A Little Help for Your Hands

I am a lotion and cream fanatic. I have a pump bottle by the sink in the kitchen and another in the bathroom just around the corner. I keep sample sized-bottles in my purse, my desk at work, and my car. I have a pot of body butter and some Oil of Olay in my gym bag. I have fancier, heavier face creams in my medicine cabinet, pump bottles of lotion for my legs in my bathroom cupboard, and a giant pot of what we call "Cow Cream" on my daughter's dresser.

Between the washing my hands dozens of times a day that is necessary when one has little children, the dryness of a wintery climate that forces one to have the heat on at least five months a year, and my own genetic proclivity towards eczema, I wear a lot of lotion. And I can't stand lotions that are overly scented.

So when the SkinMD people contacted me and asked me if I wanted a sample of their super hydrating "shielding lotion" to try, I jumped at the chance -- but not before asking for two bottles, one to try, and one to share with you.

Here's what I like about this lotion: it's light and not greasy, absorbs quickly, and definitely makes my cuticles and hands feel less flaky. It has no discernable smell, which is great if you are senstivie to the cloying scents of products at places like Bath & Body Works. (Just walking into their store gives me a headache some days.)

The SkinMD lotion contains lots of natural ingredients like aloe, comfrey, yarrow, and vitamin E, all of which are good for moisturizing. (In fact, I remember my mother opening vitamin E capsules and rubbing the oil straight onto her poor cracked knuckles in the winter.) There are still nine ingredients I can't pronounce, not counting the three active ingredients that produce the sunscreen, so I'm not sure the word "Natural" on the label is completely accurate; nonetheless, I do appreciate all the herbal rather than chemical help. I also notice that it does not contain one preservative commonly used in personal care products to which my sister and many other people are allergic, so that's a plus. SkinMD seems to have de-chemicaled to some degree.

And let's not let it slip by too quickly: this product deserves props for containing sunscreen. While SFP 15 isn't major, so you won't be using this instead of your normal sunscreen in the summer, I think it's always good to have a lotion with sunscreen as your everyday one. I use a face lotion with SPF 15 in it as my daily moisturizer, and then I know that if I end up outside for longer than I'd expected to be, at least I have a little something on my face. If I had ever been outside without gloves at all in the last month, I am sure the SPF in the SkinMD lotion would have been perfect for me. But, alas, in Michigan in winter, sunscreen on anything but your face is somewhat superfluous.

I really can't speak to the fancy claims about "transforming the outer layer of skin into a hydrating invisible shield," since while I've felt very good, I haven't felt like I have brand new, transformed skin this last month. And I certainly haven't become invisible. But I will say that this is a very nice moisturizer, scent free with SPF, and mercifully not greasy, and so it has become the latest bottle that I carry around in my purse.

If you'd like to try SkinMD lotion for yourself, leave a comment on this post telling me what your most important quality is in a hand lotion: what's the one thing you can't do without? Contest will last till Thursday, February 12 at midnight EST, and I'll announce the winner of the free bottle of lotion on Friday 13. Because everybody deserves a shot at a little good luck on Friday 13.

*****
Edited to add: According to Random.org, the winner is:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

2

Timestamp: 2009-02-14 03:46:14 UTC

And that means, Mrs. F with 4! Quebec must be harder on hands than Michigan, so I'm very happy for you. Congratulations.