Neutrogena Hand Cream

I was recently invited into another BzzAgent campaign.  This time, it was for Neutrogena Hand Cream.  I was quite excited for this one because, with it being winter, my hands and nails tend to get quite dry.  I am always up for trying a new product.

This hand cream is fragrance free and claims to heal very chapped, dry hands. The back actually says, "It is so concentrated that only a small amount instantly leaves even dry, cracked hands noticeably softer and smoother after just once application.  Used daily, it helps prevent dry, chapped skin; used overnight, it heals dry skin-even under the harshest of conditions."  Those are some lofty claims!  I'll admit, I am always skeptical when I read things like that on a box.   The box goes on to say, "It started with Norwegian fishermen.  Faced with some of the harshest, coldest weather on earth, they used a formula that delivers concentrated levels of glycerin to dry, chapped skin providing immediate and lasting relief.  Five years of independent clinical testing confirmed what the fishermen knew all along-Norwegian Formula Hand Cream consistently outperformed other products.  Today, the Norwegian Formula product line includes a variety of body, hand and foot moisturizers to meet your individual dry skin needs."

At the current moment, my hands aren't too horrible, but I still wanted to try this cream out.  I will agree that, immediately, I noticed a difference. My hands felt like they were softer, less dry, and almost silky.  The texture reminded me of a gel face primer.  It even has that gel-like look.  When you squirt it out, it doesn't look like a white cream, as you'd expect it to appear.  

For something that is supposed to be very moisturizing, it strikes me as odd that the third ingredient is an alcohol. I would really have liked to see that lower on the ingredient list, as the order they appear tells you what is mostly made up of.  The first two are water and glycerin, which I can appreciate. Another thing to take note of is that this seems to be loaded with parabens and sulfates. So, if you are trying to avoid products with those ingredients, this is one that will go on your "to avoid" list. 

You only need a tiny bit of this cream. I squirt about a pea to a pea and a half sized amount out onto my hand and rub that in.  That is the perfect amount.  Any more than that and you will be trying to work it up the arms to get it to rub in.  They aren't kidding when they say you only need a tiny bit. The box, again, says, "Just a little goes a long way.  This 2 oz tube contains over 200 applications."   Impressive, but to be determined later. I have definitely not tried to apply this 200 times as of yet. 

Something that caught my attention when reading up on this was that they say you can use this elsewhere.  You don't just have to use this on the expected body parts (hands and heels).  They say you can even use it on your lips!  In fact, they say, "Use it on your elbows, knees, face and lips-anywhere your dry skin needs extra help".  Whoa!  What?  Face and lips?   

I don't think I'll be trying it on my face, but I am pleased to announce it does work pretty darned well on the lips.  I had to adjust to the feeling of it, though.  I applied it and expected the feeling of a chapstick or balm...  you know, a bit of slip when I smack and rub my lips together.  This doesn't do that.  It is actually kind of sticky.  Not, gloopy sticky, but in the way that if you pressed your lips together, they sort of rolled and peeled away from each other.  The best comparison I can think of is if you were to apply Elmer's stick glue onto your fingers, wait for it to become slightly tacky, and then squish your fingers into one another. It is a lot like that.  By itself, it is rather strange.  But, I can see it being a good base under lipsticks.  The tacky texture of it would probably grip to the lips and the product you apply over the top.  It creates a sort of barrier, like a primer would.  Alone, while my lips no longer feel uncomfortable, exactly.... I like the feel of standard balms and chapsticks.  I feel like they pump actual moisture into the lips and the slick texture I am used to. This product, I feel, creates more of a protective barrier more so than hydrating. 

After doing a manicure, I did notice that if I applied this and concentrated on the nails and cuticles, it definitely helped to make the skin look more smooth. I can definitely appreciate this, especially this winter.  I wear lotion every day on my hands, but sometimes immediately after redoing my nails, the skin will look dry. That really shows up in macro shots of the manicure, too.  This absolutely helps in that area. 

My Bzz kit came with a full sized tube along with several half ounce tubes to pass out.  I have already given one to my mother and sister because they both suffer from dry skin in the winter....even more so than myself.  We'll see how it works out for them, though. 

This product is available in most stores, either in the pharmacy section or beauty.   The typical price for a 2 oz tube is $4.99.  Not too bad at all, especially if you consider it is supposed to be good for over 200 applications.  You can purchase it in the original formulation or fragrance free. 

*Product received for free through the BzzAgent.com website and the Neutrogena campaign.  All opinions are my own.