I Swear by This Body Gel That Instantly Re-Hydrates My Skin After Being in Chlorine or Salt Water

Skin Services/ InStyle

I have spent my entire life unknowingly waiting for the body care boom. It's not that my face is a walk in the park, it is temperamental and fluctuates between being clear and glowing and being riddled with hormonal acne and hyperpigmentation. But for my face, there has always been an endless slew of targeted products to experiment with.

Over the last two years, many skincare brands have branched into body care, while some body-specific brands have emerged to bridge the gap in the market. The most successful and effective of these, in my opinion, is Soft Services, and it just launched a new hydrating product called Speed Soak.

Every summer I am faced with an issue that seemed so unpreventable, I stopped looking for solutions: All of the time spent in chlorine pools, ocean water, hot tubs, lakes, showers, etc. leaves my skin so dry it looks like crocodile skin.

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Of course there was always body lotion, but it didn't do the trick. First of all, most are not very portable. Second, most are too emollient — they're good enough if you're going to sit at home for the rest of the day, but I feel like a greasy mess otherwise. Regardless, the body lotions I've tried don't noticeably nourish and hydrate skin after a single use, they take a lot of time.

Okay, I'm done complaining now, because I'm going to get on to what I like about Speed Soak. It's so thin and lightweight that it almost feels like water; it's refreshing, absorbs within 25 seconds (I counted), leaves no residue, and is deeply hydrating.

There are two ingredients that make this breakthrough in body moisture possible — glycerin and aquaxyl. Glycerin draws in moisture from the air, pulls water from deep layers of the skin to the surface layer, and prevents moisture from escaping.

As for aquaxyl, Speed Soak is my introduction to this ingredient, but it's a complex complex. To put an hour of research as simply as possible: Aquaxyl is a name given to a combination of three unpronounceable ingredients. In sum, these ingredients improve lipid production thereby regulating the aging process, provide moisture and train cells to better retain it, and seal in hydration to improve the skin's protective barrier against environmental stressors. It's honestly an incredible component that I'm surprised isn't highlighted and used in more formulas.

A one-time use of Speed Soak has done more to improve the suppleness and moisture of the skin on my body than entire bottles of lesser lotions. One layer does the trick, but if your skin is in need of more hydration like mine, you can apply up to three layers without leaving any residue. Head to Soft Services to get your hands on Speed Soak or the two-step exfoliation-moisturizing bundle that includes my other favorite product, the Buffing Bar.