What you wash with decides how much moisturizer you need, so I look at the cleansers before I buy another lotion. Foaming, squeaky soap is the quickest way to undo a good body routine, and it is the first thing I change.

The SA Body Exfoliating Cleanser Bar is made for rough and bumpy skin, and it is the bar I would keep for upper arms and thighs. Use it two or three times a week rather than daily, and let the lather sit for a few seconds before you rinse. Do not scrub. The bar is exfoliating, so your hands only need to move it around.

For the face, CeraVe's Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Face Wash starts as a cream and turns into a light foam once you add water. It is a good morning wash, when you want the skin clean but not tight. The Brightening Vitamin C Cleanser is made for dull and uneven toned skin, and it is the one I would use in the evening, since I like giving it a little more time on the skin.

Keep the water lukewarm and pat your skin dry with a clean towel instead of rubbing. Then reach for the lotion within a few minutes, while your skin is still slightly damp. That short window does more than any product name on the bottle.

A lotion is a personal thing, and I do not think one brand should have the whole shelf. Here are the ones outside the CeraVe family that I keep coming back to, and what each is good for.

Aveeno's Daily Moisturizing Body Lotion is made for dry skin and is a familiar bottle, easy to keep by the sink. Lubriderm's Advanced Therapy Lotion is made for extra dry skin and it is fragrance free, so it suits anyone who finds scented lotion loud. Kiehl's Ultra Body Mega Moisture Squalane Cream is the richer pick, a cream I would save for cold, dry legs in the evening. The eos Shea Better 24H Moisture Body Lotion in Coconut Waters is the one for days when I want a lotion that smells like its Coconut Waters name.

Then there are the two scented ones. Moroccanoil's Body Lotion Moisturizer is a scented body lotion, the kind I use on a night out when I would like my skin to smell good too. Sol de Janeiro's Body Badalada Lotion with Hyaluronic Acid is made for daily hydration, and it is the bottle people ask about when I use it in a shared bathroom.

What I would skip: any strongly scented lotion on skin that already feels tight, stingy or freshly shaved. Save the perfumed bottles for calm skin and reach for something fragrance free on the rougher days. If you get red, itchy or cracked skin that keeps coming back, please see a doctor rather than trying another bottle.

Here is how it all fits together on an ordinary week. In the shower: a mild cleanser, lukewarm water, a short rinse. Straight after: the lotion, on skin that is still damp. Evenings: a richer cream on the dry patches only.

I keep the pump bottle on the bathroom shelf and a scented lotion by the bed, so the practical one is what I use most and the pretty one is for when I feel like it. Try one new product at a time, give it two weeks, and pay attention to how your skin feels the following morning. Soft and comfortable means it is working. Tight or itchy means try something plainer.

The real trick with body lotion is doing it on the days you do not feel like it. Put the bottle where you cannot miss it, and it takes care of itself. For skin that stays very dry, sore or red despite a steady routine, a doctor is the right next step. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30, Ceramides by Day and Vaseline Lotion.