Oceans and Oceans and Oceans of Lotion

When Al and I were getting ready to move from Atlanta to the greater Chicago area, I spent hours on end shopping the catalogs and eBay for snow boots, down coats, wool hats and scarves and tiny lil snowsuits for my sweet baby Bean.  By the time we packed up all of our possessions for the northbound caravan, it took a whole ‘nother truck to haul up our collective winter wardrobe. 

But I shouldna bothered, y’all.  What a Southerner fails to realize about the snowy Midwest and the mentality of its native inhabitants is that, well, it’s cold here.  Like, really, ridiculously, stupidly cold.  They also ain’t just kiddin’ around when they call Chicago The Windy City.  And when it’s stupidly cold and name-your-city-after-it windy outside?  These people stay INSIDE.  With the furnace just a’blastin’ out the hot, dry air.  We don’t need no stinkin’ snow boots or down parkas, people.  What we need are oceans and oceans of lotion.  Because the conditions up here, both inside and out, are the makings of some itchy, scaly, flaky, crusty dry skin.  On just about every body part you have skin on, up to and including your uvula.  I said UVULA. 

Dry, people. 

The first winter we lived up here, my hands started drying out in November.  By January, they looked like little pink chalky rat claws and the rest of me had begun to itch like wildfire.  In February, I just finally gave up, molted my entire exoskeleton and hung out under the kitchen sink until late April when I went to the spa and had a body scrub then hopped on a plane to Florida where I threw myself down into a bed of wild aloe plants and writhed around blissfully until May. 

Very, VERY dry.

Now I am no Hilda Humid, naturally.  But I combated the few drying months of Georgia weather with my trust bottle of Palmer’s ® Cocoa Butter Lotion.  Sure, I smelled like cookies allatime, and members of my family frequently licked me against my will, but I was soft and supple and hydrated to the hilt.

Long about December of last year, I had to admit to myself that the Palmer’s was lovely for the spring, summer and fall out here on the prairie, but for winter, I was gonna be needing the Big (Lotion) Guns.  My mom mentioned in passing that she’d gotten a sample of Eucerin ® Calming Creme from her dermatologist and loved how it was making her skin feel, so on my next trip to Target, I procured a nice little tube of it to test out myself. 

The back of the tube allows as how Eucerin ® Calming Creme is a magic elixir, of sorts.  Check it out:

It’s preferred by dermatologists – Okay, a dermatologist gave my mom her tube, so even though I’m sure the doctor got it for free, she surely wouldn’t give it to her patients if she DIDN’T like it at all, righto?

It contains soothing oatmeal which calms and soothes skin – Well, my skin wasn’t freakin’ out or anything, it was just dry, but the itchiness did subside after a few daily applications, and I’d count that as soothing, wouldn’t you?

Its rich moisturization lasts for 24 hours – Oh, heck fire yes it does indeed, ma’am!  In fact, I have cavalierly skipped occasional days of moisturization and stayed nice and soft and unscaly for a full 48 hours, even with a bath or shower or two thrown in there.  This was a big one for me because other lotions left me dry again at the end of the day.  But I don’t even have to reapply Eucerin ® to my hands during the day.  I put a little on my hands in the morning after my shower and again at night after I’ve washed my face and that’s enough to last all day each day, through multiple hand washes and even theoretical housecleaning.  Yes, o yes, I said housecleaning!  Even my cuticles stay moisturized.  Is that angels singing?  I think it is!

It has no medicinal odor and no greasy feeling – Check, and check.  No odor at all, really, and I don’t get that, "Help, I’m suffocating under my lotion!!  I’ve got to wash this off!" feeling I have gotten with other members of the "therapeutic" lotion set.  I can open a door using my lotioned hands right after I’ve applied Eucerin ®. 

I know.  HOW DO THEY DO IT, Y’ALL?

– It’s appropriate for use on children – Ayep.  I’ve used it on the Bean, and she’s used it quite liberally upon herself (and the down comforter on my bed, much to my chagrin), and she is still quite alive and kicking.  And smooth and soft as, well, a baby’s bottom.

And lastly but not leastly, my most favoritest of all

– It’s free of fragrances (and other icky stuff – my phraseology) that can irritate sensitive skin – Which I have, by the way.  And you know what?  I can use this stuff on MY FACE.  On my precious, persnickety, break-out-in-hives-if-you-look-at-it-wrong face.  It’s that gentle, that pure.  And my foundation glides on beautifully over it and stays on, too.  LOVING THAT.

So here’s the bottom line.  I love me some Eucerin ® Calming Creme.  It was my first foray into the wonderful world of Eucerin ® products.  I also love the Daily Replenishing Lotion, which is even lighter and cost a bit less, too.  Once I’d therapeuted myself up good with the Calming Creme, I found I could switch it up with the Daily Replenishing Lotion for a few days at a time with the same excellent results.

So if you’re in the market for an excellent everyday body lotion, I’d say definitely give Eucerin ® a try.  I think you’ll be most pleasantly surprised.  And you can kiss those chalky rat claws g’bye!