The three-minute rule

Skin coming out of a shower is holding water it is about to lose. Within about ten minutes, most of that water has evaporated and taken the softness with it — which is why skin can feel tighter after a shower than before one.

Oil or butter applied to damp skin traps that water underneath. The same product applied twenty minutes later has nothing left to trap; it just sits on the surface doing a fraction of the work.

So: three minutes. Towel off enough that you are not dripping, but leave the skin visibly damp. Warm the product between your palms first so it melts rather than drags. Work it in while the bathroom is still humid.

That is the whole rule, and it matters more than the amount you use or which of our four you reach for.