The 8 Best Clean Body Oils
There’s something undeniably decadent about body oils. Ultrahydrating and wildly luxurious to the touch, they leave your skin glowier, firmer, and more supple. They’re not typically something you smooth on and then dash off to work after applying—even oils that sink in quickly take a minute. And that’s sort of the point: Body oils are (in part) about taking a moment for yourself.
Just like conventional body lotions, conventional body oils can contain ingredients—from mineral oil and silicones to fragrance and colorant ingredients—with the potential to harm our health. Because we lather our entire body with body oils and creams, the exposure to ingredients like endocrine disruptors or simply to skin irritants is far greater than it would be with, say, an eye cream.
The way natural, plant-based oils are extracted can make a difference in how the finished oil affects your skin: Harsh solvents leave residues in the oil that your skin can absorb. And oils labeled “bath” oils are often cut with solvents or drying surfactants to make them foam or to make them less greasy on the surface of a tub.
In the same way that face oil simplified and revolutionized skin care for many people (suddenly, the centuries-old essential of Indigenous women across the globe made more sense than the 17 million–ingredient conventional skin-care concoctions designed to attract with texture and scent as opposed to results), the best body oils turn out to be incredibly multipurpose. Beyond their moisturizing and firming qualities, great body oils work in place of conventional perfume, as bath oil, and even as hair oil in most cases.
What are the differences among body oils? You have to try them to figure that out—and we’ve done the leg (and arm) work for you. Our editors love every one of the following oils, from sexy options for an amazing massage to the silkiest sprays.
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Best for Glow (and Sinks in Quickest)
Why we love it: This rich, luxe oil feels absolutely fantastic as it disappears almost instantly into skin. It’s made with nourishing ingredients like sea buckthorn oil, kakadu plum, and squalane to moisturize deeply and replenish skin; it leaves a smooth, supple, healthy-looking glow; and it smells beautifully of ginger, violet, cedar, and vetiver.
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goop Beauty GOOPGLOW Afterglow Body Oil goop, $48/$43 with subscriptionSHOP NOW
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Best for
Renewing Your SkinWhy we love it: We can practically feel the highly functional ingredients in this oil (vitamin E, squalane, argan and olive oils, and the brand’s proprietary TFC8 complex) sink into our skin for a deeply restorative, nourishing, and hydrating beauty ritual.
Augustinus Bader The Body Oil goop, $100SHOP NOW -
Best for Romance
(and as Perfume)Why we love it: Moisturizing natural oils (imbued with flower extracts) in this dreamy oil leave your skin delightfully soft, dewy, and gleamy, and the sexy, faintly tropical scent works fabulously as a clean perfume, too—just at your wrists and neck or all over.
Balmyard Beauty Romantic Call Body Oil goop, $82SHOP NOW -
Best Roll-On (with the
Summeriest Scent)Why we love it: Created by fashion designer Behnaz Sarafpour (a wardrobe whisperer for both Gwyneth and Michelle Obama), this brilliant roll-on bottle effortlessly delivers the most beautiful scent along with pure nourishment. Organic jojoba and grape-seed oils hydrate skin, while notes of neroli and bitter orange smell of a sultry summer on the Mediterranean. Sarafpour designed the wide rollerball that makes it incredibly easy to apply everywhere (it sinks in within seconds): arms, legs, collarbone, and—always—pulse points.
BEHNAZ Summer Skin Oil goop, $45SHOP NOW -
Best Spray Oil
Why we love it: Handmade on a lush organic Tuscan farm, this citrusy, lightly herbal dry oil mixes soothing flower extracts with a proprietary blend of essential fatty acids meant to rejuvenate dry, dull skin. Spritz it all over your body—it sinks in beautifully and leaves your skin silky, faintly scented, and ultramoisturized.
Seed to Skin The Serenity Time Defying Dry Body Oil goop, $162SHOP NOW -
Best Balm-to-Oil Texture
Why we love it: This semisolid balm makes the perfect travel body oil—and the island-scented natural-oil-and-butter-packed skin treatment is just as beautiful at home, too. Monoi (a fragrant oil derived from coconut and Tahitian gardenias) blends with calming calendula and chamomile for a soft, dreamy scent and a gorgeous sensation on skin.
Jao Goe Oil goop, $52SHOP NOW -
Best for Waking Up Skin
Why we love it: Rosemary, grapefruit, and juniper essential oils in this revivifying body oil invigorate and hydrate skin—perfect for luxurious post-shower moisturization or as part of a meditative dry brushing ritual (for the latter, start at the feet and make your way up toward the heart for maximum relaxation).
The Organic Pharmacy Detox Body Oil goop, $68SHOP NOW -
Best for Nourishing
Why we love it: Antioxidant-rich noni fruit extract and soothing rose hip give this ultramoisturizing body oil a supercharged dose of essential nutrients and fatty acids, leaving your skin silky-smooth with a sexy, irresistible glow.
KORA Organics Noni Glow Body Oil goop, $60SHOP NOW
How did our editors choose these body oils?
First, a safety team screened them against a long list of ingredients with the potential to harm human health. (goop standards for clean are among the strictest in the industry.) Only then did the oils make it to our editors’ showers and bathroom counters (we try every product we write about).
We looked for active levels of ingredients known to deliver results.
We tested the relative richness of each oil—some of us love lightweight oils, while others prefer something more nourishing.
We tested how long each oil took to sink in enough for us to put on clothes.
We assessed scent and texture: Again, some of us love our body oils perfumed; others, not so much.
