Lavender range was developed specifically for sensitive and reactive skin — gentle enough for children, effective enough for mature skin. No parabens. No sulphates. No synthetic fragrance. No artificial colours.
Handmade in small batches in our factories in Wilyabrup in the Margaret River wine region and Seppeltsfield in the Barossa Valley, South Australia. Using Australian extra virgin olive oil and botanicals we've been working with for over 32 years.
ONE MORE THING
If you've ever dismissed body oil as not for you — try it wet. One week of the right method with the right product and your skin will feel different enough that you'll wonder why nobody told you sooner.
That's the whole point of what we do at Vasse Virgin. Products that actually work, used the right way, for skin that deserves better than synthetic quick fixes.
Shop the Chamomile & Lavender Winter Range at vassevirgin.com.au or visit us in person at our stores in Wilyabrup, Margaret River town, Fremantle and Denmark in Western Australia, and Seppeltsfield in the Barossa Valley, South Australia.
