Last week saw the release of this guide for upgrading one’s shower to a never-before-seen-indoors jungle paradise. Today, the shower gets another kind of upgrade. This one is all about the routine. On a late September afternoon Team ITG, alongside friends and lovers and colleagues, gathered to divulge their most experiential tricks for hacking the traditional shower system. Here is how they do it:

Anna Jube, Editorial Assistant, ITG

"Since my fitness routine lately consists of a few minutes spent feigning exercise on a yoga mat in the morning, I've been using my shower to get some extra muscle work in. Pliés are so much more fun in the water. (Even though I'm no ballerina.) While shaving, I’ll take a few nice leg stretches. Maybe an arm stretch. All this before I rinse Christophe Robin Volumizing Conditioner with Rose Extracts out of the ends of my hair. Oh! And I always keep a large, fresh water bottle on the shelf to drink throughout. Hydration and hygiene—two birds, one stone."

Amy Serrano, Vlogger

"I use my time in the shower to prep my mind for the day or unwind at night. Because it's time when I literally cannot be on my phone/email/social media, I treat it like a personal sanctuary. In the AM I blast the Bob Marley Pandora station—theee best station to stir carefree vibes. Recently, I've been indulging in the luxury of Glossier's Body Hero Daily Oil Wash. The scent is a total mood booster. At night, I take eucalyptus essential oil in a spritz bottle and spray my shower walls, and just above the shower head with it. Eucalyptus is so deeply refreshing. I'll let my DPHUE Color Boosting GLOSS+ Deep Conditioning Treatment sit in my hair, exfoliate with The Body Shop’s French Grape Seed Scrub, and feel completely relaxed."

Danielle Nachmani, Stylist

"My showers are straight LUXURY. I end them with freezing cold water, like a cold plunge. It's evil, but my skin always looks better for it. Right after I turn the water off, I use Rodin Oil on my body and on the ends of my hair."

Tom Newton, Photographer, ITG

"I don't like complicated masks, like the ones that get on your shirt, or that get in your hair... Unfortunately, there are some great masks that fit this bill. A solution for me is to do them in the shower. It does require some maneuvering but it works, and at the end you can just wash it off. I love doing this with Fresh's Rose Mask, which I keep in the fridge. That mask + a hot shower = complete relaxation."

Mattie Kahn, Staff Editor, ELLE

"Joni Mitchell sounds best when listened to in a shower. There’s workout music. There’s dinner party music. There’s shower music. Of course Joni Mitchell is all three, but she really shines in the shower. Also, try a contrast shower once so you can say you’ve done it. There, now you never have to do it again."

Utibe Mbagwu, Editorial Intern, ITG

"I moved into a new apartment this month and my second week in, the boiler broke, forcing me to live an existence without hot water and subsequently, Arctic temperature showers. It’s not my preferred way to start the day, but doing so has kind of shocked me into action – and that’s turned into fairly productive mornings in which I do work in a warm sweater, fresh out the dryer. To warm my appendages further, I’ve been using Farmacy’s Honey Potion Renewing Mask. It heats my face up as I massage it in, and the glow it leaves even after the cold rinse makes me hate my super a little bit less."

Mette Thorsgaard, Hairstylist

"I always keep some fresh eucalyptus in my bathroom or my shower because it smells really good, I love it. Just to hang in my shower. When the water hits the leaves, the whole bathroom smells so good."

Ashley Weatherford, Senior Beauty Editor, The Cut

"I mix my sulfate-free shampoo with some water in a cheap plastic bottle in my shower. Rossano Ferretti, who is allegedly Kate Middleton's hair stylist, taught me this trick. I shake the bottle direct the nozzle towards my roots, and squeeze. This way, I use less shampoo and the 'shaking' creates a few suds, which I wouldn't normally experience if I used the shampoo straight from the bottle. I use Rossano's proportions, which is five parts shampoo to one part water. I learned this a year ago and I have never looked back. I know this all sounds ridiculous, but it's really hard to gauge how much shampoo you are using when it doesn't really lather!"

Emily Ferber, Senior Editor, ITG

"Fun story about me—I'm actually really shitty at washing my own face. I make a mess of myself and the bathroom, and I'm not sure I end up fully clean. My solve for this has been to use a clay mask nearly every night, and always in the shower. Slap it on, let it sit and steam, then wash it down the drain. It's a mess still...but a contained mess."

Danielle Snyder, Co-Founder, Dannijo

"I keep an Astier de Villatte's Mantes-La-Jolie candle alongside the tub and an Image Skincare trio in my caddy with my 3 go-to products—Body Spa Exfoliating Body Scrub, Ageless Total Pure Hyaluronic Filler, and Iluma Intense Brightening Exfoliating Powder. It's basically a DIY spa in the comfort of my own home.”

—as told to ITG

Need a bath bomb with that? Read here for how to make your own.