Friday - September 24, 2004
The Supermarket Moisturizer Shootout.
I have lately become an explorer of
lotions-and-potions shelves in the supermarket. Creams, body oils, spray-on
moisturizers, lotions with vitamins, herbs, beads, lotions that whiten, tighten,
heal, kill bacteria... all within a price range that does not induce extreme
guilt upon purchase. You can't find a brand-name moisturizer in a department
store for less than five hundred pesos. Usually they hover in the thousand and
up range.
Quick refresher. There are two kinds of moisturizers, generally: humectants and emollients. Humectants attract moisture from the air and draw this to the skin. Emollients prevent moisture from escaping the skin. Lactic acid and glycerin are humectants. Oils are emollients.
Most supermarket lotions are basic emulsions (oil-water) with some kind of silicone derivative to improve spreadability and to reduce the "greasy feel." I doubt if the vitamins, herbs and other eye-catching ingredients listed on the labels are present in any sufficient quantity to actually be effective. But the principle of attracting moisture and preventing it from leaving remains - and at the very least, that's what I want my lotion to do well.
Other factors, such as fragrance, how quickly the lotion "disappears" into the skin and how moisturized my skin feels the next day have also been considered in this list - my top ten supermarket moisturizers, not in any order. All guaranteed less than 200 bucks, and a couple below a hundred, even. Go shopping. Enjoy.
1. Jergens Ultra Healing (fragrance-free) - a cheap treat for those with dry, sensitive skin. Gets rids of the "scalies" on your legs with a powerfully emollient formula. Best used when skin is still a little damp from the shower - it spreads more easily, and because it's primarily emollient, you're actually giving it some more moisture to keep close to your skin. A little goes a long way.
2. Johnson's Baby Bedtime Lotion - faintly fragranced with the classic J&J baby powder scent, with a little lavender-floral combination added. It probably won't be your favorite if you have really dry skin, but the fragrance is truly relaxing.
3. St. Ives Collagen & Elastin - it has an almost medicinal scent that fades away quickly. This is a rich, emollient formula that takes some time to sink into the skin, but is really worth the wait. Try it on rougher patches of skin, like frequently-shaved legs, elbows and knees. You can also slather it on at night and wake up with truly softer skin.
4. Nivea Body & Soul Skin Oil - Warning: this is mostly liquid paraffin, i.e. mineral oil, so if you're not into the whole aromatherapy thing you can get by with J&J baby oil for less than half the price. What makes this product worth more than a hundred bucks? The fragrance.
5. Neutrogena Sesame Oil - a classic dry oil that doesn't leave you feeling like you're about to be broiled. Tip - decant into a spray bottle so you don't overapply. Like all body oils, this one is best used right after you pat (not rub!) your skin dry with a towel after bathing.
6. Nivea Soft - the plastic jar could use a little work, but what's inside is magic. A simple emollient with the signature Nivea scent, this works hard and keeps your hands soft even after you wash them! Amazing little product, really. It should have more fans. A lot better than the Nivea creme in the blue tin, especially in the Philippine tropical climate.
7. Jergens Skin Smoothing/Skin Firming Lotion - it's a tie. ;-) The skin smoothing version has soy protein, the same hair-growth inhibiting ingredient found in higher-end products like Aveeno. It vanishes into the skin with minimal rubbing and doesn't sting after shaving. The skin firming lotion has the same non-greasy feel with (in my opinion) a little more emolliency.
8. Nutraplus (with urea) - This is by Galderma, the same company that makes Cetaphil and Ionax. More expensive than the others in this list, but still a good value-for-money buy. Urea is a humectant and is a common ingredient in dermatologist-formulated moisturizers.
9. St. Ives Whipped Silk - The spout's star-shaped opening means the lotion comes out like cake icing. Aside from that little bit of fun, this formula sinks rapidly into the skin, is only lightly fragranced and is definitely not greasy.
10. Grapeseed oil - You go to the cooking oil shelf for this one. ;-) Grapeseed oil is a light oil usually favored for salad dressings. It is actually a much-used cosmetic ingredient, especially in body and massage oils. If you can find it cold-pressed, so much the better. Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil is also wonderful, but you might not want to smell like Italian food. Grapeseed oil doesn't smell of anything, and is a super emollient, best used while your skin is still damp. If you're wary of petroleum byproducts, such as the mineral oil base in J&J, and petroleum jelly, use this instead. Decant into a pretty bottle so people don't wonder why you have salad oil in the bathroom. A plus: add it to a cup of brown sugar (you know which shelf to go for that), enough to make a rough paste, and you have your very own sugar scrub. For added lightening/exfoliating, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, or 3 calamansis.
