Nivea Nourishing In-Shower Body Milk

Right now you're thinking, "ah okay, another new bath product" but wait! What's cool about Nivea's new Nourishing In-Shower Body Milk and what piqued my interest is that it isn't a creamy cleansing shower lotion, it's a moisturizer you apply in the shower. Formulated for dry to very dry skin with almond oil, it promises to moisturize instantly for over 24 hours with no stickiness.

At first, I wasn't sure how this is supposed to work--these are some pretty impressive claims, and isn't moisturizer is supposed to stay on your skin to be effective? This body milk is applied after your usual soap/shower gel and then rinsed off immediately. No waiting around, slathered up, for the ingredients to sink in. But you know what's freaky? It actually works.

The first time, I applied it to only one side of my body, rinsed immediately, and then skipped moisturizing post-shower. The difference between my left and right legs and arms was clear: the side that got the body milk was much smoother, softer, and less dry. Even a day or two after using it (with a shower in between without use), my legs feel smoother than if I had never used it at all, so it definitely ticks the 24h+ box for me.

I'm not a cosmetic chemist, so I want to just call this product witchcraft, but the moisturizing effects probably have something to do with the heavy-duty emollients and occlusives in this product (microcrystalline wax, mineral oil, glycerin, almond oil). It sometimes feels a little bit sticky immediately after the shower, but then fully absorbs (or maybe rubs off on my clothes) and I'm just left with moisturized skin. For reference, I use roughly a nickel for the left and right side of my body each. My advice would be to start with less than you think you need. I got overzealous once and applied a lot, and my legs felt really greasy. The bottle also warns that this product may make shower floors slippery; I haven't had any problems with this, and it leaves no residue.

It has a slightly citrusy, typical clean-soap scent, but it doesn't linger or interfere with any scented lotions I layer on afterwards. I was worried that the occlusive mineral oil might prevent post-shower lotions from absorbing, but my skin had no problem absorbing the extra hit of moisture from my LUSH massage bar.

It's definitely something that is best suited to only the most alligator-skinned of us--it might be too heavy if you don't have very dry skin. Nivea has lighter options for dry skin (Smooth Replenishing In-Shower Body Lotion) and normal to dry skin (Hydrating In-Shower Body Lotion).

I'm loving Nivea Nourishing In-Shower Body Milk because it's a very quick extra step with a big moisturization payoff. Bonus: you get a huge bottle for about $7 (less if you catch it on sale!) It's really improved the look and feel of my arms and legs, which I've always been self-conscious about baring because my skin is so dry. I'll definitely be purchasing a new bottle when I run out and recommend it for anyone else with very dry skin and/or a laziness problem with applying body lotion after a shower.


Ingredients: water, microcrystalline wax, mineral oil, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, hydrogenated coco-glycerides, stearyl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, fragrance, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, sodium carbomer, sodium acrylates/C10-30 alkl acrylate crosspolymer, aluminum starch octenylsuccinate, phenoxyethanol

Available at London Drugs, similar retailers: ~$6.99 CAD / 400 ml