I shower two times a day every single day—for as long as I can remember, almost. It's just habit. I try to keep 'em short, and I don't let the water get too hot. But no matter where I am or what I have going on, I make sure it happens. It's not so much about cleanliness as it is about ritual. If I'm camping, I take a swim before bed and a swim in the morning. If there's no time at all and I'm running late in the morning, I hop in and hop out—anything is better than no shower at all.

I've had maybe four or five moments in life when I couldn't shower for some reason or another and they were earth-shatteringly awful. They were moments marked by such introspective thoughts like, 'Why on earth do I deserve this kind of punishment? Would it be weird to sign up for a gym membership just to shower?' and, 'Which friends would not judge me for just coming over to their house to shower because my water's been out for a few hours?'

If showers are the most important thing here, then the products I use in there are second most important—if not tied for first place. Let me just say this: Screw bar soap. I feel like it takes work and expertise to clean your body with a bar of soap, and I've yet to find one that smells how I want it to and makes my skin feel how I want it to feel. Instead, I'm all about brightly colored and strongly scented shower gel.

No, it's not chic, it's not cool, and for most people, I think it probably recalls tacky Christmas gift sets that don't suit anyone—but I think shower gel is just the best. Every time I go to Whole Foods, I leave with one or two more bottles. I have bins of them stored under my bed...it's a problem. Their collective weight has collapsed many a shower storage rack from Ikea. I can't just have one open at a time; I like citrusy ones for summer mornings, rich amber-woodsy ones at night after a long, stressful day, minty ones to wake me up, and so on and so forth. Give me a body wash, and I will tell you what time of day you should be using it. An unsolicited tip: I always save the pricey ones for when I'm in a particularly bad mood and need a pick-me-up. Here are a few to get frivolous with:

The one that's so luxe you should hide it from your roommates : Sachajuan Shiny Citrus Body Wash

The rainy day option : L'Occitane Verbena Shower Gel (smells like freshly watered grassy fields)

The unabashedly girly one : Molton Brown Delicious Rhubarb and Rose Bath and Shower Gel

The most relaxing scent : Korres White Tea Bergamot Freesia Shower Gel

The best drugstore buy : Eau Des Minimes Beneficial Shower Gel

The morning pick-me-up : Malin & Goetz bergamot Body Wash

The one Gigi Hadid told me about so I bought it : Fresh Sugar Lychee Bath and Shower Gel

The hokiest name (still love it though) : Philosophy Señorita Margarita Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body Wash

The one I've already talked about : Juniper Ridge Siskiyou Trail Soap (read more here)

The sinus-clearer : Origins Salt Suds Foaming Body Wash

—Tom Newton

Photographed by Tom Newton.