In Search of Water

Water Squad
Top: Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion Left: Atopiclair Non Steroidal Cream Leftmost: Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturising Lotion Right: Johnson's Baby Milk and Rice Lotion Rightmost: Avène Thermal Spring Water Middle: Johnson's Baby Soothing Naturals Intense Moisture Cream Front: Palmer's Olive Butter Formula Concentrated Cream

The most ridiculous thing I've ever heard someone said, in context of moisturising, is to just use water on your skin. For someone who has eczema and the extreme dry skin that comes with it, water alone is not enough to moisturise. Water evaporates as soon as you put it on. However, I do find that if I moisten [not wet] my skin prior to putting on a moisturiser the product spreads and absorbs better.

So, to compensate for my extremely dry skin, I have to moisturise not just daily, but every time after washing my hands. And, no I'm not just exaggerating to make an interesting story. I wish I was.

The products in the picture above are mostly hand and body moisturisers that I use, some extensively, some not so much; and some I still use, some not anymore. I find that each one serves a bit differently, and I can't decide which is my favourite.

Also, I double up some of these on the face as well, such as the Johnson's Soothing Naturals, Aveeno Active Naturals and Palmer's Olive Butter Formula. What I do is that I simply rub the lotion or cream on my hands, and on a moistened face [as above], pat lightly all over my face [including under my eyes], and dab/press lightly on dry patches.

From the Top

Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion [Amazon] [Drugstore] [Boots]
Just like the name suggests it provides 'express' hydration, but I can't say that other lotions or creams I'm using offer delayed hydration. They all feel hydrating as soon as I put them on. I love the texture of this lotion. This is the only lotion that I sometimes use without pre-moistening my skin. I don't use this on my face though, for some reason it doesn't go quite well with my skin - it doesn't irritate or anything but it doesn't feel as comfortable as the other lotions and creams. This is not meant as a facial moisturiser anyway so I use these on my hands, elbows and knees.

To the Left

Atopiclair Non Steroidal Cream [Amazon] [eBay]
I know I have written a not-so-favourable blog post about this cream. You can find out what I think in my post My Eczema's Battle with Atopiclair. But that was Atopiclair against eczema. As a moisturiser Atopiclair hydrates my skin brilliantly. The only thing is that I have moisturisers that I feel work just as good at a fraction of the cost.

To the Leftmost & Middle

Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturising Lotion [Amazon] [iHerb] [ULTA] & Johnson's Baby Soothing Naturals Intense Moisture Cream [Boots] [Amazon] [eBay]
I know I said that I don't have a favourite, but maybe that's not entirely true because I think these two are my favourite; disappointingly these are not available in Malaysia [not that I know of]. If you do know where to find these here in Malaysia [not online] please let me know. These two have the texture of a light lotion and both make my skin feel softer and hydrated and leave no sticky feeling. Of all the moisturisers here, they all have a light scent but these two I like the best. Like I mentioned above, I use these lotions on my face using the 'pre-moistened and pat' technique. They are gentle enough and don't irritate at all. For a girl with oily skin, these do not feel greasy upon application.

On to the Right

Johnson's Baby Milk and Rice Lotion [Amazon] [eBay]
A lot I've said about the Nivea Express Hydration could apply here. The difference is that I don't feel this lotion as hydrating. There is nothing to dislike but there is nothing to be too fond of either. I use this mainly on my legs.

On to the Rightmost

Avène Thermal Spring Water [Amazon] [SkinStore] [DermStore]
This is not a moisturiser per se. It's just spring water in a spray bottle. By itself it doesn't do much, as I can't really tell the difference between this and regular tap water. But I keep this in a travel size to use whenever I can't find clean water and sometimes it's just handy. Like I said above, I find that having my hands moist helps in the absorption of my moisturiser, and I do that with tap water and sometimes with this.

And the Front

Palmer's Olive Butter Formula Concentrated Cream [Amazon] [iHerb] [eBay]
I have been using this cream as a replacement for the Johnson's Baby Soothing Naturals and the Aveeno Active Naturals as I've run out of both. To be perfectly honest, I don't even know why I bought this [I think it was the olive butter; sometimes I'm such a mystery] and I was preparing not to like the texture as this is the richest and heaviest of all creams I've tried - it is called a concentrated cream for a reason. I thought it would simply sit on top of my skin. But to my surprise it absorbs quite well with or without pre-moistened skin. It doesn't feel greasy and it feels mild enough on my face.

Do you have a favourite moisturiser? Or do you use a bunch of them like me?