This invention relates to rinse-off skin conditioning compositions comprising relatively low amounts of oil/emollient and relatively low amounts of aqueous phase stabilizer/structurant. Use of unsaturated fatty acid (or at least minimum amount of unsaturated fatty acid as percentage of total fatty acid) has been found to result in unexpectedly high hydration. In a second embodiment, use of branched fatty acid (at minimum amount branched as percentage of total) also results in superior hydration. Also mixtures of unsaturated and branched fatty acids can be used.In a second embodiment, the invention relates to method of enhancing hydration using compositions as noted.