A spa at home — the order of the steps and what you actually need

Scrub first, shower gel second, and something on your skin while it is still warm. Three steps, twenty minutes, and the only rule that matters is the order.

Updated 9 September 2026

The order

1. Scrub. On damp skin, before soap, with a light hand. Step out of the stream while you do it. The full routine is on how to use a salt scrub.

2. Shower gel. After the scrub, and only where you need it. Soap takes some of the oil the scrub left behind with it.

3. Oil or lotion. Straight after, while the skin is warm and slightly damp. That is the step that decides how your skin feels tomorrow.

That is the whole ritual. Everything beyond those three steps is pleasant but not necessary.

Oil or lotion

Body oil takes longer to sink in and suits the evening, when you aren’t getting dressed straight away. Body lotion sinks in quickly and leaves no film. It is a question of how you want your skin to feel, not of which is better.

Keep the fragrance the same through the steps

Three products in three different fragrances cancel each other out. The same scent through the whole routine is the simplest way to make it last, and it runs across several of our products:

Neoporto — jasmine, citrus and lavender. The calmest, and the one that stays longest.
Lemon Fields — green lemon, refreshing rather than sweet.
Mintcalypto Energize — mint and eucalyptus, clearest in a hot shower.

To read about the notes on their own there are pages for jasmine, lavender and citrus.

The sets

The body care set gathers the steps in one box, and the larger sets add more. A wooden spoon comes with several of them, which is the detail that keeps the jar dry.

If you don’t need a set, the salt scrub and something to put on afterwards is enough. Two products is a complete routine.

Twenty minutes, not an evening

A spa at home rarely happens if it requires planning. The version that actually repeats is an ordinary shower with the scrub added once a week and three extra minutes afterwards instead of throwing your clothes on straight away.

If you want to make more of it: warm water rather than hot, the phone outside the bathroom, and the towel ready before you start. None of that is printed on a jar, and all of it makes more difference than which product you chose.

In winter

Dry indoor air and hot showers pull the same way, and then the third step matters more than the first two. More on that on salt scrub on dry winter skin.