What it is
The Original bath oil is a floating oil: mostly mineral oil with fragrance and a few softening ingredients. It sits on the water and coats your skin as you get out, which is why people describe their skin as "so soft". The same scent comes in a dry-oil body spray, lotion and other products.
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How to use it in the bath
Add a capful (about a tablespoon) under the running tap. Because it's a floating mineral oil it is very slippery: sit down before you lie back, drain some water before you stand, and wipe the tub with dish soap afterwards. You can also smooth a little onto damp skin after a shower.
Does Skin So Soft repel mosquitoes?
Only briefly. In a widely cited 2002 study in the New England Journal of Medicine, Skin So Soft bath oil protected volunteers from mosquito bites for an average of about 10 minutes. Products with 23.8% DEET lasted around five hours. Consumer Reports' later testing also ranked the bath oil well behind real repellents.
The reputation probably comes from oil making skin slick and fragrance masking body odour for a short time. Some people find it helps with gnats and midges, which are weaker fliers.
If you want the Skin So Soft name with real protection, Avon sells a separate Skin So Soft Bug Guard line. Those products contain registered repellent ingredients (picaridin or IR3535) and are a different thing from the bath oil.
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For somewhere with mosquito-borne disease, use an EPA-registered repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus, as public health agencies recommend.
Other popular uses
Like any mineral oil, people use it around the house as well as in the bath:
- Softening rough heels, elbows and cuticles.
- Loosening sticker residue and adhesive from skin or hard surfaces. Test on a hidden spot first.
- A slip for shaving legs.
- Removing paint or tar from skin.
Skin So Soft on dogs: be careful
You'll find a lot of advice about using Skin So Soft on dogs for fleas or flies. It isn't labelled or tested for pets, it isn't a flea treatment, and dogs lick it off. Fragrance and oils can upset some animals, and cats are especially sensitive to fragranced and essential-oil products. Ask your vet for a proper flea or fly product instead.
Alternatives
If you like the softening but not the scent, any fragrance-free mineral or plant oil works the same way in the bath. If you want something more luxurious, see the best luxury bath oils.