OSEA Body Oil: The Malibu Seaweed Brand and What to Pair It With

OSEA was founded in 1996 by Jenefer Palmer in Malibu, California, inspired by her family's belief in the ocean. She spent about a decade developing seaweed formulas before the brand launched. That patience shows. Everything here feels like it started with a single ingredient and a strong opinion about it, not with a trend.

The bestseller is the Undaria Algae Body Oil, which launched in 2010 and is the brand's bestseller. It is made by soaking hand-harvested Undaria seaweed in a blend of botanical oils including passion fruit, acai, babassu and rice bran. If you have tried OSEA body oil before, you will know the texture: light for an oil and quick to settle. In September 2025 General Atlantic announced a strategic growth partnership with the brand, and founders Jenefer and Melissa Palmer kept a significant stake.

The rest of the Undaria line follows the same logic. The Body Wash is for the shower, the Body Lotion is the lighter everyday step, and the Body Butter is for elbows, knees and colder months. The Cleansing Body Polish is the exfoliating step, a scrub to use before any of the above.

Apply the oil to damp skin right after the shower, when it spreads easily and you need very little. Start with the shoulders and work down, and use the last bit on your hands so nothing is wasted. A little goes a long way, so resist the urge to add a second pump. Let it sit for a minute or two before you put on clothes, and you will feel the difference by evening.

Oils are personal, and I tend to change mine with the season and the outfit. If OSEA is the calm, sea-air option, these are the other characters in the drawer.

L'Occitane's Almond Supple Skin Body Oil is a soothing and firming almond oil, the most classic of the group. amika's I'm Glistening is a radiant, rich oil for a bare-legs kind of evening. Tom Ford's Soleil Blanc is a shimmering body oil with amber and bergamot, and I save it for weddings and beach dinners. Sol de Janeiro's Glowmotions is a glow oil, and PHLUR's Vanilla Skin is the one that smells like warm skin and dessert, which will not suit everyone.

Biossance's 100% Sugarcane Squalane Oil is the plainest of the first six. It is the simplest of the first six, and I use it after a shower on the days I want nothing but softness, or a few drops mixed into a body lotion for extra slip.

To choose, ask when you will wear it. Shimmer for the night, plain for every day, scented for when you want to be recognized. A few pumps warmed between the palms and pressed into the skin will always beat a generous slick, especially if you are dressing right after. If a scented oil gives you a headache or irritated skin, switch to an unscented one.

An oil is only as good as the skin it lands on. If the surface is dry and flaky, the oil will slide over the top. A good exfoliator, used before, gives it something smooth to sink into.

First Aid Beauty's KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub has 10% AHA and is made for rough, bumpy-feeling skin on the arms and thighs. Rare Beauty's Find Comfort Konjac Jelly Body Wash is the gentle one, exfoliating in a soft, jelly-like way. The INKEY List's Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick is a swipe-on for small areas such as the upper arms. Topicals' Slather is an exfoliating and smoothing bar, and Sol de Janeiro's Bum Bum Body Scrub is the scented scrub of the group.

I keep two in rotation: a chemical exfoliator for the bumpy areas and a sugar scrub for everywhere else. Rinse well, pat dry, and treat the exfoliating day as the day you skip the fragrance in your other products, so your skin only has one job to do.

What I would skip: scrubbing every day, scrubbing freshly shaved skin, and layering an acid exfoliator with a strong scented scrub in the same shower. Once or twice a week is plenty. If your skin becomes red or stings, stop, and see a doctor if it persists.

Here is the routine I would recommend to anyone who wants soft skin without giving up forty minutes in the bathroom. Exfoliate twice a week, wash with something gentle, pat dry, and oil on damp skin. On other days, skip the scrub and only oil.

Body Lotion suits summer mornings, and Body Butter suits winter nights, with the oil sitting on top of either when you need a glow. In colder months, use it on the shins and shoulders where the skin looks dullest.

Wear a shirt you do not mind, because oil needs a few minutes to settle. Save the Body Polish for the same day you plan to use the oil, so the two steps sit together in your mind as one routine. Keep the bottle out of direct sun and off the window ledge, since heat and light are hard on most oils. And if a rash or persistent dryness shows up, a doctor is a better guide than another bottle. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil and Bushbalm Explained.