Soft Services Speed Soak Air-Gel Rehydrating Lotion review

I have dry skin but I’m also lazy. A scary combination, I know.

Having dry skin requires a lot of a person. I’ve built an extensive after shower routine full of body serums, treatments, oils and creams. But some days — read: most days — I can barely bring myself to put lotion on my legs. Again, I’m lazy. I cannot stand waiting the ten minutes regular lotions take to soak in.

If you’re anything like me, you may think you’ve found yourself at an impasse. It’s either take the time to let your lotion set in or shrivel up. And it’s valuable time you could be using in a plethora of other, more useful ways, like rewatching Season 4 Vol. 1 of Stranger Things or reorganizing your Animal Crossing island. (Note: if anyone says you can do those things while your lotion dries, they’re lying. Lotion dry time is exclusively for scrolling the Instagram Explore page.)

So, if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably accepted your dry skin as an impossibility in your life. But, I’m here to tell you: no longer.

My solution — and yours — just hit the shelves: Soft Services' Speed Soak Air-Gel Rehydrating Lotion.

Described as, “a sports drink for your skin,” Speed Soak is made with the lazy folks in mind. There’s essentially no dry time. I no longer have to wait for my lotion to dry before climbing into bed. Gone are the days of starfishing on top of the covers for twenty minutes. Honestly, It’s a little mysterious how effectively it works. It makes me feel like one of those compressed “magic towels” from the early 2000s that expand into washcloths when you put them in water.

Because the gel-cream formula soaks in quickly in its very nice Shamwow-esque fashion, it doesn’t leave behind an upsetting sticky or oily feeling. It also doesn’t pill up like some other lotions do. When putting it on, I’m left with a slightly cool sensation on my skin as it soaks in, and after about 30 seconds to a minute, my skin feels just like my skin again. It might seem almost as if the lotion were never there, except for my skin feels hydrated and bouncy.

It’s summer now, which makes the lotion’s immediacy especially helpful. As stated above, I’m already a relatively impatient person when it comes to body care, but when it's summer and I’m sweating, I can’t stand putting more things on my skin than absolutely necessary. I also can’t stand feeling more things on my skin than necessary.

Beyond its effectiveness, Speed Soak is also fragrance-free and oil-free, and it has a skin-friendly pH of 5.6 — BTW, your skin’s ideal pH level is just below 5 — so it’s perfect for sensitive-skin-havers, as well. Speed Soak was formulated to benefit all skin-types and to provide quick, potent, barrier-reinforcing hydration to the skin.

The brand behind the product, Soft Services, launched in 2021 and prides itself on making skin care treatments for the body. Their products target common skincare concerns like dry skin, keratosis pilaris, ingrown hairs, irritation, discoloration, and body acne. Used in combination with one another, their products can help to promote smoother, healthier skin on the body. (I’ve tried a few from their lineup and can attest to how magical they all are.)

They also created their Mass Index platform to catalog what they’ve learned about skincare and help customers learn about skin conditions in a safe and comfortable environment. If you’re looking to improve your body care routine, I definitely recommend taking a look through the index to find out what you can be doing to help out your specific skin concerns.

Speed Soak is sold individually, as well as a part of two sets. The Acne Control Set ($82) includes the Clearing Clay, Clearing Mist, and Speed Soak. The Rehydrating Duo ($56) features the Buffing Bar and Speed Soak.