As a person in a long-distance relationship, I’ve long been familiar with the idea of an “Everything Shower”—even if I didn’t know it by that name until recently. Much like “Girl Dinner,” Everything Shower gives an honorific to a pretty basic concept—calling snacks a meal, in the case of the former, or describing the action of a shower that includes every step possible of a bathing routine (wash face! wash hair! wash body! other stuff!) in one single session.
An Everything Shower is exactly what I do while my fiancé is on a plane, commuting a handful of hours to visit me: spend a luxurious hour and a half in and around the shower, tidying myself up. My Everything Showers also make up for any and all laziness in the grooming department before a big event.
I emerge from my version of an Everything Shower as a completely new person—scrubbed, massaged, and moisturized. Here are my multitasking steps, broken down with the products I love.
Step 1: Lymphatic drainage massage
I started my writing career at Goop, where I became obsessed with the results from lymphatic massages and dry brushing—skin looks brighter and more even, bloating disappears, those weird little bumps on the back of my arms shrink, and I feel more awake.
On the days I’m doing a “Basic Shower”—my newly minted name for, you know, just showering—I’ll use a classic bristle dry brush. But if I’m Everything Showering, that means I have some intensive body scrubbing planned for further along in my routine, so I’ll skip exfoliating here and use a more gentle lymphatic tool. The De La Heart body tool has different ergonomic crevices to use on different body parts and feels great gliding across your skin.
After this, I do something I stole from Ava Lee’s morning routine: I rhythmically tap the lymph nodes in my armpits about 15 times each to get the lymph flowing. I swear to God I feel more energetic after this step.