Quick refresher. There are two kinds of moisturizers, generally: humectants and emollients. Humectants attract moisture from the air and draw this to the skin. Emollients prevent moisture from escaping the skin. Lactic acid and glycerin are humectants. Oils are emollients.
Most supermarket lotions are basic emulsions (oil-water) with some kind of silicone derivative to improve spreadability and to reduce the "greasy feel." I doubt if the vitamins, herbs and other eye-catching ingredients listed on the labels are present in any sufficient quantity to actually be effective. But the principle of attracting moisture and preventing it from leaving remains - and at the very least, that's what I want my lotion to do well.
Other factors, such as fragrance, how quickly the lotion "disappears" into the skin and how moisturized my skin feels the next day have also been considered in this list - my top ten supermarket moisturizers, not in any order. All guaranteed less than 200 bucks, and a couple below a hundred, even. Go shopping. Enjoy.
1. Jergens Ultra Healing (fragrance-free) - a cheap treat for those with dry, sensitive skin. Gets rids of the "scalies" on your legs with a powerfully emollient formula. Best used when skin is still a little damp from the shower - it spreads more easily, and because it's primarily emollient, you're actually giving it some more moisture to keep close to your skin. A little goes a long way.
2. Johnson's Baby Bedtime Lotion - faintly fragranced with the classic J&J baby powder scent, with a little lavender-floral combination added. It probably won't be your favorite if you have really dry skin, but the fragrance is truly relaxing.
3. St. Ives Collagen & Elastin - it has an almost medicinal scent that fades away quickly. This is a rich, emollient formula that takes some time to sink into the skin, but is really worth the wait. Try it on rougher patches of skin, like frequently-shaved legs, elbows and knees. You can also slather it on at night and wake up with truly softer skin.
4. Nivea Body & Soul Skin Oil - Warning: this is mostly liquid paraffin, i.e. mineral oil, so if you're not into the whole aromatherapy thing you can get by with J&J baby oil for less than half the price. What makes this product worth more than a hundred bucks? The fragrance.
5. Neutrogena Sesame Oil - a classic dry oil that doesn't leave you feeling like you're about to be broiled. Tip - decant into a spray bottle so you don't overapply. Like all body oils, this one is best used right after you pat (not rub!) your skin dry with a towel after bathing.
6. Nivea Soft - the plastic jar could use a little work, but what's inside is magic. A simple emollient with the signature Nivea scent, this works hard and keeps your hands soft even after you wash them! Amazing little product, really. It should have more fans. A lot better than the Nivea creme in the blue tin, especially in the Philippine tropical climate.
7. Jergens Skin Smoothing/Skin Firming Lotion - it's a tie. ;-) The skin smoothing version has soy protein, the same hair-growth inhibiting ingredient found in higher-end products like Aveeno. It vanishes into the skin with minimal rubbing and doesn't sting after shaving. The skin firming lotion has the same non-greasy feel with (in my opinion) a little more emolliency.
8. Nutraplus (with urea) - This is by Galderma, the same company that makes Cetaphil and Ionax. More expensive than the others in this list, but still a good value-for-money buy. Urea is a humectant and is a common ingredient in dermatologist-formulated moisturizers.
9. St. Ives Whipped Silk - The spout's star-shaped opening means the lotion comes out like cake icing. Aside from that little bit of fun, this formula sinks rapidly into the skin, is only lightly fragranced and is definitely not greasy.
10. Grapeseed oil - You go to the cooking oil shelf for this one. ;-) Grapeseed oil is a light oil usually favored for salad dressings. It is actually a much-used cosmetic ingredient, especially in body and massage oils. If you can find it cold-pressed, so much the better. Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil is also wonderful, but you might not want to smell like Italian food. Grapeseed oil doesn't smell of anything, and is a super emollient, best used while your skin is still damp. If you're wary of petroleum byproducts, such as the mineral oil base in J&J, and petroleum jelly, use this instead. Decant into a pretty bottle so people don't wonder why you have salad oil in the bathroom. A plus: add it to a cup of brown sugar (you know which shelf to go for that), enough to make a rough paste, and you have your very own sugar scrub. For added lightening/exfoliating, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, or 3 calamansis.